Rebound

[avaricious]

Who: Greed (and sorta Alphonse)
Broadcast: Yes
Action: A park on the Starlight
When: February 28th, after this post

[The transmission starts abruptly with a flash of red light. When the image clears, there's a few blades of grass in the way and a grotesque image of a man's back, only it's embedded with pieces of metal armor as well as what looks like an armored hand sticking out from the side. It's all the result of some hideous rebound. The man sways unbalanced and seemingly oblivious to the mess made upon his back. He stands there for a few seconds before stumbling forward and kneeling to something beyond the angle of the camera.]

Alphonse!? [There is the sound of banging on metal.] Alphonse! Dammit, answer me!

[There is nothing. No answer. Just silence.]

Say something you shitty brat! We were getting out of this shit hole together! Don't say you--

[And then, just like that, the feed cuts out without explanation.]

Comments

[passingthrough]

[Kitty's eyes aren't wide with shock, horror, revulsion, or confusion though there are bits of each somewhere inside. No, her eyes are narrowed and intense, jaw tight.]

What. Did. You. Do?

[She'd only talked to the kid once here. He was one of the very first people to greet her—friendly and sweet just like she remembered. He was also in a suit of armor which was nothing like she remembered from the prison. She'd known the blond-haired little brother of Edward. They weren't close. She wasn't close to anyone back then, but they were younger and had abilities and even if they didn't call themselves mutants she'd taken to thinking of them as such. Maybe to make her feel less alone in the prison. There was a protective instinct. Seems like it didn't burn out.

She might recognize Greed if she had a better view. Not that she knew much of anything about him in Marina except he was friends with Tyki Mikk which would not earn him any points (even if she was friends with the man once herself.)

But for the moment it doesn't matter who he is, he's the only one here to blame.]

action

[resnipstance]

[Ahsoka doesn't waste any time after she sees the broadcast. She drops what she's doing and jumps in the Starstruck's shuttle, driving it around the Starlight to find the park. She isn't sure which park they're in, but Greed's presence in the Force is distinct as it is horrifying. She closes her eyes for a second in the cockpit, trying to find Greed's location in the Force. ... There. Maybe? She isn't certain, but it's the best she's got. Opening her eyes again, she boosts the engine and thrusts the shuttle forward, flying towards her best guess.

She lands and parks in a hurry when she gets to the nearest shuttle dock, throwing the door open and jumping out without preamble. Then she runs.

When she finally gets there, her eyes widen in shock. For the first time in a long time, Ahsoka's whole body freezes.]

... Greed?

Video

[alwayscomeback]

[Precisely none of that looks even the least bit okay. Sokka feels a terrible sense of dread drop into him. He only has a vague idea of what Al can do, but one thing he does know is how dangerous it can be.

Whathappenedwhathappenedwhathappened. ]

Greed? [Oh come on you ASS. ] Greed what the heck happened? Is he okay?

video => voice;

[geonomy]

[Okay, the mention of Al's name (and everything that follows) makes Clay frown in concern and hurry to look over, only to -

... squint, at first, because he can't tell just what's -

Oh. Oh.

He is immediately switching it to voice after that, taking a few seconds to just breathe and focus entirely on that rather than that nightmarish image of someone with metal sticking out of his back. But that's his crewmate over there, one who isn't responding, and the protectiveness winning out over the nausea makes him keep his head down while he asks:]

What. Happened?

[avaricious]

[God, but he doesn't even know what to think. Greed was ignorant to his own troubles as he stared at the ruined shell of Alphonse Elric. The seal was still in tact, which as far as he knew from his limited memories of the old Greed, that meant Alphonse should still be alive. But how could he be alive in this pitiful state?

The voice shattered his trance. He turned back to see the communicator in the grass. Shit. The last thing this shit show needed was an audience.

He answered scowling, his voice out of breath and sounding more a snarl.]

Shut up. Just shut up.

action

[avaricious]

[His presence is lessened. Not by a lot, but he burned through more than just that one soul meant to be used as the payment for the gateway. He wasn't aware of this, no was he aware of the horror that had been made of his body. Not yet anyway. He was still dazed and he still didn't know what to do with Alphonse, save for the fact he'd given the shattered armor a fair distance.

His body shudders when he hears his own name and he tilts his head to look back at her. Damn. He didn't need her here of all people.]

Get away. This doesn't concern you!

Video

[avaricious]

[More voices. Damn. Why did that stupid thing have to kick in!? He's tempted to just throw the communicator into the nearest garbage bin. Or he would, had he the presence of mind to think that far ahead.]

Shut up, dammit!

[He needs to think, not explain shit to the entire fleet.]

voice;

[avaricious]

Quiet!

[He's not thinking - his mind is racing too fast to do that just yet. All he has in front of him is what amounts to a corpse, but a corpse that should still be alive - even if in pieces. But Al isn't moving. He isn't doing anything. And something else is missing as well.

Voices. Voices. The fleet was the last goddamn thing he needed right now.]

[resnipstance]

I'm trying to help!

[avaricious]

Help!? [He whirls around on her. Only the motion is sudden and his shoulder blade bends back into a scrap of metal. There's not even time to bleed - only the crackle of red energy as his stone tries to fix a mangled body. He reaches a hand back to find the piece of metal. When it doesn't come out easily, he hardens his hands into a claw and rips out what is in fact one of Alphonse's pauldrons. The blood on it quickly turns into dust, while the crackling red energy seals the exit wound closed.]

How the hell... are you going to help with this!? [He holds it out for her too look at. It doesn't matter that it may mean nothing to her. It means everything to him right now.]

[resnipstance]

I don't know! But do you see anyone else here offering? What's even wrong with you! Do you need a hospital?

[scrubscrub]

Mr... Mr. Greed!!

[She feels an overwhelming panic too suddenly, looking around the outside of the ship. Where is everyone else? Someone needs to...! Did Mr. Greed get impaled? By -- by metal? Who's Alphonse?? Why -- ]

Mr. Greed, where are you? I can -- I'll bring something to help you. I can get a... doctor...!

You should sit down; you're hurt!

[avaricious]

[He wasn't looking for anyone else. Instead he just scowls at her and stomps back over to where Al remains motionless.]

What the hell can a hospital do for him? Look at him!

[resnipstance]

[Ahsoka doesn't sense any life from the armour, so she just looks confused.]

... A suit of armour?

[avaricious]

[He might regret it later, but a child's voice does nothing for his mental state. He doesn't even realize that it's Koala. It's the communicator. That idiotic device that wouldn't shut up now.]

Shut up! Why won't you all shut up!?

[avaricious]

[He tenses. Armor? Armor? How can she be so stupid when he's right there?]

His name is Alphonse. A doctor can't fix that. Nobody can!

[resnipstance]

[Hesitantly:]

Greed... there's no one in there.

[scrubscrub]

[She shrinks, of course. Of course she does.]

I--I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, you're right! I... I'm speaking out of line...

Couldn't you just... tell me where you are, so I can get help?

[She'll take the punishment, she just... she should help protect her crew, right???]

[avaricious]

No, dammit. He's still in there. Can't you see the seal? [He crouches down, but that's painful too. A crackle of energy takes care of the minute damage caused by the shifting metal shards in his back.]

He didn't make it through. The gate rebounded.

[resnipstance]

I'm going to be honest with you... I don't really understand what you're talking about.

[avaricious]

Then get out of here. If you can't help, then leave!

[He need to figure this out. He needs a plan. Al is his follower. A possession. A friend. He isn't going to just lose him.]

voice;

[geonomy]

[He lets out a noise of frustration before he speaks up again, louder this time:]

You tell me - No, breathe and tell me what happened to my crewmate!

[avaricious]

There's no time. No one can fix him. No one.

[No one except an alchemist. And the only one here - the only one who knows how is right here. In pieces. Dammit.]

[resnipstance]

Let me at least get that stuff out of you! Then you can worry about your friend.

video;

[avaricious]

[No. Alphonse belongs to Greed. Not this- whoever it is. But he can't argue - not because he's unwilling, but because it doesn't matter.]

See for yourself!

[He flicks the communicator's video switch and whirls it around, showing the shattered and broken remnants of Al's armor.]