HALO 183: The Not Remotely Gritty Reboot

[5a Violista]

[Entryway]

Ooh, a rapier! I see we have someone of culture here. Holly is partial to...wait, nevermind, she doesn't want to get in to her preferred choice of weapons here.

Now Holly has to stand, as well. "Oh. I see. That's understandable."
The half-human assumes that this cloaked person is talking about people - 'if any of them are still here'.

"Yes, there's been a lot of changes but from what I've heard this is one of the places that has changed the least," she says. "So maybe whoever you're thinking about might still be here? I've been here a while ago..." she pauses, then adds, "with Magtok - but I wouldn't know because I just came back here myself. Haven't had a chance yet to go everywhere or meet everyone."

[Inigo Montoya]

[Entryway]

The hood covering the figure's face is nearly jerked down, so quickly did they turn to face Holly. His voice is excited.

"Magtok!? That old cyborg is still alive? Can't say we really got along but...any old face in a storm huh? Where is he now? Still here?" They looked around, as if expecting to see cyborg walking down the hall with a cake.

[5a Violista]

"...yes? He is alive," she responds. That was way more of a reaction than she was expecting, especially to some throwaway line she added in to add believability to what she said.

"But he's not here here. Last I saw him, he was hosting a party at his old secret base and was repairing it. Also, this was probably some time ago, but you also might run in to some of his clones in Riverside since they rebelled against him or something."

Realizing that not everybody will know where a secret base is, she adds: "You know where his base is, right? I think I still have that party invite from the Spooktober party, and the directions on it should still work."

[Inigo Montoya]

[Entryway]

The figure finally lowers his hood, revealing a man with greying black hair, and salt and pepper mustache, and two long scars, one on each cheek.

"Fair enough. I knew it was too much to hope for. I won't go looking for him now. Too tired after my journey. Far, far too tired." He yawned as he finished his sentence and looked towards the main base. "I don't suppose you could lead the way to a guest room? I won't take up too much of your time."

[5a Violista]

[Entryway] => Hallway => Guest Room

"Yes, I...believe I saw one of those around," the half-human woman says. She gestures for him to follow her.

At the first fork in the hallway, she says under her breath, "Now, I believe it was...this way."

...

Eventually the do get to a guest room. "Sorry it took so long, I really should get a map of the place. Sleep well."

[Inigo Montoya]

[Guest Room]

"Oh, it's no problem at all. It was good seeing the base again. Before you go, can I get your name? We weren't properly introduced. I'm Inigo."

He offers the woman his hand, which appears heavily calloused.

[5a Violista]

[Guest Room]

She holds her hand out to shake, as well, and shakes his. "I go by Holly," she says. It's true: she has been going by Holly recently; but it's just one of her many aliases. If he's going to stay here for a bit, she probably ought to tell him the name she's told other people around.

She smiles. "Nice to meet you; I've been growing rusty on my swordfighting so maybe later we could have a duel or something," she says, referencing seeing his sword back then.

After all the hands are properly shook, she waves and heads back down the hallway to try to commit the layout of the place to memory.

[Felandria]

[Kitchen]

"Stereotypes?" Mr. C replies. "I'm lucky I got non of those other then I'm tiny and fluffy. Which makes EVERYONE wanna hug me. Also everyone is a giant in my opinion, and related to my size."

"As long as there is chicken we are save? Guess HALO got his own chicken farm then?" he says with a grin and a lot of sarkasm in his voice.

"I will take you on that one, AFTER we found out who or what knocked me down. I have a feeling that I may have made one enemy to much since I'm in the nexus."

Felandria nods.

It’s true, you are very snuggly.

Right, let’s head over to the security room, check the cameras and find out what happened to you.

[RabbitHoleLost]

[GUEST ROOM]
She's sitting on the desktop by the bed, waiting for Inigo to awaken. Nothing about her seems older or different from when they'd first met ten years ago, or when she'd first awoke under the Town's Police Station from a leaky toilet thirteen years ago, or even when she'd been put to rest in that old stone coffin two thousand years before that.
Bright green hair cascades in pristine loose curls down bare tan shoulders, inhumanely blue eyes follow Inigo's every move and breath, black bat wings folded to her back.
Every now and again, Hitomi inspects her nails, glossy and black and shaped into long coffins, but her senses are never fully removed from the sleeping fencer in the bed.

Creepy?
Maybe.
But their histories are tied together.

[Inigo Montoya]

[Guest Room]

Eventually the sleeping swordsman stirs. He opens his eyes, and sees the the sitting figure of Hitomi nearby. He shuts his eyes again and rolls over. This dream again. What would wake him this time? The feel of her lips on his cheek? Or the pressure of her teeth on his neck? Maybe even the sound of a little girl, who by now was a woman. A minute passed, and when none of these things occurred, he sat up, and looked closely at the figure. This was no dream.

"Never thought I'd see you again." A moment's pause. "That's not quite true. I thought I'd see you right before I died. Seemed dramatic enough."

[RabbitHoleLost]

[GUEST ROOM]
Her eyes are trained on her nails when he wakes and the sound of his voice nearly causes her to jump, so lost in thought is she. Hitomi saves herself with a laugh -- twinkling and bright and kinder than perhaps he has ever heard her-- before she gives him a fangy grin.
"Hello, husband."

A crinkle of her nose at the sudden thought.
"Are we married? I can't remember. I know the first wedding was interrupted, but did we ever..."
His tone of voice is bitter, and perhaps that is fair and perhaps she has earned such a greeting, but it doesn't stop the sharp pain in her chest, almost as awful as the time she'd had a stake run through her.
(Hitomi can't remember who, anymore -- details run fuzzy and come like fish through a river. Sometimes she misses them entirely, sometimes she only gets the flash of sunlight against scales)

[Inigo Montoya]

[Guest Room]

Oh, he sounds bitter. And at this moment of waking he is terribly bitter towards her. He gets up and approaches her, one hand gently stroking her green hair, before letting it fall gently.

"If you had been the last thing I ever saw in this life..." He embraced her, holding her close to him, feeling the reassuring presence of her. "It would have been well worth it. It's so good to see you again my beloved." He held her tighter still, almost as if he was reassuring himself that she would not vanish in a puff of smoke as she did in his dreams.

[RabbitHoleLost]

[GUEST ROOM]
She doesn't know what to expect when he approaches her, his face more lined with age, his hair more peppered than she remembers. It isn't unusual to think he might experience a need for vengeance -- after all, the last time she had popped in to visit the old stomping ground some years before, a crazy snake man had accused her of killing him and posted a reward for her capture or death.
The worst part? Hitomi couldn't remember if she had killed Inigo or not.

He seems soft when he touches her and she remains frozen, like an animal unsure if a strike is coming or not. It seems foolish to wonder if Inigo, who had always been gentle and loving in ways she found foreign and unknown, would hurt her; he never could before.
Still, when he pulls her in close and she smells the familiar scent of him (sandalwood and cedarwood, masculine and clean), she remains still, frozen, like she was the marble statue ontop of a mausoleum. Intimacy and closeness were strangers to her again and it takes her half a breath to remember that he is good.

Hitomi sinks into his heat limply, like a doll, her face nuzzling in against his shoulder, against the soft, tender skin of his neck (he still smells so enticing!), her skin cold against his touch.

Playfully, she tugs at his hair.

"Don't speak of dying. You'll outlive me, you old beast."

[Inigo Montoya]

[Guest Room]

He laughed, and the laughed was full and warm. God, how long had it been since he had held her like this? Too long, that much was certain. And it was with very great reluctance that he pulled away from her to look her fully in the eyes, the blue the same piercing shade he remembered. He picked up one of her hands and brought to his lips, kissing it.

"Now where's the fun in that, outliving you? And when did you get here anyway?" He lowered her hand away from his face, but he didn't let go of it, as if he was still afraid she would disappear if he let go. He wanted to ask about their daughter, but...Now wasn't the time. Now it was time for them to spend reconnecting.

[RabbitHoleLost]

[GUEST ROOM]


"I never said it would be fun..."
It's easy to return back to this, to the gentle teasing, to the comfort of being in love back in a familiar place with a familiar face (even if there are more crows feet around his eyes when he smiles). Hitomi was so tired of playing machinations, of politics and being conniving, of sneaky plots.
She felt old for the first time in her long existence.
She felt ancient.

Her thumb traces firm lines across his knuckles, circling cool skin against his much warmer.

"I dunno. Maybe I'm still not back. Maybe you're still gone and this is all a dream."

[Inigo Montoya]

[Guest Room]

Inigo squeezed her hand, only now beginning to realize how much his presence meant to her. It struck him as almost funny, how much a person can matter even in the vast gulfs of eternity that she surely can draw from. Her statement about him still being away drove the point home, and made him regret his snapish comment to her earlier.

"Well, I know I'm not dreaming. And this can't be your dream, because I'm so much older. Realistically older even." He gestured with a free hand to his greying hair. "What sort of dream has your husband like this, instead of in his prime?"

[RabbitHoleLost]

[ GUEST ROOM ]

She fixes him with a look, one eyebrow lifted high on her forehead, the other dipping low. Her smile seems...unimpressed.
"Darling, you weren't in your prime when we met. Maybe it's a nightmare."
Silently, Hitomi admires the grays, the lines. It's something she'll never have, and it's almost endearing to witness it on a man she has spent so much of her time with, off and on, over the past few years.

"Maybe I like you like this. Does it bother you, aging?"

[Inigo Montoya]

[Guest Room]

"It used to bother me." He admits. "But there really isn't anything I can do about it. Better to accept it with good grace then try to fight it and have it happen anyway."

He studied her features. They were the same as ever, unchanged...except. He blinked, and looked at her more closely. Yes, there was a difference. It wasn't really visible, and yet...she was different. Gentler. Softer. More tired.

"In any case, I believe my point still stands. This is real, and I am so glad it is. I can tell you that I love you and know that you heard me."

[Felandria]

[=> Lobby]

"Oh." That's a...much more reasonable explanation, she figures. 'it was just chance'.

The pointy-eared half-human woman follows Felandria to the lobby and, upon arriving there, starts to sign in at the welcome book. She signs 'Holly' even though that's not her actual name but it's close enough, holding the pen with her ungloved left hand.

"Okay. Done," she says.

"Now, let's say I want to be an official member. What's the process I would need to do?" she asks. "Any trial by combat, or temporary waiting periods, or tuna sandwiches, or interviews, or something along those lines?"

Well, I suppose you could fight a tuna sandwich for the right to be a member, but I think an interview would be easier.

I have a little time, if you care to join me in my office.

[Zefir]

Felandria nods.

It’s true, you are very snuggly.

Right, let’s head over to the security room, check the cameras and find out what happened to you.

I guess one hug from the giant would break all his bones at once. Does he even have Bones? He got theeth. Those are bones, right? maybe he got at least some bones.

Mr. C just nods.

The incident is rather easy to find. C can mention that he went on a shuttle and it appears to be the only one around that time. Thought there is a hugh span between the shuttle landing and him leaving. But Right when he steps out of the shuttle the door close and squeez the little guy also making the sound of those kids toys you can squeez. The door will doo this three more times befor one of the pilots will come and put him into one of the boxes they delivered.

"I knew it! They have made a new ally which none will ever suspect....automatic doors." Mr C says. "We have to question him who bought him."

[5a Violista]

[Lobby => Office]

Holly nods. "Oh, that's a relief," she says. "I know this place is really connected to the sea, but I'm just not really fond of fish. Not sure if I could beat one in a fight, to be honest."

...
She follows Fel to the office.
On the way, she converses with things such as "This place is pretty disorienting; all the hallways look too much the same." and so on.

[Reinholdt]

Spoiler

Show

[Hallway]

"Your blood. It's turning into plants." Honeysuckle observes right away. Look at all the magnesium that's appearing in it! It's all totally clear. And that probably answers some questions about what Jules's nonhuman ancestry is. Except that Honeysuckle can't think of anything with plant blood. Even dryads are just supposed to have sap in their veins, right?

Then her fluffy ears twitch.
"Wait. What else did you take from the lab? Important plague-study stuff?"
She steps over to try to search Juleka's pockets for contraband, her concern for the bleeding patient pushed aside by this new worry.

[Hallway]

"Wait. Waitwaitwait," Juliana says. "Shouldn't you be looking into the plants, then?"

She tries to think through a dozen different ways to stop the fluffy scientist from investigating her pockets. She weighs the pros and cons of each. As a result, torn in indecision, she doesn't stop her from investigating them. Should she give her pockets teeth? But wait that would give her away. What if she seals off the pockets and makes them inaccessible? But that might make the bleeding worse! Should she try to run for it? She's not feeling up to it. But what if...?

Not to mention, Maria is right there. What if those two were working together this whole time? Book-girl, having pulled Juliette's clothes up to look at her sides, is in the perfect position to restrain her if she tries to get away. Fluffy Scientist is looking and...she'll notice! And then they'll inevitably lock her up again. She can't let them find out...Jules starts panicking and her breathing picks up.

As Honeysuckle investigates the places that are the source of most of the bleeding, she'll find the things swiped from the sharps box in one pocket - the one that's bleeding slightly more - and the syringe she stole from the table in the other.

If...if they already know, what's the point in trying to keep it secret? she wonders. "Let me go, or...or...or I'll..." She tries to buy herself time, to think of what she'll do if they don't. "Or I'll this." Julia raises her left hand high enough so it's in full view of Maria. Her pointer finger-and-fingernail change into a knife blade with serrated edges and a sharp tip.

[Hallway]

How did Maria miss the blood turning into plants? What a clue to just outright fly over her head and forget to reply to. I guess he was just that concerned about Julia's injuries. Thankfully Honeysuckle drew attention to the highly unusual phenomenon. Compounded with Julie's lack of wounds on her side and the shapeshifting threat, Maria falls backwards. She scrambles back a few meters, crawling along the floor, attention focused solely upon the finger knife. At least it accomplishes what Juliette hoped for and got Maria to let go of her.

"Wha-What are you?" You can tell Maria was startled because she's being short and succinct.

[Rein's Temporary Office]

Vax nods and gives him a small smile. "I'm glad to hear it. We'll be awaiting your reply." She stands. "I remember the way out. Until next time, Reinholdt."

[Rein's Temporary Office]

"Thanks for coming by. Have a good day." Reinholdt spends several minutes after Vax leaves lost in thought. Eventually though, he gets off the desk and goes to see Felandria about the proposal.

[RabbitHoleLost]

[Guest Room]

"It used to bother me." He admits. "But there really isn't anything I can do about it. Better to accept it with good grace then try to fight it and have it happen anyway."

He studied her features. They were the same as ever, unchanged...except. He blinked, and looked at her more closely. Yes, there was a difference. It wasn't really visible, and yet...she was different. Gentler. Softer. More tired.

"In any case, I believe my point still stands. This is real, and I am so glad it is. I can tell you that I love you and know that you heard me."

[ GUEST ROOM ]
"Well, I mean, there are a few things that could be done, but nothing you've ever consented to."
And nothing Hitomi thinks she'd be willing to do, now, as much as a long eternity after him doesn't hold much appeal. Especially if he's accepted the eventuality of death.

Although affection is evident in her actions towards Inigo, she still seems...distant. The reprise of the 'l word', such as it were, had always been a touchy subject between them, a hard obstacle to overcome, and in response, Hitomi leans in to kiss his forehead -- a gesture feathersoft and almost ghostly.

"I confess, I didn't come here just for a reunion, as heartfelt as it might be."
Once, she'd ripped her heart out of her chest.
A llama had suggested she'd put it back in because she'd needed it. The old days had been strange.
Now, she talks about it plainly as a thing of feeling.

[Recaiden]

[Hallway]

"Wait. Waitwaitwait," Juliana says. "Shouldn't you be looking into the plants, then?"

She tries to think through a dozen different ways to stop the fluffy scientist from investigating her pockets. She weighs the pros and cons of each. As a result, torn in indecision, she doesn't stop her from investigating them. Should she give her pockets teeth? But wait that would give her away. What if she seals off the pockets and makes them inaccessible? But that might make the bleeding worse! Should she try to run for it? She's not feeling up to it. But what if...?

Not to mention, Maria is right there. What if those two were working together this whole time? Book-girl, having pulled Juliette's clothes up to look at her sides, is in the perfect position to restrain her if she tries to get away. Fluffy Scientist is looking and...she'll notice! And then they'll inevitably lock her up again. She can't let them find out...Jules starts panicking and her breathing picks up.

As Honeysuckle investigates the places that are the source of most of the bleeding, she'll find the things swiped from the sharps box in one pocket - the one that's bleeding slightly more - and the syringe she stole from the table in the other.

If...if they already know, what's the point in trying to keep it secret? she wonders. "Let me go, or...or...or I'll..." She tries to buy herself time, to think of what she'll do if they don't. "Or I'll this." Julia raises her left hand high enough so it's in full view of Maria. Her pointer finger-and-fingernail change into a knife blade with serrated edges and a sharp tip.

How did Maria miss the blood turning into plants? What a clue to just outright fly over her head and forget to reply to. I guess he was just that concerned about Julia's injuries. Thankfully Honeysuckle drew attention to the highly unusual phenomenon. Compounded with Julie's lack of wounds on her side and the shapeshifting threat, Maria falls backwards. She scrambles back a few meters, crawling along the floor, attention focused solely upon the finger knife. At least it accomplishes what Juliette hoped for and got Maria to let go of her.

"Wha-What are you?" You can tell Maria was startled because she's being short and succinct.

Honeysuckle would shrug, to indicate how unimportant the plants are. Weirder things happen all the time, and Julie shouldn't be worried about her own plant-blood. This is another transparent attempt to trick them, and so the fluffy scientist just gives a slight shake of her head.

She just taps the bloodied syringe before taking her hands out of Jules's 'pockets' in shock.
"Ya just jabbed yourself with whatever needles were lying around the lab? That was a critical sample!"
Emphasis on 'was'. Now it's going to be hopelessly jumbled up with Julia's own blood. Or that of her jacket, or...

Suddenly the frustrating but crazy patient has ...scared Maria somehow? Honeysuckle jerks away and brings her hand back towards her goggles.
Is that a knife that Julius is holding? Where did she get that? Well obviously she stole it from the lab, she told them as much, but she wasn't holding it a moment ago...

"Or you'll what?"

[Inigo Montoya]

[Guest Room]
A small, deeply cynical part of him wants to roll his eyes. Of course she didn't come back for him. Why would she? He was an amusement to her. Nothing more, nothing less. He was an interesting little spark in the fire that she would keep burning just long enough, and then extinguish it with the rest. The kiss on his forehead knocked that those thoughts away, and he mentally locked them away again, sealed behind a wall. Who was he if he couldn't trust her, after he had told her he had loved her?

"Is it something you'll need my help with? I might be older now, but I'm no less sharp then I was when we met." His eyes glitter with a youthful fire, and he smiles. "Just say the word, and I'll be off."

[RabbitHoleLost]

[ GUEST ROOM ]

It would be impossible for Hitomi not to notice the shadow that crosses his dark eyes, the disappointment that hardens his heart and causes the smell of him to burn in her nostrils.
Again, she finds she cannot hold his resentment against him. She has, over and over and over, done her best to deserve it.

But that doesn't keep it from stinging.

The expression is gone as quickly as it comes and Hitomi is overcome with a palpable relief. A tension she hadn't been aware she was holding in her shoulders and in her wings melts away.
(She wonders if he's what home would feel like, if she had ever experienced the sensation for herself)

"I am sure, dearheart, that you are as deadly with your little sword as ever."
A gentle teasing, she bumps her nose against his.

"But I came mostly to ask if you have seen our--"
Don't say spawn, don't say spawn.
"Daughter."

[5a Violista]

[Hallway]

Wait! That's not how you're supposed to act. You're supposed to be scared, not confused. What's the point in making a threat if they don't get scared?

This is all so frustrating! Why isn't it working like she wants it to? At least Book-Girl is kind enough to play along. But Fluffy Scientist is just being frustrating and obstinate. "What am I?" Julia turns and looks right at Maria. Her voice rises into a yell. "I'm frustrated, that's what!"

She balls her right hand into a fist and punches the hallway wall. It hurts, sure, but that's not important now and besides, the adrenaline makes up for it. "This?" She waves her left hand - including the finger-knife - at Honeysuckle. "Or I'll...it's supposed to be a threat! Come on, you can't actually say anything, because then it's not scary! Everybody knows that! You need to leave the threats hanging!"

Juliette reaches into the pocket with all the sharps from the sharps bin, and violently throws them at the ground. (Hopefully nobody is barefoot...) "That's not how it was supposed to be! Couldn't you even just act scared, or whatever?" she asks the fluffy scientist, before pointing at Maria. "She knows what to do!"

She tries to calm down by running both hands through her hair - but the serrated finger-knife gets caught in it and she has to jerk it to get it out, tearing out a bunch of hair in the process. "And it's all that guy's fault for telling me I'm not immune! It makes me want to find him and tie him up and slice open his veins one by one and make everybody watch and then curl up in a ball and cry because that's not me!" Her adrenaline crashes, and her knees give out - quite possibly because of the blood loss finally catching up to her. "That's not me...that's not what I want...not me...I can't even think what I want to think," Julie says as she breaks down, sobbing. "Why does this always happen to me? I'm practically human, so why does that inhuman part matter so much?"

Exhausted (in every sense of the word), Juleka can't do much more beyond crying into her knees.

...
Then again, this could all be another ploy just to get them to lower their guard again. (It's not.)

[Inigo Montoya]

[Guest Room]

The gentle gesture of affection warms his heart again, and seals the cynicism deeper away. The words she speaks though...those make him stop dead.

"I thought...she was with you."

His heart feels frozen in his chest. One of the greatest things to happen in his life, his little girl...was missing? Dozens of scenarios ran through his head in the span of a heartbeat, each one worse then the last. God. Why did he abandon her? Why hadn't he been looking for her all this time? He took a breath to steady his nerves.

"We are going to find her."

[RabbitHoleLost]

[ GUEST ROOM ]


Whoops.
The truth was, Hitomi had always had a child to take her place in the hellscape she'd inherited, to free herself from queendom of a circle of succubi and incubi, and Hitomi had left Isadora there, with her soft, good heart, and had gone off on her own.
For freedom.

But this was not something she could easily explain to Inigo, who had loved his daughter in the way a father should.
Purely. Sweetly. Strongly.
Hitomi had always suspected that if it had come down to a choice between Hitomi and Isadora, Inigo would not have hesitated to pick the young woman who'd inherited his dark hair and moral fortitude.

"She was, uh...not with me. But she is not where I left her, either."
Plainly.
But Hitomi grabs for Inigo's arms, holding him gently in place.

"Don't fret. She's an adult and I'm sure she's fine. I just... need her back."

[Felandria]

I guess one hug from the giant would break all his bones at once. Does he even have Bones? He got theeth. Those are bones, right? maybe he got at least some bones.

Mr. C just nods.

The incident is rather easy to find. C can mention that he went on a shuttle and it appears to be the only one around that time. Thought there is a hugh span between the shuttle landing and him leaving. But Right when he steps out of the shuttle the door close and squeez the little guy also making the sound of those kids toys you can squeez. The door will doo this three more times befor one of the pilots will come and put him into one of the boxes they delivered.

"I knew it! They have made a new ally which none will ever suspect....automatic doors." Mr C says. "We have to question him who bought him."

Felandria watches the video and grimaces when the doors close repeatedly on poor Mr. C

I think you’re right.

We should talk to this man, at the very least he owes you an apology.

- - - Updated - - -

[Lobby => Office]

Holly nods. "Oh, that's a relief," she says. "I know this place is really connected to the sea, but I'm just not really fond of fish. Not sure if I could beat one in a fight, to be honest."

...
She follows Fel to the office.
On the way, she converses with things such as "This place is pretty disorienting; all the hallways look too much the same." and so on.

We’ve been thinking of painting some of the corridors different colors to help with that, or possibly more signs.

The pair will enter

[Fel’s Office]

Felandria will take a seat and gesture for Holly to sit as well.

So, tell me, Holly, what type of position were you looking for?