(no subject)

[donotcomprehend]

Who: Gale and anyone
Where: Plaza
When: Evening
Style: The style of your choosing
Status: Open, incomplete

[It's been a few days since Gale disappeared from the bubble, when he finally reappears. It's not the time for newcomers, so it's obvious from the start that something strange is going on. Anyone passing through the Plaza right now is likely to see a person in gray and orange appearing and... landing in the fountain.

Not that they can control where they land, really. But that person isn't moving... and once again, the water is turning red.

Gale doesn't move at first. Not because he doesn't recognize that he's in a different place, or that he's no longer dying. Those things registered rather immediately, as soon as he fell into the fountain. The things he said to Jenna, however, those need a moment of consideration.

Still, it's not long before he pulls himself up out of the fountain. One of his hands is still transformed, and there's a gaping hole in his armor now, but other than that, he's fine. It probably helps that the fountain has washed most of the blood off.

For once, he doesn't set out immediately, or take out his SFC. He'll just be there for a while. Almost dying is tiring.]

Comments

[rainbowarch]

[He knows that feel bro Things just aren't the same when Gale isn't around. Who was Cielo supposed to kill time bothering now? Who could he could (eventually) bully into doing things?

Cielo's days were just not as bright without his beloved bro around.

He's in the plaza by chance, contemplating going up to the island for a night flight when he spots the fountain from a distance. Ah, this fountain. The one where Serph turned up and Cielo himself had crash landed in. If only Gale would show up in there too-

...wait.

Cielo squints. And then...]

Gale!

[He's running to greet him and stops just short of tackling Gale right back into the water.]

[donotcomprehend]

[It's a good thing he's careful about it, too, because Gale wouldn't have done anything to stop it. He's pretty unsteady right now. As Cielo runs up, the green lines are fading from Gale's arm as his hand turns back to normal.

He might look surprised for a moment, though. You just left, bro, what are you doing here? But this place isn't the hangar... It's Vatheon. Right. He didn't remember, at first.

Still, his concerns are on the real world, and the situation with Serph and Sera and Cielo there.]

Did you leave the hangar safely?

[rainbowarch]

["Did you leave the hangar safely?"

The question surprises him at first and he can't help but stare for a few seconds. Only then does Cielo piece together the situation. Right. The real world. It would be foolish to expect no change in Gale when he came back.]

Er...ja. We did.

[It's technically the truth. They took off just fine. It's just...what happened after that couldn't exactly be described as safe.

It looks like today is a day for talking about things.]

[donotcomprehend]

[As if coming back stabbed isn't change enough.

Knowing what he does now, though, it isn't hard for Gale to piece things back together. The planes still in the hangar and Jenna's bluff... not to mention that when Cielo returned to the bubble, he told Gale that he'd been hurt fighting jets.]

And after?

[They're talking about this, all right. But if Cielo asks, Gale will answer questions about what happened to him, too.]

[rainbowarch]

Hey, hey I told you what happens after that!

[It's a weak protest, mostly because Cielo knows that Gale has already figured out that there's more to the story. Even in his current condition, Gale is good at extracting information.]

Well...I died too.

[Argilla already knows, and it's a wonder she hasn't told anyone else.]

[donotcomprehend]

I'm sorry.

[He truly is. He called part of Angel's bluff, but not all of it, and that cost Cielo his life. He doesn't count his own life in that. It was his to spend. And Jenna wouldn't have let them past so easily.]

Serph and Sera?

[rainbowarch]

They got away. I made sure to get every jet.

[He wishes he could confirm for sure that they made it to the HAARP Facility fine, but he has a feeling they did. After those last fighters, there was pretty much nobody left to stand in their way.]

[teradine]

[Argilla has made a habit out of bringing home flowers from her work, especially when she happens to find a new species she doesn't quite recognize. This hasn't changed-- no matter which one of her comrades disappear. Generally, if she can see a place for it in the Embryon's garden, she'll bring it with her, and today is really no different, when she happens upon the fountains.

. . . Then she sees the blood. Again.

Serph and Cielo flash through her mind, and lastly, Gale; though she doesn't have to wait long before she sees him crawling out of the fountain.]

Gale . . .

[The first time, his name is said out loud, mostly to herself. But then she runs towards him, calling out to him instead in a firm voice.]

Gale!

[donotcomprehend]

[He's almost entirely out of the fountain by the time Argilla calls out to her. When he looks up, he seems surprised for a moment. It's not that he doesn't remember Vatheon, though the memories are a bit blurry right now. It's just that in the time he's from, she's already dead.]

...Argilla.

[teradine]

[Argilla hasn't even considered the fact that Gale's memories are probably fuzzy-- or worse, that he would not remember Vatheon at all. She is only concerned for his well being, but the fact that he's able to crawl out of the fountain is . . .

Well, she hopes it's a good sign. She is giving him a once-over when she gets to him.]

. . . Are you all right? You disappeared.

[donotcomprehend]

[It is a good sign, considering that back in the real world he was about to fall over dead. Thanks to the fountain, most of the blood is gone, but there's still a rather telling hole in his armor. In fact, it seems kind of like the one Serph had in his, when he finally reappeared...

It takes him a moment to respond, but he does.]

Now, yes. What happened after I disappeared?

[teradine]

[She blinks.

And she takes a look at the hole in his armor, as well as his transformed arm, which is perhaps even more noticeable. Cielo had returned, with memories after her death . . .

Was Gale the same?]

That's a good question.

[. . . Argilla looks at him with demand, though she isn't so thick that she doesn't know what Gale meant. She still thinks he's in a better position to answer that question, but -- as for Vatheon, well:]

But it was only for a couple days. We were able to carry on normally, and everyone is fine.

[She doesn't feel as though he's missed much. Heat is probably still being mopey about the lack of Sera, but . . . now there seems to be a look in Argilla's eyes that say, "It's your turn."]

[donotcomprehend]

[Speaking of the transformed arm, it's going to shift back into human form now. Just being part demon without being berserk along with it is strange.

Otherwise, he'll just stand there, dripping. Being soaked still doesn't feel strange, after five years in the Junkyard.]

Good.

[Then, after a moment...]

How much did Cielo tell you, when he returned?

[bufudine]

[First it had been him. Next, Cielo. Then Sera. But she hasn't returned. Will that be the case with Gale? Serph doesn't know.

So when he hears the splash and sees the blood and the familiar hood, Serph changes direction and makes a beeline for the fountain. When he approaches, he sees the hole in Gale's armour, so reminiscent of his own when he'd returned. He nods in greeting.]

Welcome back.

[donotcomprehend]

[At least with Serph, it isn't a matter of thinking him dead, since he'd returned to the party again by the time Gale died.

But the 'Welcome back' helps his memories of Vatheon really click back into place.]

I know of the real world, now. And the Karma Society.

[bufudine]

[Serph nods. So now Heat is the only one who has not seen the real world... Since the injury Gale has is quite severe -- he has a sinking feeling about Gale's life in that world -- it seems Gale comes from a time Serph has not yet experienced yet.

Perhaps the one thing he wishes could have happened was time to speak to his Tribe before his death. But the situation hadn't allowed for it, so Serph doesn't feel much regret. He has the opportunity in Vatheon, though.]

Sorry for leaving. I had faith--

[But what is faith? Ky's words had described it much like a strong belief, and he does.]

--in leaving the Tribe with you.

[donotcomprehend]

I understand. You believed it needed to be done.

[And he understands leaving the Tribe to him- he was the one who pushed them further, after all. Because he more than the others in the tribe is capable of being detached from his emotions when necessary.]

It was not forever.

[bufudine]

[Serph tilts his head, not understanding.]

What do you mean?

[donotcomprehend]

You returned.

[A beat.]

Did Cielo not tell you?

[enfire]

( heat wasn't fond of people disappearing, let alone members of his tribe. and the fact that it seemed as though almost all of them had experienced it once was even more unsettling. out in the plaza, searching for traces of the ones that were missing -- he hadn't expected to be greeted by yet another dramatic fountain entrance.

at first, he thought nothing of it, curling up his lip in disdain that some of the droplets had almost landed on him. he glared at the figure in the distance -- which was just about the time that he caught sight of a familiar face... ) Gale?!

[donotcomprehend]

[It's surprising, at first, to hear that voice- it's not one he expected, considering Heat's fate. But then reason reasserts itself. This is Vatheon. Heat has been here. And, most importantly, he probably hasn't been sent home.

He's still a comrade, Serph had said. He should honor that.]

...Heat.

[Be a bro and help him out of the fountain.]

[enfire]

( yea, all right. as he reaches for gale to pull him out of the bloodied waters of the fountain, he might be a little more rough than he intended. but he's definitely no healer, and can't help out that hole you seem to have acquired in your stomach there, tacticbro. he voice is gruff as he speaks -- ) What the hell happened to you?!

[donotcomprehend]

[Fortunately, it's not as bad a hole as it was before. He's not even bleeding any more.

In the meantime, he'll be reticent about it. There are plenty of things Heat probably shouldn't know about the future.]

A battle with Angel.

[enfire]

I knew it! ( he's quick to accept any blame laid on her; rather than some of the roundabout answers the others have been giving... ) That bitch! I can't wait to get my hands on her--

[donotcomprehend]

That is not likely to happen. Do not trouble yourself over it- it has been taken care of.

[In short, Angel isn't Heat's problem to deal with, thank you very much. In some ways, Gale has always considered her to be his problem, even when her actions affected the whole tribe.]