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[thespaceopera]

[according to the scanners, the fleet is hitting some kind of anomaly today... or is it? the electronics have all been acting very strangely today. it's hard to tell which readings are real, and which are errors.

like this reading here that says the temperature is plummeting into the negatives. it doesn't feel cold, does it? and this one saying that life-forms are popping up all over the ship is very strange.

though, then again, maybe you're seeing things. if there is something going on with the electronics, maybe it's affecting the augments as well... because some of these things that you're seeing just can't be real.

or maybe you're feeling fine (you're sure of it) and that crewmate of yours--the one who is sitting in the corner and meticulously wadding up an entire roll of toilet paper--he is the one obviously having problems.

either way, between the electronics malfunctioning and the crews' questionable grasp on reality, it's impossible to tell if the strange broadcast crackling through waves of static is even really happening.]

TEN. NINE. [--the voice is digital. robotic. nothing like the boisterous man's voice that follows]

Am I calibrated? I don't feel calibrated... [more static. hissing and buzzing.]

EIGHT. --No, I can't do that. Just get it done, and-- SEVEN. SIX.

Ha! [he laughs. and a woman laughs along with, somewhere deeper in the interference.] Like that would ever happen. FIVE. ...Yeah, get a load of this guy, right? Classic.

Don't forget to smile, darlin'. FOUR. ...Okay, okay. I got it.

[the buzzing rises. and he suddenly sounds much more serious.] Sure. Whatever you say.

THREE. TWO.

--I hate this part--



(ooc: happy april first, floots. these effects only last ICly for today, but feel free to backtag and whatnot if you come to the party late. feel free to use this post for all reactions, hallucinations, confused broadcasts, checking on your crew, or any other related hijinks. have fun!)

Comments

[arcanepower]

[Well, this is horrible. He's nowhere to be found, at least for a while, but someone might be able to detect the sound of whimpering. Following it leads to some dark place under a console on the bridge. Belth is just tiny enough to curl up in a ball, ears pinned flat against his hair, his fingers digging into his scalp and his eyes wide.]

[everydayhero]

[well once hiro has the alarms off, finding him won't be hard, since they're in the same room. he hears that whimpering, and he's going to hunt him down. it takes a minute to pinpoint the sound, because hiro doesn't think anybody could fit under that console except for him, and he's also... not sure he's actually hearing it.

[there's split-second of relief when he does locate him, but that quickly turns to guilt and worry.]

Belthazar..?

[arcanepower]

[Belthazar flinches at the soft voice. His messy hair hides his eyes, but even with them closed, there's just a little hint of a green glow.]

I-is it... over?

[everydayhero]

Yeah... The alarms aren't supposed to do that. That broadcast a few minutes ago must have something to do with it.

[oh my god you look so upset. he's talking so gently.]

Your hearing is probably really sensitive, isn't it..? I'm sorry.

[arcanepower]

[He peeks at Hiro through his bangs.]

I thought-- I thought the city was...

[He doesn't bother explaining. He shakes his head fiercely.]

... You can hide down here too, if you want.

[everydayhero]

[he doesn't really need to hide... but y'know, belthazar doesn't look like he's leaving, and hiro knows that tone of voice. and besides, he doesn't really want to be outside with the crazy hallucinations.]

Alright.

[let me just squeeze in here, as if that's hard or as if i have not done i before.]

[arcanepower]

[Belth even scoots over a little bit so that Hiro has more room. Now they are two pint-sized teenagers huddling under a dark console.]

What I saw wasn't real, [he says softly, seriously.] I know that, but down here... When I am down here, I don't have to think about anything.

What if I see something that I want to be real?

[everydayhero]

[hiro hugs his knees to his chest, resting his chin on them.]

... You weather it. This can't last long...

[he glances out toward the center of the room, then back at belth]

What did you see..?

[arcanepower]

You're right. It can't.

[Belthazar isn't sure how to continue with this line of conversation. He looks down at his gently-booted feet.]

Someone who isn't around anymore. Someone I-- haven't seen in a long time.

[Someone who is, presumably, dead. But he refuses to give up on the notion that they are alive.]

[everydayhero]

... I think I know how you feel.

[he tries to give a reassuring smile, and the knowing empathy in it is a little more potent than belthazar might expect from this weird little human kid.]

If I were in your shoes, I'd want it to be real, too.

[arcanepower]

[It's... really surprising, that's for sure. He blinks at Hiro with big green eyes, stunned for a moment, and then he looks away again. They're basically in the same position now, chin on knees and feeling terrible.]

... I've never had a human say that to me before.

[He doesn't even sound bitter, just sad.]

War is terrible, and everyone has lost someone. It's not...

[He trails off, his voice cracking in an obvious way.]

[everydayhero]

So? If you say "everyone's gone through it", it doesn't make it hurt any less that it happened to you. It's okay to make sure you know everyone's got it bad, but... that doesn't mean you don't have the right to be upset.

[he pauses.]

You remember how I mentioned that our medic is my brother?

[arcanepower]

[That's the first time he's ever really heard something like that.]

I... never thought of it that way.

[He lifts his head and peers at Hiro again. He pauses so he can move some of his crazy bangs out of his face.]

Yes?

[everydayhero]

Well, back home... he died trying to save someone from a fire. The Atroma pull people from different times as well as different worlds, so... They brought him here from before that happened. I realized right after I got here that it was possible for Tadashi to show up here, too, and I wanted it to happen so bad...

... and when it did, it was really hard to wrap my heart around. It's still hard sometimes. If either of us leaves here, we'll be separated for good again. Our parents died when I was three, and Tadashi helped raise me. It's really hard knowing we're on a short time limit... but I think I'd still want it to happen, even if I had thought that far ahead before he showed up.

[he takes a deep breath, exhaling the bubbling tangle of emotions that starts at his throat when he talks about this.]

So, I guess, what I'm saying... is that you're not really alone feeling that way. If he weren't here, I bet you anything I'd have been seeing him in the hallway. Instead, all I was seeing was fire. [and microbots pouring out of the walls but]

[arcanepower]

[Belthazar has heard of people who die showing up. Not here, but in Exsilium... So that isn't new. But he's never thought about what it'd be like to have his sister actually show up. He's never thought about the consequences. In Exsilium it was always train, train, train. Hide from the pain. Cry a little on Adrasteius if necessary.

Truth be told, Belthazar is not very good at dealing with things. And the fact it's so much like his story...

He laughs quietly, brokenly.]

W-what awful luck. [He sucks in a breath through his teeth, trying not to cry.] I'm an orphan, too. My sister raised me, until she...

[He looks at Hiro helplessly, perhaps even a little scared. He's gone through a lot of emotions in a week. His fingers tremble beneath the gold edges of his sleeves, and then he grabs some of the loose fabric of Hiro's shirt sleeve and holds on.]

I-I'm not very good at this. I don't make friends. But I am... sorry.

[everydayhero]

[hiro's not too great at being physically assuring to people that aren't his brother, but... he's started to realize that when he's really upset like this, physical contact really does help. so he scoots a little closer to belthazar and puts an arm around his shoulders.]

It's okay. I'm working on it... and from the sounds of it, you haven't gotten a lot of chances to do that. I bet she'd be proud of you for trying, though.

[arcanepower]

[Oh gosh, a hug. That's not something he's expecting to happen, and his eyes get even bigger. He doesn't want to be consoled for a sibling who died. Sorry Hiro, this is kind of a Big Thing for him.]

I don't want her to be proud of me. They never found her body, so she has to be alive. I have to find her! I have to--

[He opens his mouth to say something else, but no sound really comes out. (He imagines it's like a horrid screech of bats or something but no. Just nothing.)

Tears fill his eyes and he tries desperately to blink them away. He hates crying. Crying is such a childish thing to do, especially in front of his (maybe???) friend. At the very least they're crewmates and he really ought to be stronger than this. But here he is, crying and miserable. His grip in Hiro's hoodie tightens. He ducks his head, but it's too late to hide what's happening.]

[everydayhero]

[no body means they lived, it's canon]

... We don't know if we get to keep what we learn here. But I bet you do. So while you're here... you should learn everything you can. That way it'll be easier to look when you get home.

[Hiro's not really sure what other advice to give here. He can't tell him "I'll help you look," he's here with him. All he can do is be someone to cry on for this kid he wasn't sure about until today, and maybe make things less awful while he's here.]

And hey, I meant what I said earlier. You're not alone here, okay? I don't know how the other ship crews might work, but here on the Bishop, we're a family.

[arcanepower]

[ESPECIALLY IN HIRO'S CASE...

Belth sniffles pathetically and wipes his face on his big sleeve. Hiro is trying so hard but Belth resists. It's not because he never wanted those things, but because he's never thought he could have them.]

I've always been alone, [he manages, his voice very small.] I don't think you want to know someone like me.

[everydayhero]

I'm already getting to know you. It's too late to run from friendship, dude.

[his voice is a little more lighthearted there.]

[arcanepower]

[Belth blushes now, a nice little pink from his cheeks to his nose. It touches the tips of his ears. He makes a face.]

When I said I have always been alone, I mean I have never had a friend. Not a one.

[Belth tries to look as strong as he can despite his tear-streaked cheeks and the clinging to Hiro's sleeve just a minute ago. He does a pretty good impression of aloof regardless-- tilting his head back, his lips making a haughty thin line-- even if it quivers at the edges.]

How do you know I won't just set you on fire?

[everydayhero]

Well, you have one now. And because if you set me on fire, I'm pretty sure it'll be because I did something to deserve it.

[in other words, he doesn't know, but it won't end the friendship if you do.]

[arcanepower]

[His eyebrows go up. He's... somewhat impressed.]

You are persistent, aren't you?

[everydayhero]

I've heard it's one of my best worst traits.

[shoulderpat.]