Less Advice, More Hands (Part I)
A Man falls defeated by a Sorcerer's power, and the Damsel comes to his rescue.
*He is almost completely listless, automatically sending out private messages to his daughter every few seconds. His head lies limp in her hand, the lid of his black optic drooped shut. He doesn't register that someone else is there until he looks up at her. He gives a small, awkward smile.* Hello...
*she rubs her thumb against his cheek, presses their foreheads together. She realizes now how much she'd missed him* You are... badly damaged. *he is so weak, she notes, and it frightens her to see him like this* I will take care of this, of you, as best I can. You must stay strong, alright? *she shifts to cradle him, making sure his injured arm is tucked away against her chest. Despite the awkwardness, she gets her arm under his legs and lifts him up, he head lolling against her collarbone* What must I do?
*His working optic closes as their heads bump together, but before he knows it, he's lifted off the ground. He peers up at her from where his head lies, then around the room. He pulls a face as he processes his information. His voice is quiet, vocal processors reserving their energy.* Sylvia... Need Sylvia...
We will find her, you have my word. *her voice is shakier than she would have liked* Please, by the Nine, do not leave me. Stay strong, for me, for your daughter, please... *she makes her way through the building, not a clue where to locate Sylvia.* Director! Please, where is Sylvia! Director!
*His brow furrows wearily at her, confused.* I'm not... *He trails off when they begin trekking through. There is no response from the speakers, but M4 shivers and tries to sit up straight. He looks even more puzzled.* I'm... right here...?
*She looks down at the bundle of limbs in her arms, confusion in her wide watery eyes* M4... Director? Is that... you? I do not understand...
*His opened optic rolls up at her and he nods.* Took over when... no one else did...?
*there is a breath of a moment where her eyes are searching for an explaination she may never get. And that is when her legs fall beneath her, knees crashing into the ground with a harsh crack. She holds him like he might shatter at any moment, close and tight* No... how can that be? M4... I do not understand... Explain this, explain this now. *her voice is a combination of pleading and demanding. How could M4 be the Director? How could a man that had saved her, cared for her... be a murderer?*
[GASP.WAV] *He wraps his fully functioning arm around her shoulders and clings on when she falls, hiding his face in her shoulder. He hesitantly peers up at her with one eye still sealed shut. His brow crimps in confusion, not seeming to understand this reaction to him.* I... did...?
*She cannot look at him, so she turns her eyes to a far wall, unseeing.* No...*She says this more to herself, and the tears start to fall. All this time, she'd been under the assumption that the two where seprate, differerent identities, that one was evil and the other... a man she had grown to love. She looks down at him. There is a choice to be made.* M4... Director. What do I call you now? There was a man of words who spoke of names... A rose, by any other name, would smell just as sweet.
*Her image is blurry to him, the lens in his optic struggling to focus. It appears like she's not looking at him. Still confused by her sudden change in demeanor, he takes his hand from around her and tries to wave it in front of her face. He jumps when then vague figure of her head turns to him, though, and his hand drops to the floor. Brow knitted together, he flexes his fingers in thought and to test if his one hand still worked properly.* Shakespeare, I think... but please, call me Mark 4... Director will get confusing with two of us...
Two of us?... *what does he mean by that? But there was no getting anything more from him, not with him so weak.* M4, then... where do we go? Where do I take you? *she leans down to press their foreheads together again and sighs. What does she do now? What can she do? If he must die, she decides, it will be by her own hand. But it will not be today. A few stray tears land on his cheek.*
*He flinches lightly when they bump foreheads and closes his optic, but wearily nuzzles into her. He drags his hand over the floor and lightly grabs her shoulder, his arm hanging it.* A lab... would be nice...
*She pushes back his hair and kisses his brow.* Of course. *refocusing, she stands and heads down the hall.* Lead the way, M4, if you can.
*He barely feels her kiss, properly booted sensors or not. He squeezes her shoulder as they stand. He opens his right optic and glances down the hall. Lights slowly flicker on, leading to out of the empty room he had taken refuge in.* It isn't far... Just need... patching up...
This seems a little more than just a flesh wound. *she grumbles, following the glow of the lights down halls. She rearranges him so he is easier to carry, so he is more comfortable. Her emotions are a dangerous creature, and she forced the more violent ones down. The eventually enter a lab, she thinks. The room is filled with machines and monitors, all silently humming. She stands at the entrance, not knowing what to do*
*He tenses when moved, fearing he might be dropped. He manages to sling his arm over his shoulders in the process, but doesn't have much grip. He doesn't look up once in the lab, leaning into her. It takes him a moment to process a solution.* ... Tape...?
Don't be absurd. Even I know that will not do. *finding a gurney, she gingerly sets him down, cradling his head in her hand. She lingers for a long moment, looking him over, searching his face for... anything, nothing, she didn't know. Her other hand moves up to caress his cheek, her own expression full of concern.* What do I do? Tell me please...
*He's reluctant to let her go, but his arm falls limp to his side once lied down. He leans his head into her gentle hand, but can't seem to look at her and glances around the room. He is covered in scuffs and dings with his left eye still stubbornly shut.* No, really... Tape... Stark Industries exclusive electrical tape... It's like a bandaid... for a machine...
M4... you're missing an arm. *she looks grave and sounds graver. but nods anyway. Sighing, she is hesitant to leave but after some times, pulls away, but not before kissing him gently on the lips. She searches the room, flipping open cabinets and pulling out drawers. Eventually, she finds it, or thinks she does, and brings a few rolls over to a small metal table by the gurney*
I kno--- *He cuts off when kissed, visibly tensing. He lies flat once she moves away and stares after her with his face contorted in confusion, but he looks away to survey his surroundings and get his optic back into focus. He glances back at her, then at the black electrical tape she's returned with. He barely nods.* That's fine... *He holds up the stump that remains of his arm, sparks flying.* It's... draining a lot out of me.
*She walks over to his damaged side, looking over what is left and begins to work. She didn't understand how machines worked, and didn't need to really. She relied on her employer’s power, accessing information through a different network of Knowing. And then she knew, the information falling into her mind. She worked quickly after that*
*He watches her work, frowning warily. She's not supposed to know what to do. Something doesn't add up. Once no longer feeling the energy spill out of him through the uselessly sparking arm, he slowly sits up. He hangs his head and lifts his remaining hand to rub at his optic.* Eye patch...
Has your eye been injured also? *she takes his chin in her hands, examining his eye but...* I don’t see anything wrong... *she does not want to give him this, does not want M4 do have the face of that Director, even if he claims they are one and the same*
*His left eye stays stubbornly closed and he weakly tries to pull back, frowning when denied.* Please, Gen...?
*Frowning, she goes to retrieve on, setting it on his face softly* There you are.
*He looks much more relieved once wearing the eye patch and slowly sits up, replying absently.* Thanks, love. *He slowly runs his hand over the patch, then into his hair, reminiscing.*
*She watches him sit up, deciding. She comes to stand between his knees, running her hands up his shoulders and neck, allowing him to rest his head against her chest. She holds him like this, fingers at his nape and slowly moving to messaged the hardness of his scalp. Her chin rest against his crown and she closes her eyes. How much longer will she have him, just like this, she wonders. She places a kiss to the top of his head* Of course, love. Of course.
*The cold slither of Knowing slides into her mind unexpectedly and unwelcome. She goes still and furrows her brows. She pulls only far enough to look at M4, her hands resting on his shoulders.* I… It seems we have guests. Coming in through the roof