airlockedmods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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theairlock2017-10-17 10:22 pm
airlockedmods) wrote in theairlock2017-10-17 10:22 pm
week one
[After the initial introduction of the Overseers, the Champions were left to their own devices in investigating the part of the ship they have access to to their hearts' content. However, the doors that Blaze Dudely and Rox came through are locked tight and cannot be unlocked via PIP.
On Wednesday morning, the same voice that awakened them the previous morning chirps at them again from their PIPs at 7 am on the dot.
Enjoy your week, Champions.]
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I just- [ Stop shaking, stop that- ] I couldn't sit doing nothing, just waiting anymore. Even if it- I didn't have a plan, all I wanted was...for those fucking cowards to show their faces.
Get them out of their- fucked up bubble when some of us are- are on deadlines. Real ones. Not their bullshit.
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Prompto doesn't know a lot, but he does know fear.]
...Is something happening back home?
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A fucking storm, a- a Chaos Theory-induced nightmare, and my best friend has to stop it, but she- she's a neurotic mess, and she needs- she can't do this alone! She can't save a whole- fucked up town of fucked up people by herself, and she can't find a missing girl and solve a- a drugging and abduction case, but that's what she'll have to do, 'cause I'm stuck here!
[ She spins around and- and she dropped the easel leg, on their way, is there anything she can throw, there- ...a dry erase board eraser. Alright. She grabs it and chucks it at the wall. It bounces off, harmlessly. ]
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He leaves the wall and touches her shoulder.]
Hey. Hey, we'll get you back to her, okay? If it's gotta be fast, then... then we'll do it fast.
[He doesn't know how, but he knows people here are smarter than him. He doesn't know what he can do, but he knows people here are stronger than him. They're not just going to let these people keep them here, not when all of them have someone who can't do something alone.]
My name isn't Prompto for nothing. You know?
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Chloe realizes now, there's tears in her eyes. She's failed to push them back, and they're spilling out as she lets out an involuntary laugh. What a stupid joke, it's like...
It's like one Max would make.
Honestly, she's not sure if that makes this better or worse, and she squeezes her eyes shut so tight it pushes a wave of tears down her cheeks. Her teeth grit so tight she can barely stand it, and her throat's too tight for her to comfortably talk. But avoiding discomfort isn't quite the Chloe way, at least not right now. ]
It's already too late. [ She hasn't sounded like this in what feels like so long. Hasn't had a good cry like this with someone else since...coping with Rachel. ] If- if time's moving how it was, then- today's it.
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Nope, doesn't matter that she's angry, doesn't matter he's only known her for a couple days, doesn't even matter that she's taller than him and probably weighs more than two grapes. Chloe's visibly, audibly crying, right now, holding up alone under all this terrible knowledge.
So Prompto steps in and hugs her. No it's okay. He has to swallow around the lump in his own throat.]
I'm sorry.
[He knows what too late looks like.]
What--what's gonna happen to her?
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Yeah, she...can't hold back. Though she tries so much to keep herself together and not break down like a total sissy, she returns the hug...partly so she can reach up with one arm and grip her own head. ]
I- I don't know, we barely know anything about what she can do, but- fuck, she's gonna burn herself out looking f- for Rachel, and m-me, and-
[ ...Probably literally. That nosebleed she got... And Chloe was making her play around with her rewind, why is she so stupid?! ]
And the storm'll- w-wipe out my shithole town and- everyone in it, Max, mom.
[ If she sounded upset before, now she's devastated. ]
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[There's nothing he can do. Prompto's as trapped as she is, and all he can offer is to rub her back, let her lean on him for a while. He's little, but he's not weak.]
I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Chloe. Your home--
[His own voice threatens to break, so he cuts himself off before it can, forces the knot back down his throat.
His arms are strong enough to hold those heavy-ass Niflheim machine guns. They're strong enough to hold Chloe.]
I-it's the worst. I won't... There's nothing okay about this.
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[ She says it easily enough, all things considered. She's still crying, but it's something she's expressed while doing so before, so that's fine. Still-- ]
It's taken everything from me, a-and I just wanted out, but- that doesn't mean I wanted it gone.
[ In trying to compose herself, she just ends up crying harder, and what that looks like is a breathy voice and a catch every few words. ]
Not like this- not at this price.
[ Price. It'd be funny, if she wasn't completely losing it.
Arcadia Bay doesn't matter. Not really. But what she'd lose if it was lost... Yeah. That's a bit too much for her, she's coming to realize. It's enough to reduce her to a crying child. ]
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[He doesn't elaborate. He loved Insomnia--loves Insomnia still. But most of what he loved about it isn't there anymore. It's waiting for him in a hotel in Altissia. What's left of it.]
It's the people. Right? Even if there were only one person, that'd... that'd change a whole city. Even if otherwise, there's nothing else.
[He swallows and blinks quickly, clears his throat.]
I think I get that.
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Any chance to find Rachel washed away.
It's too much for her. She pulls away from Prompto, though all she does is collapse into a chair, head in her hands, crying those frustrated tears. It's not that she doesn't appreciate it, she just needs to have some space, for a moment. ]
Fuck... [ She manages to get that out, and: ] How can I- be her Champion if I'm not even there?
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Maybe...
[He says it softly, so softly even he doesn't realize he's talking until he hears it, surprising himself. He stills, glancing back at her to see if she even heard him, then turns her way once more, twisting his hands together.]
Maybe just--do what you think she'd want you to do, here. If you can't be there.
[What would Noct do? What would he want him to do?]
It's the only thing I can think to do on my own like this.
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What now? What would it matter, if her mom, Max, Rachel-- all of them could very well be dead? It's not something to fix with a single conversation. Not something she can brush away just like that. With every heartbeat, it's going to ache at her and eat away. She knows that from experience; her dad, the months of Rachel missing-- loss and uncertainty, mixed into one this time, curling into her and jabbing like a knife, or...a hot bullet. She can only imagine how that second one feels. Who does she have to thank for that...?
...
After a time that's only a few minutes but probably feels much longer, she speaks up. ]
You almost remind me of her, you know. That's...just the kind of thing she'd say.
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[That gets him to look up from his hands, finally. After a moment, he takes a seat at the table, across instead of right next to her.]
What's she like? Uh, if you want to talk about her. It's okay if you don't.
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[ What to say? ]
...she's a superhero. I hadn't seen her in years, but...first time she saw me, she hella saved my life. Without even realizing it was me. And she just...keeps doing it.
[ Kind of a far cry from a "neurotic mess" but it appears Max can be both. ]
She...is so out of touch with slang. And if she has to make a decision too fast, she might cry. But even after all these years... She's still Max Caulfield.
[ And she says that like it's the highest compliment in the world. ]
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[This is why Prompto's happy not to make decisions. Noct, Gladio, and Iggy have never had a problem with making them for him, so why should he ruin a good thing? They have strong opinions, his strong opinion is that they know best, everyone gets what they want.]
So you've known each other for a long time? Probably since you were kids, right, if it's been years?
[Man, the parallels just don't stop from increasing, do they?]
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[ She's been thinking about saying that to her. Something silly, almost sweet. Max... ]
We've been friends...forever, it feels like. We- ...she moved, and...we fell out of touch. But...now that she's back, it's like we're just...back in sync, Max and Chloe taking on the world. ...It's...been so fucking weird. So shitty, everything going on, but- it was also the start of...what felt like the best week of my life.
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['That was one hell of a day, huh?'
'Yeah, but it was fun. Every day's fun. Even when we almost get ourselves killed.'
He swallows whatever it is that's making his voice sound so small and nods.]
She sounds really great. You two sound really great, together.
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[ Days ago, she stammered and clarified, so no one got the wrong idea. Now... She doesn't seem to think it's worth it to. ]
I...really don't want to lose her again.
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[He trails off quietly, not wanting to twist the knife any further. It's just hard to give up hope like this. Just a few days ago, he was the one who had to give up on ever meeting Lunafreya, and here she is, a dream made manifest.]
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I don't... I'm afraid to try and hope. If...she found somewhere out of the way, though...
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[If Chloe can't bear to hope, he'll do his best for her, for now.]
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I... I hope...