purgastory inbox

[oversea]

HELLO

"What do you want?"

GOODBYE

TEXT | VIDEO | VOICE | ACTION

Comments

[transmit]

[ i hate you ]

I'm tossing you into the river unless you can give me three extremely compelling reasons not to.

[oversea]

Wait... what if I forget you?

[ sorry he is

grabbing onto him ]

[transmit]

That's fine. Forget me all you want. You'd have to try harder than that to get rid of me.

[oversea]

I don't want to.

[ is this a compelling argument? not at all. ]

You aren't going to leave, are you?

[transmit]

I'll be with you until you remember me. I'll be with you even if you don't remember me. Until we catch up on all our memories and then some, I won't go anywhere.

[ Both his gait and speech quickens. On a scale of one to Lucas' route, how close to death is he… ]

[oversea]

[ well, the good news is he doesn't appear to be as bad as elysium had been after his cyoa.

he wants to say something else, but it hurts to talk so he just grumbles something in response. ]

[transmit]

[ Thank god they dismantled stupid shit from P.E.C.S two weeks back… He ties an entire upper harness made of rope around Thorns. ]

Was there anything you wanted to say before you went in?

[ He leans in closer after settling him near the river. Does that make it easier for him to speak? ]

[oversea]

[ he doesn't respond at first, and it might be easy to assume he didn't hear the question.

but he's going through all of the different words that come to mind, struggling to find any the feel right. in the end, he settles for what's simplest. ]

I'm sorry, Elysium.

[transmit]

I'd say you've never done anything you need to apologise for, but that'd be a lie. I'll never get back the hours I spent re-conditioning my hair after each time you'd scorch its ends from hell and back. 'The experiment won't explode this time,' my ass.

[ There's a moment where his grip just… tightens on Thorns. Like a part of him doesn't actually want to go through with this. ]

But if I can forgive you for that, I can forgive you for anything. So whatever it is you're apologising for… just give me time. [ two seconds of time. ] I'll forgive you. Always. That's what it means to be compañeros de armas.

[ gooby

get rinsed. ]

[oversea]

[






in the water ]

[transmit]

[ Waits like Hachiko… ]

[oversea]

[ ...

he eventually breaks the surface. hi. ]

[transmit]

[ Hauls him to shore and immediately swaddles him in a towel… ]

[oversea]

[ it takes a moment... before he blinks his eyes open, confused about his whereabouts before realization hits. ]

Elysium...?

[transmit]

Yeah! It's Operator Elysium of Rhodes' 3rd Combat Squad, vanguard and communications specialist extraordinaire reporting in. I'm from Iberia and I'm the one who recruited you to Rhodes Island. We've known each other for the better part of a decade, I help you with your lab experiments, we play chess, and we get up to the other Iberian's businesses whenever they start getting lonely.

You like me thiiiiiis much [ extends his arms out wide ] and you listen to everything I say.

[ Did he have this entire practiced speech ready for this moment


maybe. ]

That's me. Your best friend.

[oversea]

[ well

he nods along, his expression neutral but slightly exasperated like he thinks this is ridiculous? he's fine.

... although, at a certain part of the speech, his microexpression turns into a slight frown before he nods slowly again. ]

... Right. I don't listen to everything you say.

[transmit]

Yes you do. [ scruffs his hair. ] I'm older. The river messed with you…

[oversea]

I don't think that was it messing with me...

[ he thinks elysium is just lying? perhaps?

although he still seems a bit uncertain. ]

[transmit]

[ sees this and immediately relents… clears his throat. ]

… How are you feeling otherwise?

[oversea]

I feel okay. The river works.

[ he stares at him. he really does stare at him a lot lately. ]

What were you saying before?

[transmit]

[ He is so preoccupied with so many other things he does not really notice the staring. His hands are on Thorns, patting him down where all his injuries had been. Literally where all of them had been——he remembers them all. ]

Do you feel like anything's missing?

[ overrules thorns' question asking ]

[oversea]

Not at all. But–

[ hm.

well, there's no point in dancing around it. ]

Some of the things you were saying didn't make any sense.

[transmit]

[ Well.

He can't say he wasn't ready for this. Nothing about his smile or demeanour drops. ]

Which parts?

[oversea]

[ well, he remembers elysium, and isn't that what his main concern had been before?

so it shouldn't matter what his answer is. ]

What's Iberia?

1/2

[transmit]