foolishwren | 032. Video

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Current Location: An undisclosed location near Azalea

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032. Video

_{[Beep beep! What's that, Lassie? An incoming message?! Oh, looks like it's coming from one Hal 'Otacon' Emmerich's PokeGear! How lovely. What does the nerd have to say toda-- .... HEY, THAT'S NOT OTACON!]

[The screen blips into life on a face that's bruised, scraped, and... freckled?]

[Once its owner is sure the thing is on, she withdraws-- making herself a little easier to identify. Sheepish smile and all.]

[Behind her appears to be a standard little camp set up in the woods-- nothing... really fancy. But she's not the only one there-- somewhere behind her, there's.... some shirtless guy wandering around and his indistinct bitching about something or other can be heard.]

[The mat-furred, sleepy Growlithe in her lap just looks content to be there, although it's obvious he's had it as rough as his owner.]}

So. Uh.

_{[Her voice is a painful-sounding croak-- hardly more than a shadow of what it is normally.]}

Apparently I'm a wanted criminal.

... Anyone know what I did? ... Was it awesome?

I love that mugshot. It's so majestic.

_{[Yeah, she's making light of it, but her heart's not... really into it. Though it's sort of hard to tell the difference between that and the plain old exhaustion that's obviously leaking into her every movement and word.]

[... Meanwhile, in the background, Liquid has noticed that the camera's on and has started flexing his manly man-muscles at it in true Photobomb fashion. Heather doesn't notice yet.]}

Uh... anyway... I'm not... sure how long I was gone, and my 'Gear is uh... pretty thoroughly broken-- Hal's off in town getting stuff to repair it with, so... if anyone... like, tried to contact me, m'sorry, I probably didn't get it...

I uh... really hope everyone's all right.

_{[She probably doesn't need to clarify that she's talking about that fog. Now that she knows what had happened wasn't real, and that others had experienced their OWN nightmares... well, let's just say she's really hoping she didn't knock anyone's skull in. ... And the question "DID I knock anyone's skull in?" is implied at the end of her statement.]}

......

_{[And around that time, her Heather Senses pick up on Liquid's trolling behind her, so she reaches out to turn the camera off while looking over her shoulder.]}

Liquid, get the fuck out.

_{[End feed.]}

[Locked to Kaito and Rise]

[Another video feed, a little later than the first one, but not by too long. Otacon apparently was able to fix the 'Gear enough that Heather could receive those two messages that had been waiting a good week and a half to be received by this point.]

[And... judging by her hardly-disguised guilty expression, she's more than feeling the weight of guilt for worrying her friends. Especially since she saw Rise just the previous day and hadn't... even known how ... candid a message she'd left days before.]

[After a couple seconds, she breaks into a sheepish, crooked grin.]

Uh... hey, guys...

... I got your messages...

[Locked to Harry, James, and Mary]

_{[This one's in text, because she knows good and well that James at the very least will be freaking out over how she looked in that video feed, and she's not sure she can take his quiet concerned expressions.]

[But she can't avoid sending this-- if she saw Silent Hill in that fog, then she's... pretty sure that they'd have seen something similar. ... Well, she's not sure about Mary, actually, but given the connection... better safe than sorry.]}

are you guys alright

(typing is hard, sorry for no caps)_

-heather

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

_{[MUCH more adorkable. Heather can actually hug him without feeling like she's being contaminated somehow!]

[She shook her head.]}

No one important...

_{[... And then a thought occurred to her and her eye widened. Looking back to Otacon, she actually looked-- ... scared?]}

Hal...

_{[Her tone is urgent.]}

I... I didn't kill anyone, did I?!

...Relax. It's okay.

[He reached over, pulling her into a hug.]

I didn't hear anything like hat, and I'm sure the police reports would have said something.

_{[She stiffened at first, but then relaxed.]}

.... yeah... yeah, you're right...

_{[Of course he was right... she'd even seen that police transmission and there was no mention of 'Murder' under her face.]}

Sorry... I just got uh... worried for a second...

Don't worry, it's fine. [He smiled awkwardly--mostly false, but a smile regardless--and let go after a moment.]

...sorry if I upset you.

_{[Dammit Otacon, smile for real for once! DOES HEATHER HAVE TO DO SLAPSTICK COMEDY OR SOMETHING.]}

... Nnh... don't apologize... really, it's all right.

_{[She let out a deep sigh and tried to push the unfortunate association out of her mind.]}

.... I really did think I'd never see you again. ... Or Liquid, or anybody.

[Look at this face. This is much cuter than Vincent.]

[And super moe.]

...I kind of thought the same thing.

_{[Yes, Otacon, you're adorable. You get cookies.]}

.... it was the worst part.

... Hal, I'm so sorry I didn't...

_{[She trails off there. HOW DO YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE THIS WITHOUT BEING AWKWARD.]}

[YAY]

...didn't what?

I didn't... let any of you guys know how much I appreciated all you've done for me.

.... That was the worst part.

Realizing I'd fucked up again.

... Just like I fucked up with Dad before he got taken away.

...

[He smiled a little more sincerely, lightly ruffling her hair.]

You didn't need to tell me. I don't help people so I can get appreciation, I help them because they need it. Besides, just having you as a friend is all the thanks I need.

...just promise me one thing, Heather?

_{[The corners of her mouth quirked up by reflex when he ruffled her hair, and she brought a hand up automatically to smooth it down again. As if that were even possible, with HER hair.]}

... I do, though... it's... you'd know what I meant if you... _{[Well, there's no real explaining it, but-- it was just important. Heather's conviction remained.]} I still want to. You can't make me change my mind on that. If I learned one thing while I thought I was back in that town...

_{[Then she trailed off.]}

... Yeah?

...it's okay. I think I can understand.

Just...be careful around here, alright? I don't want to end up losing you too.

_{[Weak smile.]}

I'm like an old, bad penny.

I always come back.

_{[Double meaning if you take into account the fourth-wall-breaking save system in her game, HOHOHOHOHO.]}

[DOHOHOHO YOU.]

...good to know.

_{[OH ME~]}

It's the truth.

.... so... _{[She's not sure... just YET, that she's ready to talk about exactly what she'd seen. Baby steps, you know? ... But she hadn't missed the tidbits Otacon had dropped the previous day, even if she had been in a pretty muddled mental state.]}

... do you wanna talk about what you heard...?

. . .

[He did want to talk about it if only to try and get it out of his head, but at the same time he was afraid of the inevitable breakdown he'd have once he started.]

...my sister.

.... Your sister.

M'sorry.

[Otacon took off his glasses, rubbing his eyes--exhaustion was starting to catch up to him.]

Emma was working on an offshore plant when she died; she had this parrot with her. I guess she must have talked to it a lot while she was working or something, because it wouldn't stop talking. After she died--it kept saying the same thing, over and over again I don't even know how many times.

[Putting his glasses on again, Otacon distracted himself by petting Kotai with a distinctly unhappy look on his face.]

'Hal, I miss you'. We hadn't seen each other since we were kids, but she still thought about me.

The week after she died, before I came here--I'd get this dream once in a while. It'd always be raining; near an ocean or something. It always involved water. I-I'd hear her behind me, in a creaking rusted wheelchair--she'd be saying she missed me, asking me why I couldn't save her...

[The engineer's hands moved to his head, shoulders trembling uncontrollably with a distantly horrified look on his face--he was cracking under all the pressure and he knew it.]

Sh-sh-she'd start bleeding like she did when she died, it would start coming out of her eyes and mouth the whole time she was saying she missed me and asking why I couldn't save her; no matter how much I said I was sorry, it never mattered...th-then I'd feel a knife inmy back and wake up trying not to scream.

It...it followed me everywhere. her voice, that creaking, all the rain, it just...wouldn't stop.

_{[There... wasn't much Heather could do but listen. Somewhere deep down, since she'd found out what those visions REALLY were, that someone like Otacon wouldn't have been able to get through it without... well, something like this.]

[Swallowing, she reached out to gingerly wrap an arm around his shoulders, trying not to press on her own bruises too much... Strictly speaking, she was in no state to do much comforting... not when she wasn't even close to being over what happened, herself, but... what else could she do?]

[... And then a chill ran down her spine at his description of the wheelchair.]}

[Nervous and shaking, he cautiously put his arms around Heather while trying not to aggravate her injuries.]

L-Liquid managed to get me to calm down, but after he lost it and ran off I had to deal with it myself. I kept hearing it no matter where I was, that damn creaking and her voice following me everywhere...I was so sure she was going to show up and kill me and I knew I'd d-deserve it if she did...

... It wasn't real... you just need to remember that it wasn't real.

_{[The words sounded sort of hollow, even to her. Because how do you comfort someone concerning that sort of... apparition?]}

...I d-don't think it'd matter if it was or not. I'm still going to see it again. It was still my fault my father and sister died.

No.

No it's not.

It wasn't.

... It still isn't, okay?

...

I should've saved her.She waited all that time for me and I just...let her die.

... Otacon, it's-- it doesn't work like that.

People die.

You're not a fucking miracle worker, okay?

032. Video

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