purrtylittlewires (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
purrtylittlewires) wrote2015-10-27 03:29 am
purrtylittlewires) wrote2015-10-27 03:29 am
(no subject)
Mundane Skill: Knife Skills
Wash is REALLY GOOD WITH KNIVES. Using them in a fight, throwing them, he held off a one man army with ONE KNIFE while severely injured. He also avoided and CAUGHT multiple knives thrown at him by a guy who REALLY likes to use knives. Basically fear him with sharp pointy things. There will also probably be more throwing knives around the dorm.
Significant Positive: C'mon Carolina.
Welcome to HEADCANON CORNER. Because we never see how Carolina shows up.
There's no hurry this time. After they left the snowy mountains behind, and it's not cold as dicks, there's no reason to go for Valhalla at a break neck speed. You suspect it's because Tucker realizes how bad your injuries are and that a warthog is not a real place to heal. So you stop, make camp, and sleep for a few hours.
Until someone is sneaking into the make shift tent. It's instinct that makes you move, grab the person before you're fully awake, and it's Simmons' screaming like a girl that wakes up Tucker, and you crying out in pain when a flailing arm manages to hit your side and you're force to let go before something tears open.
The Reds had spotted you three from the air and stopped, deciding they had to steal your flag on Sarge's orders. At first Tucker goes on about how they don't have a flat, but apparently Caboose did because you never leave the fort without it. And of course Sarge had one.
Which led to the occasional attempts of capture the flag on their trip back. Mixed in with their stops to take pictures of funny road signs. Who even PUT road signs out here? They were in the middle of nowhere!
Still, after a day with the healing unit patching you up, and the fifth attempt on the blue flag that you had had enough.
You had the red flag within fifteen minutes.
It slowed their time IMMENSELY. With stealing flags and the surrenders and you had taken to letting Tucker and Caboose make the demands of surrender. Usually it was the Reds handing over some food, or calling themselves a girl who wants to kiss all the ways, or something else that didn't really matter. It was stupid. No, it was outright idiotic! Especially when they would all sit together afterwards for meals and talk about weird hypothetical on terrible super powers and what classic Marvel movie was the best.
And...you still feel guilt. Unsure if you should be here. You still don't understand why they have you with them, but it's...nice.
It's really nice.
It takes over a week to reach Valhalla. There is only one more pass, and you're on the edge of sleep. You're mostly healed, it didn't hurt so much to move, and you were making peace. This was your life now. It would be a lie to say you weren't okay with that.
That's when you hear the beep. A very familiar beep.
You shoot up, on full alert. "Caboose, floo-" But the explosion already hits and the car pitches forward.
Caboose has his seatbelt, but Tucker was at the gun, and you see him go flying and oh god. Oh no, they're going to die. You just found them, and they're all going to die, and it's always CARS, fucking CARS, and you're rolling and Caboose is screaming and your heart stops when he stops because you don't black out. Get thrown around, feel things reopen, but you don't pass out, not even as the car rolls to a stop upside down. Instead you scramble for the radio, pray it's still on. "Grif, Grif, PULL BA-" You start desperately before the sound of tearing metal distracts you, and someone is ripping you out of your seat.
You catch the sight of seaform/teal/aqua/whateverthefuckeverthatcoloris and you think it's Tucker, he's fine, except there's shouting.
"Hey, let go of him, you psycho!" Tucker, distant, Tucker doesn't have him, so who-
You don't get a good look at the person, instead only see the ground and feel a gun pressed to the back of your neck. "Don't move, I know you can still feel pain."
That voice.
You know that voice.
"What the fuck is wrong with yo-whoa, hey hey!" Tucker was indignant, but now there's worry. And the sound of a cocking gun.
"Shut up! You're lucky I haven't killed you for what you did!"
"What we-what the fuck did we do to you?!"
There's a scornful scoff. "I'm sure the Alpha here knows, how else would a bunch of sim troopers manage to-"
"Carolina?" You finally say, fear and hope in your pounding heart.
"Oh my fuck, another Freelancer?!" You supposed the annoyance in Tucker's voice is pretty warranted.
Carolina, because that's who has a gun to your neck, has frozen. You can feel in in the slight shift and now stiffness in her legs.
"...Wash?" Her voice is small, unsure.
"...boss, if you're not gonna shoot me, I am kind of injured." The thing is, he's not sure she WON'T shoot him, not until she finally moves off of him. Her gun is still trained on you as you turn to sit on the ground, tried to take stock of what's reopened and what hasn't.
"Take off your helmet." You aren't surprised by the order. She had called you Alpha. You're in Leonard Church's armor. If anyone would figure out what that all meant, it would be her. So, you obey, taking off your helmet, looking at her with weary eyes. She just stares for a long time. "You look like hell."
You shrug. "I fought the Meta. I should look dead." You see the tension in her shoulders, briefly, but then relax. She can be angry at sim troopers for that, but she can't be angry at you. She doesn't think it'd be easy for you. (It wasn't.) That you only would because you had to.
"Where's the Alpha?" She finally asks.
"Died when I EMP'd the facility. Epsilon was wh-goddamnit!" Because you just noticed the Hornet barring down on you.
You manage to get Caboose out of the Warthog and avoid the crash and the ensuing gunfire. You can hear the screams of pain and you shout for Carolina to not kill them. You're pretty sure she heard you, but you know the Reds. It was better to just let her subdue them before explaining the situation. At least now you can check on Caboose. You're relieved to find he's still alive, just knocked out.
Eventually the Reds are subdued, and you get Carolina to back off. You explain she's an old Freelancer, with a chorus of complaints because OF COURSE SHE'S A FREELANCER, IT'S ALWAYS FREELANCERS, but you manage to quiet them down. You say you'll talk to her, but she's not here to kill them.
Probably.
Because honestly, you're not sure.
You walk over to where she's standing, just outside the pass, never a small pond. She doesn't look at you as you walk up beside her and you find you can't look at her either. You both stand there in silence for a while.
"There was a report. It said...that some simulation troopers killed Agent Washington and the Meta," Carolina finally said. "Kill you and Maine."
The name twists a knife in your heart, because you don't call him that. You can't call him that. "The Meta was trying to kill me," you say, forcing your voice to be even. Carolina's head twitches in your direction, but doesn't face you fully, and you're pretty sure she understood. It wasn't often you had to be this way, before it all, but it was enough times. And Carolina had been a good leader, concerned about her team. Enough to check on the 'rookie' and see how he dealt with things.
She doesn't ask. You don't offer more.
"You were supposed to be dead," you say instead. "Went over the cliff."
"I had my grappling hook," Carolina said and there's just a hint of something in her voice.
Which meant no one went looking for her body. That he didn't look for her body and there is a part of you that is spitting rage at that thought, and you're honestly not sure if it's just you, or another mixed in.
But there's another question you want to ask. A hurt part that wants to demand why she showed up now?
Why didn't you come back for me before?
But you don't ask. You don't want to hear the answer, because no answer will lessen the pain.
"You called me Alpha."
"I recognized the name Leonard Church. With what they did...it made sense."
Yes.
You supposed she would recognize the name.
"Why are you in the armor?"
"Because faking my death was the only way out of prison. It was their idea."
"They helped you?" There's surprise in her voice.
You look back to the pass, think of those stupid games with the flags and street signs and conversations. "Yeah...they did. Surprised me too."
"Huh," Carolina muttered.
"But why are you after the Alpha?" You ask, looking back to her.
"I need his help. The Director hasn't been arrested."
"You want to capture the Director?" You're surprised to hear it, despite everything.
"I want to kill him," her voice is heated, angry, stubborn.
"You want to-Carolina, are you sure?" You ask, bewildered. Because you know. You KNOW what it means. You know why she was so loyal, why she defended him so much.
"Yes," she says with conviction and anger. "He needs to pay, for everything he did, it's because of him that everyone," and just a bit of pain. Pain you recognize, and she doesn't go on, because she knows if anyone understood, it was you. "I need the Alpha to find where he's hiding, but if he's gone..."
Another silence, and you have a choice. To stay quiet, to let things lie, because you know. Know more than Carolina could know. You know what this decision is. This isn't killing a man who fucked you both over to her. This is her deciding to kill her father. A father who used and manipulated her like he used and manipulated her friends. The family she made because her own didn't bother to look her way.
And he got away. He got away and you-
Well, you're angry too.
"Epsilon is in a broken capture unit."
"What?"
"This armor is from Epsilon. He was in a robot body, that's where we put my armor," you explain.
"Why would he know about the Director?"
"He...was the Alpha's memories. It's why he went crazy."
There's silence, then, almost tentative, she asks. "Wash, could you-"
"No," you say and it's a lie. You could probably figure out where the Director was. But you won't. You won't dive that far into memories that aren't yours, because you'll need to. It's too small a detail, too unimportant to be easy to find and you won't do it. Not for this. Not for even Carolina.
"...how is the unit broken?"
"It was damaged. It was losing power rapidly and eventually shut down."
"But it was still running before it ran out of power?"
You nod.
"Then we can get him back. With a little help..." She looked towards the pass.
You raise your hands. "That's all on you. I'll follow you, but I'm not dragging them along. Caboose and Tucker will probably come to save Epsilon, but the Reds..."
"Leave that to me," she said, heading for the pass.
There are screams, but that was normal enough with Carolina. You wait about ten minutes, Reds looking pretty intimidated and Tucker explaining to Caboose that yes, they were going to get Church, and Caboose talking about how this was the best day ever.
You all end up having to walk to the nearest base because all the vehicles here are gone which...maaaaaay have been your fault. A little bit.
Yeah, they're all giving you the stink eye.
Carolina has a Mongoose, and she scouts ahead as you go on foot and you're grateful for the break. Because you don't know how to feel at first. Every other time you've seen one of your old friends, they'd either been dead or inclined to kill you. For the first time, someone's alive, and...
And she was mad.
She was mad someone had killed you.
She didn't come back for you, but she was willing to avenge you. And it's not as much as you wanted, but it's something that eases your heart a little. So maybe...
Maybe this time, you can have someone back. And this time, it'll work out. Just one good thing from all that Freelancer stole.
You're awake before everyone the next morning when Carolina comes back. Says she's found a place as you're digging out the MREs. You tell her that's good and toss her a pack.
"Oh, and Carolina?" You say when she pulls off her helmet to eat. You wait until she looks at you, a tired smile on your face, but it's the best you can manage these days. "Good to have you back."
There's surprise on her face. It's the first time you've seen it. Her hair is as vivid as it always was, eyes still that acid green, but you can see the weariness in her eyes that you imagine match your own. Still, she manages to give you a tired smile in return. "Yeah. Likewise."
You both sit and eat, wait to wake the others. Because for a moment, just a moment, you let yourselves have this. Have that moment that at least one good thing managed to make it out of hell with you.
Break Down
-STILL INJURED AS ALL HELL and healing.
-Tucker: Aware enough that you need to take it easy, even if he never says it. Go go, sane Blue.
-CONSTANT CAPTURE THE FLAG SHENANIGANS BECAUSE THESE LOSERS.
-Eventually fed up and healed up enough to basically hand Reds their asses back to them.
-Humiliation is surrender.
-And yet despite Sarge insisting on ENEMIES, you keep eating together and having dumb talks.
-Guilt. Guilt guilt guilt and shame and UNSURE AT EVERYTHING.
-But...
-Kind of nice?
-Kind of liking these idiots, sob.
-Get to Valhalla ONLY TO HAVE A BOMB SET OFF UNDER THEIR WARTHOG.
-Hello reopened injuries.
-HELLO CAROLINA?!?!?!?!
-Please don't shoot me or my team...
-So, thought he was Alpha, thought Sim troopers killed him and Maine, SURPRISED HE IS ALIVE.
-HE IS SURPRISED SHE IS ALIVE.
-Oh, hi Reds, I'll let her get you to calm down while I make sure Caboose is not dead.
-Everyone is not dead. =|b
-Talking to Carolina.
-We weer both dead, but not really.
-Yay.
-She wanted the Alpha to kill the Director.
-This is kind of patricide for her in the fact that yes, it is patricide.
-But you know what, fuck the Director anyway!!!!!!!!!!!! t-_-t
-Alpha dead, but Epsilon might know, but failing capture unit.
-NO, HE CANNOT REMEMBER ANYTHING ABOUT THE DIRECTOR TO HELP THE SEARCH (But he could if he tried, but FFFFFFFFF)
-Epsilon can be retrieved.
-Blues will come to save Church, Carolina scares the Reds into it, yay.
-Off on foot.
-Still injured, but whatever, he has FEELINGS to sort.
-She didn't come back for him.
-But she was willing to avenge him.
-And she's ALIVE.
-And doesn't want to kill him.
-SOMEONE ELSE MADE IT OUT OF THAT HELL.
-And
-And that's good.
-Yes.
-That's good. Despite everything else, THEY ARE ALIVE AND NOT TRYING TO KILL EACH OTHER.
-And she feels the same.
-And that's something to be happy about.
Meaning
WELP, EVERYONE REALLY IS PROBABLY DEAD. Puma suspected, but...yeah.
And that's when Carolina showed up. After years, blowing him up, and on a mission of patricide. Good things, clearly.
BUT IT'S OVERALL A GOOD MEMORY. Because even out off the hell of everything, she's back. She's alive. They're alive and together and they understand each other at least to a certain extent. And that's a relief. They don't have to be alone.
Puma is aware a rough patch Will Happen thanks to Epsilon, but he also knows far after that they make up. Whether or not that involves killing the Director or whatever, it's still...good. It's good. That this little bit of happiness they have now won't be broken entirely and will grow stronger.
And Puma is kind of relieved to know there is someone who gets it. He's not sure HOW MUCH Epsilon remembers or will remember. If the memories are just in his head, or if he'll fully recall it. North, well, died, and he still needs to deal with THAT can of worms. But Carolina trusted the Project fully and then was abandoned. She may have abandoned him for a while, but her father abandoned her, so they kind of went through the same thing there. He can see why he trusts her as much as he does later.
Because despite it all, they did make their own family and even if it fell apart a few times, it never went away.
So Puma is just gonna have more Carolina dere quietly.
Wash is REALLY GOOD WITH KNIVES. Using them in a fight, throwing them, he held off a one man army with ONE KNIFE while severely injured. He also avoided and CAUGHT multiple knives thrown at him by a guy who REALLY likes to use knives. Basically fear him with sharp pointy things. There will also probably be more throwing knives around the dorm.
Significant Positive: C'mon Carolina.
Welcome to HEADCANON CORNER. Because we never see how Carolina shows up.
There's no hurry this time. After they left the snowy mountains behind, and it's not cold as dicks, there's no reason to go for Valhalla at a break neck speed. You suspect it's because Tucker realizes how bad your injuries are and that a warthog is not a real place to heal. So you stop, make camp, and sleep for a few hours.
Until someone is sneaking into the make shift tent. It's instinct that makes you move, grab the person before you're fully awake, and it's Simmons' screaming like a girl that wakes up Tucker, and you crying out in pain when a flailing arm manages to hit your side and you're force to let go before something tears open.
The Reds had spotted you three from the air and stopped, deciding they had to steal your flag on Sarge's orders. At first Tucker goes on about how they don't have a flat, but apparently Caboose did because you never leave the fort without it. And of course Sarge had one.
Which led to the occasional attempts of capture the flag on their trip back. Mixed in with their stops to take pictures of funny road signs. Who even PUT road signs out here? They were in the middle of nowhere!
Still, after a day with the healing unit patching you up, and the fifth attempt on the blue flag that you had had enough.
You had the red flag within fifteen minutes.
It slowed their time IMMENSELY. With stealing flags and the surrenders and you had taken to letting Tucker and Caboose make the demands of surrender. Usually it was the Reds handing over some food, or calling themselves a girl who wants to kiss all the ways, or something else that didn't really matter. It was stupid. No, it was outright idiotic! Especially when they would all sit together afterwards for meals and talk about weird hypothetical on terrible super powers and what classic Marvel movie was the best.
And...you still feel guilt. Unsure if you should be here. You still don't understand why they have you with them, but it's...nice.
It's really nice.
It takes over a week to reach Valhalla. There is only one more pass, and you're on the edge of sleep. You're mostly healed, it didn't hurt so much to move, and you were making peace. This was your life now. It would be a lie to say you weren't okay with that.
That's when you hear the beep. A very familiar beep.
You shoot up, on full alert. "Caboose, floo-" But the explosion already hits and the car pitches forward.
Caboose has his seatbelt, but Tucker was at the gun, and you see him go flying and oh god. Oh no, they're going to die. You just found them, and they're all going to die, and it's always CARS, fucking CARS, and you're rolling and Caboose is screaming and your heart stops when he stops because you don't black out. Get thrown around, feel things reopen, but you don't pass out, not even as the car rolls to a stop upside down. Instead you scramble for the radio, pray it's still on. "Grif, Grif, PULL BA-" You start desperately before the sound of tearing metal distracts you, and someone is ripping you out of your seat.
You catch the sight of seaform/teal/aqua/whateverthefuckeverthatcoloris and you think it's Tucker, he's fine, except there's shouting.
"Hey, let go of him, you psycho!" Tucker, distant, Tucker doesn't have him, so who-
You don't get a good look at the person, instead only see the ground and feel a gun pressed to the back of your neck. "Don't move, I know you can still feel pain."
That voice.
You know that voice.
"What the fuck is wrong with yo-whoa, hey hey!" Tucker was indignant, but now there's worry. And the sound of a cocking gun.
"Shut up! You're lucky I haven't killed you for what you did!"
"What we-what the fuck did we do to you?!"
There's a scornful scoff. "I'm sure the Alpha here knows, how else would a bunch of sim troopers manage to-"
"Carolina?" You finally say, fear and hope in your pounding heart.
"Oh my fuck, another Freelancer?!" You supposed the annoyance in Tucker's voice is pretty warranted.
Carolina, because that's who has a gun to your neck, has frozen. You can feel in in the slight shift and now stiffness in her legs.
"...Wash?" Her voice is small, unsure.
"...boss, if you're not gonna shoot me, I am kind of injured." The thing is, he's not sure she WON'T shoot him, not until she finally moves off of him. Her gun is still trained on you as you turn to sit on the ground, tried to take stock of what's reopened and what hasn't.
"Take off your helmet." You aren't surprised by the order. She had called you Alpha. You're in Leonard Church's armor. If anyone would figure out what that all meant, it would be her. So, you obey, taking off your helmet, looking at her with weary eyes. She just stares for a long time. "You look like hell."
You shrug. "I fought the Meta. I should look dead." You see the tension in her shoulders, briefly, but then relax. She can be angry at sim troopers for that, but she can't be angry at you. She doesn't think it'd be easy for you. (It wasn't.) That you only would because you had to.
"Where's the Alpha?" She finally asks.
"Died when I EMP'd the facility. Epsilon was wh-goddamnit!" Because you just noticed the Hornet barring down on you.
You manage to get Caboose out of the Warthog and avoid the crash and the ensuing gunfire. You can hear the screams of pain and you shout for Carolina to not kill them. You're pretty sure she heard you, but you know the Reds. It was better to just let her subdue them before explaining the situation. At least now you can check on Caboose. You're relieved to find he's still alive, just knocked out.
Eventually the Reds are subdued, and you get Carolina to back off. You explain she's an old Freelancer, with a chorus of complaints because OF COURSE SHE'S A FREELANCER, IT'S ALWAYS FREELANCERS, but you manage to quiet them down. You say you'll talk to her, but she's not here to kill them.
Probably.
Because honestly, you're not sure.
You walk over to where she's standing, just outside the pass, never a small pond. She doesn't look at you as you walk up beside her and you find you can't look at her either. You both stand there in silence for a while.
"There was a report. It said...that some simulation troopers killed Agent Washington and the Meta," Carolina finally said. "Kill you and Maine."
The name twists a knife in your heart, because you don't call him that. You can't call him that. "The Meta was trying to kill me," you say, forcing your voice to be even. Carolina's head twitches in your direction, but doesn't face you fully, and you're pretty sure she understood. It wasn't often you had to be this way, before it all, but it was enough times. And Carolina had been a good leader, concerned about her team. Enough to check on the 'rookie' and see how he dealt with things.
She doesn't ask. You don't offer more.
"You were supposed to be dead," you say instead. "Went over the cliff."
"I had my grappling hook," Carolina said and there's just a hint of something in her voice.
Which meant no one went looking for her body. That he didn't look for her body and there is a part of you that is spitting rage at that thought, and you're honestly not sure if it's just you, or another mixed in.
But there's another question you want to ask. A hurt part that wants to demand why she showed up now?
Why didn't you come back for me before?
But you don't ask. You don't want to hear the answer, because no answer will lessen the pain.
"You called me Alpha."
"I recognized the name Leonard Church. With what they did...it made sense."
Yes.
You supposed she would recognize the name.
"Why are you in the armor?"
"Because faking my death was the only way out of prison. It was their idea."
"They helped you?" There's surprise in her voice.
You look back to the pass, think of those stupid games with the flags and street signs and conversations. "Yeah...they did. Surprised me too."
"Huh," Carolina muttered.
"But why are you after the Alpha?" You ask, looking back to her.
"I need his help. The Director hasn't been arrested."
"You want to capture the Director?" You're surprised to hear it, despite everything.
"I want to kill him," her voice is heated, angry, stubborn.
"You want to-Carolina, are you sure?" You ask, bewildered. Because you know. You KNOW what it means. You know why she was so loyal, why she defended him so much.
"Yes," she says with conviction and anger. "He needs to pay, for everything he did, it's because of him that everyone," and just a bit of pain. Pain you recognize, and she doesn't go on, because she knows if anyone understood, it was you. "I need the Alpha to find where he's hiding, but if he's gone..."
Another silence, and you have a choice. To stay quiet, to let things lie, because you know. Know more than Carolina could know. You know what this decision is. This isn't killing a man who fucked you both over to her. This is her deciding to kill her father. A father who used and manipulated her like he used and manipulated her friends. The family she made because her own didn't bother to look her way.
And he got away. He got away and you-
Well, you're angry too.
"Epsilon is in a broken capture unit."
"What?"
"This armor is from Epsilon. He was in a robot body, that's where we put my armor," you explain.
"Why would he know about the Director?"
"He...was the Alpha's memories. It's why he went crazy."
There's silence, then, almost tentative, she asks. "Wash, could you-"
"No," you say and it's a lie. You could probably figure out where the Director was. But you won't. You won't dive that far into memories that aren't yours, because you'll need to. It's too small a detail, too unimportant to be easy to find and you won't do it. Not for this. Not for even Carolina.
"...how is the unit broken?"
"It was damaged. It was losing power rapidly and eventually shut down."
"But it was still running before it ran out of power?"
You nod.
"Then we can get him back. With a little help..." She looked towards the pass.
You raise your hands. "That's all on you. I'll follow you, but I'm not dragging them along. Caboose and Tucker will probably come to save Epsilon, but the Reds..."
"Leave that to me," she said, heading for the pass.
There are screams, but that was normal enough with Carolina. You wait about ten minutes, Reds looking pretty intimidated and Tucker explaining to Caboose that yes, they were going to get Church, and Caboose talking about how this was the best day ever.
You all end up having to walk to the nearest base because all the vehicles here are gone which...maaaaaay have been your fault. A little bit.
Yeah, they're all giving you the stink eye.
Carolina has a Mongoose, and she scouts ahead as you go on foot and you're grateful for the break. Because you don't know how to feel at first. Every other time you've seen one of your old friends, they'd either been dead or inclined to kill you. For the first time, someone's alive, and...
And she was mad.
She was mad someone had killed you.
She didn't come back for you, but she was willing to avenge you. And it's not as much as you wanted, but it's something that eases your heart a little. So maybe...
Maybe this time, you can have someone back. And this time, it'll work out. Just one good thing from all that Freelancer stole.
You're awake before everyone the next morning when Carolina comes back. Says she's found a place as you're digging out the MREs. You tell her that's good and toss her a pack.
"Oh, and Carolina?" You say when she pulls off her helmet to eat. You wait until she looks at you, a tired smile on your face, but it's the best you can manage these days. "Good to have you back."
There's surprise on her face. It's the first time you've seen it. Her hair is as vivid as it always was, eyes still that acid green, but you can see the weariness in her eyes that you imagine match your own. Still, she manages to give you a tired smile in return. "Yeah. Likewise."
You both sit and eat, wait to wake the others. Because for a moment, just a moment, you let yourselves have this. Have that moment that at least one good thing managed to make it out of hell with you.
Break Down
-STILL INJURED AS ALL HELL and healing.
-Tucker: Aware enough that you need to take it easy, even if he never says it. Go go, sane Blue.
-CONSTANT CAPTURE THE FLAG SHENANIGANS BECAUSE THESE LOSERS.
-Eventually fed up and healed up enough to basically hand Reds their asses back to them.
-Humiliation is surrender.
-And yet despite Sarge insisting on ENEMIES, you keep eating together and having dumb talks.
-Guilt. Guilt guilt guilt and shame and UNSURE AT EVERYTHING.
-But...
-Kind of nice?
-Kind of liking these idiots, sob.
-Get to Valhalla ONLY TO HAVE A BOMB SET OFF UNDER THEIR WARTHOG.
-Hello reopened injuries.
-HELLO CAROLINA?!?!?!?!
-Please don't shoot me or my team...
-So, thought he was Alpha, thought Sim troopers killed him and Maine, SURPRISED HE IS ALIVE.
-HE IS SURPRISED SHE IS ALIVE.
-Oh, hi Reds, I'll let her get you to calm down while I make sure Caboose is not dead.
-Everyone is not dead. =|b
-Talking to Carolina.
-We weer both dead, but not really.
-Yay.
-She wanted the Alpha to kill the Director.
-This is kind of patricide for her in the fact that yes, it is patricide.
-But you know what, fuck the Director anyway!!!!!!!!!!!! t-_-t
-Alpha dead, but Epsilon might know, but failing capture unit.
-NO, HE CANNOT REMEMBER ANYTHING ABOUT THE DIRECTOR TO HELP THE SEARCH (But he could if he tried, but FFFFFFFFF)
-Epsilon can be retrieved.
-Blues will come to save Church, Carolina scares the Reds into it, yay.
-Off on foot.
-Still injured, but whatever, he has FEELINGS to sort.
-She didn't come back for him.
-But she was willing to avenge him.
-And she's ALIVE.
-And doesn't want to kill him.
-SOMEONE ELSE MADE IT OUT OF THAT HELL.
-And
-And that's good.
-Yes.
-That's good. Despite everything else, THEY ARE ALIVE AND NOT TRYING TO KILL EACH OTHER.
-And she feels the same.
-And that's something to be happy about.
Meaning
WELP, EVERYONE REALLY IS PROBABLY DEAD. Puma suspected, but...yeah.
And that's when Carolina showed up. After years, blowing him up, and on a mission of patricide. Good things, clearly.
BUT IT'S OVERALL A GOOD MEMORY. Because even out off the hell of everything, she's back. She's alive. They're alive and together and they understand each other at least to a certain extent. And that's a relief. They don't have to be alone.
Puma is aware a rough patch Will Happen thanks to Epsilon, but he also knows far after that they make up. Whether or not that involves killing the Director or whatever, it's still...good. It's good. That this little bit of happiness they have now won't be broken entirely and will grow stronger.
And Puma is kind of relieved to know there is someone who gets it. He's not sure HOW MUCH Epsilon remembers or will remember. If the memories are just in his head, or if he'll fully recall it. North, well, died, and he still needs to deal with THAT can of worms. But Carolina trusted the Project fully and then was abandoned. She may have abandoned him for a while, but her father abandoned her, so they kind of went through the same thing there. He can see why he trusts her as much as he does later.
Because despite it all, they did make their own family and even if it fell apart a few times, it never went away.
So Puma is just gonna have more Carolina dere quietly.