mental link ❀ day :050

[moremischievous]

[ It's been four days since Hikaru woke up, and he's already itching for something to do. His mind is loud and open: this is a bored sixteen-year-old accustomed to the finest things life has to offer. ]

( This place is so dull. What are we supposed to do for fun here? And why aren't there any windows? There's no point in being on a space station if you can't see space. ) [ SIGH. ] ( How lame. )

[ A pause, coupled with a bit of prodding at various mental links. ]

( I can't tell which one of you is that little girl. So ... say something. )

Comments

[shiro2hero]

(You could always learn what your ability is, and how to control it effectively. You really, really don't want to find out at a bad time.)

[Speaking from experience here oops.]

(What little girl?)

[Hikaru can't mean Pidge. She's not a little girl. Just a girl. Right?]

[moremischievous]

( Yeah, I have no idea what you're talking about. )

[ MAKE SENSE, SKUNK-HAIRED MAN. ]

( The little girl who told me to follow her. )

[shiro2hero]

(Everyone who wakes up here has an ability they have to learn to use. Sam Wilson can heal people by touching them, Pidge turns herself invisible. Things like that.)

[Yeah he knows how it sounds.]

(Can you show me what she looks like?)

[moremischievous]

( That sounds like something out of a superhero comic. )

[ In other words: ridiculous. ]

( How? I didn't have time to take a picture. )

[ Hikaru. Honey. You're talking with your mind. Come on. ]

[shiro2hero]

(Tell me about it.)

[HE KNOWS. He... really knows.]

(You don't... need to have a photo. You can share your memory of her face.)

[moremischievous]

( Oh. ) [ A pause. ] ( I guess it won't hurt to try. )

[ Another pause. Then:

[ Scrambling to his feet, blood on his palms, hands and wrists and arms burning from the pain of impact, ankle cold and wet and slimy from that thing's touch. Doesn't matter. Run. Just run. Terror screams through every cell. Can't fight that thing. Can't even understand how it exists.

[ "Hikaru! This way!"

[ Don't know the voice. Don't care. Sprint for it. Soaked in sweat. How long has he been running? She's in an alley no wider than his shoulders. An ordinary little girl, remarkable only for her plainness.

[ "Hurry! I can save you!"

[ She shines like a beacon of hope. He follows. ]

( ... Did that work? )

[shiro2hero]

[He can't stop the sharp inhale as the memory washes over him. He chokes it back, throttles the reaction back behind stars, to keep it all locked down.]

[He can't drag anyone down with him. Can't allow someone else's terror to be his own, allow that to wake up the sleeping monster in his head. This isn't his fear, this isn't his memory. He's an observer. A distant watcher.]

[Still... yes. He remembers this. Remembers his own feeling of fear. Helplessness.]

(Yeah. Yeah, it does.)

[A steadying breath. To strengthen his shielding.]

(She's not here, man. She might not even actually exist.)

[moremischievous]

[ Someday, he'll figure out how to share images without the feelings attached. Maybe. Possibly. ]

( Of course she exists. She saved me. )

[shiro2hero]

(She was probably all in your head, Hikaru. They can do that kind of thing.)

[Trying to break it to him as gently as he can, here.]

[moremischievous]

( I don't know about you, but I didn't have voices in my head back home. )

[ Sorry, Shiro. He's as stubborn as they come. ]

[shiro2hero]

[Yeah, he'd thought so too. And then that incident in the castle basement proved it wrong.]

(Hikaru... everything like that goes out the window when the Nest takes you on. Even if you're still back home.)

(There's no little girl like that here. I promise you.)

[moremischievous]

( Then.... ) [ A pause. Will he accept it? ] ( ... Then maybe she's off saving more people. That would make sense. )

[ He's not sure why it matters to him, that she be here. Maybe it's because he wants to thank her. Maybe it's because he saw her, however briefly, at home. Or maybe he wants to ask her about the others: about Haruhi, and about his brother, whose name he can't even think without being overwhelmed by his absence. ]

( Unlike that whole superhero thing. )

[shiro2hero]

[Does he try and drive it home? Or let it go? How important is it to make him understand?]

(Yeah, buddy. She might be.)

[It's not important at all.]

(If you're not ready to try and figure out your ability... you... want to see what's outside the station? For a little while?)

[moremischievous]

( You mean there's a place to do that? )

[ Ready for some excitement, Shiro? Because you're about to get a WHOLE FLOOD OF EXCITEMENT WOOOOOO ]

( Yeah! Count me in! )

[shiro2hero]

(Something like that...)

[Really taking him out would be a bad idea. But there's an alternative.]

(Shuttles are on lockdown while we're ... wherever we are right now. But I can show you my last flight recording on board.)

[moremischievous]

[ That's ... less exciting than he thought it would be. But "shuttles" is definitely promising. ]

( Alright. Where should I meet you? ) [ He asks, as though he knows where anything is.... ] ( Or are you gonna do that memory-beam thing? )

[shiro2hero]

(Let's try the memory thing. The more comfortable you get with it, the better off you'll be.)

[Because a lot of people here aren't that accommodating.]

[But he'll send along a mental image of the hangar. The impression he'll be waiting at the doors.]

(Did you get that?)

[greentech]

( It's not really "space" outside. I think we're actually in some sort of pocket universe. )

[ SCIENCE. ]

( There are a lot of girls here, but I don't think any of them are "little". )

[moremischievous]

( What makes you think that? )

[ YAY SCIENCE! Please explain. :|a ]

( Maybe you just haven't noticed her. She was kinda plain-looking. )

[ Harsh. ]

[greentech]

( One of my broodmates went outside and flew around for a bit. There's no stars out there. Just... emptiness, for as far as you can go. )

[ And that broodmate is now in a coma. Depressing thought. ]

( Uh. I think I would've noticed a little girl around here somewhere. )

[decommission]

[ Seems like there's a lot of kids showing up lately - ]

( We're mostly training or resting in between missions. )

[moremischievous]

( That sounds like the exact opposite of fun. )

[decommission]

( You won't regret it later.

If you're still bored you can check out the rec wing. They've got some games in there. )

[adamance]

( I'm certain that you could see what exists outside, but you may not want to.

One of our own was very nearly lost because of it. )

[Lexa is well aware that there is a difference between looking out a window and being outside, but she likes to choose the definition that serves her being difficult.]

[moremischievous]

[ Color him intrigued! ]

( Seriously? What happened? )

[adamance]

( Sam had the skill to take a trip outside.

So he did.

He was nearly lost to time as a result. )

[earthborn]

( The hull is pretty thick in most places, so a window wouldn't do much good. There's nothing to see out there, anyways, not while we're 'in transit'. )

[She's quiet a minute, thinking.]

( Pretty sure there are movies in the library. )

[moremischievous]

[ So, so many questions. ]

( Are you saying that we're actually moving? I haven't felt anything.

And what do movies have to do with anything? )

[earthborn]

( You're bored, right? Watch a vid. Catch some culture. )

[Was that... not what he was going for?]

( I wouldn't say moving exactly. It's more like... we're jumping between dimensions? )

[moremischievous]

( Oh, right. ) [ Hikaru moved into complaining about the lack of windows so quickly that he ... almost forgot his original complaint. ] ( I guess I can check them out. Are they any good? )

[ Whatever the answer, he'll still take a look. He'll just gain some insight into this person's taste as well. ]

( Jumping between dimensions? ) [ Curiosity, intrigue, excitement ... and then disappointment. ] ( If that's what we're doing, this is even lamer than I thought. We can't even see anything. What a waste. )

[earthborn]

( Kid, I've been out on the hull, there's nothing to see. It's just black. Not even stars. )

[Oh my god, who is this boy? He's ridiculous.]

( Seriously, just watch a vid. They've got random shit from a hundred societies in there, has to be something good. Thought I saw copy of Blasto in there, last week. )

[deployed]

( Something. )

[ har har ]

[gogurt]

(You know you can go outside, right?

And like, throw stuff out there.

Into the nothingness.)

[It's so sweet, dude.]

[premorse]

( What did you do back home. )

[ Here's here to help you... bro... ]