thehauntedfrequency

doggone

[In the time following his departure from Tabito and Manabu's company, the alias "Grey" has wound up sticking.

Not that everyone calls him that, he's used a few other aliases since then, but it's what he's wound up thinking of himself as. If Grey had taken the time to think about it a bit more he might have picked something with a little less connection to Rezo's name, but it's still leagues better than thinking of himself as "Rez- wait, no, just a copy." And maybe that's why he's felt significantly calmer since he left Sairaag.

By his own standards, Grey has been laudably well-behaved; sure, he's been mostly doing under-the-table psychic work, often on behalf of criminals, but! He's been trying to keep a low profile so it's usually things like clairvoyant spying rather than anything violent, and he's been making a point of not doing anything that directly impacts the galaxy railways.

It would be extremely awkward if Manabu Yuuki had to try and arrest him, after all.

He's found himself frequently thinking about Manabu, much to his annoyance. He has no serious expectations of ever seeing Manabu again, so it's simply a waste of mental bandwidth to find himself wondering what Manabu is doing right now or where he is, or to reminisince over their incredibly brief acquaintanceship. Grey can only suppose that because Manabu was the first reasonably normal person he got to know after leaving Sairaag that Manabu is going to stick out in his mind for a while.

And it's probably because of the real estate that Manabu is hogging in Grey's mind that he's been very aware of every mention of the SDF that crosses his path. He hasn't exactly been tracking the SDF's activities deliberately, but he does pay attention to the news and the SDF frequently winds up in there, even if Manabu's name in particular isn't normally dropped.

Until the day it does.

SDF Officer Taken Hostage By Pirates]

* * *

[It's taken several weeks of investigating, but Grey has been able to track down The Huntress's client, a Dr. Parish and associates. It must be a small galaxy, because Dr. Parish is someone Grey knows. Sort of.

Rather, Dr. Parish was a colleague of Rezo's who collaborated with the man on chimera research (and other unsavory things) in the past. Not only that, the man was an ardent admirer of Rezo's superior psychic prowess, and desperate to improve his own meager abilities.

He'd had quite a shock when Grey approached him in town, but after the initial surprise it had been sickeningly easy to convince Dr. Parish that he was the real Rezo. Grey can only surmise that the man wants to believe too badly to let himself be properly suspicious. It had only taken a day for Grey to be invited to tour Parish's laboratory.

The lab's located on the grounds of a former Marquess's estate, a ways out of town and secluded by trees, a high wall, and a long drive. Grey's done a little recon before, but actually being here is different, especially since he has to navigate by cane at the moment. Grey is doing his best to politely nod and smile as Parish guides him from room to room, explaining their work and occasionally handing him things to examine himself.

But evidently Parish realizes that "Rezo" isn't entirely interested, because he stops partway through an explanation of some stem cell experiments he and a few others have been working on to say "Of course, the really interesting specimens are kept in the basement floor."

Grey already knows this. He hopes his expression seems the right sort of eager.]

Interesting?

["Something along the lines of what we did in the past. Would you like to see them?"]

Nothing would please me more.

[Grey can practically hear Parish's delighted grin. To soothe the surge of irritation, Grey reminds himself that he's going to kill this man before the end of the day and allows Parish to guide him out into the hall and to the basement entrance at the back of the building.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

R-right...

[attempts are made. they're not bad! mostly because most of his plate was already cleaned of food to begin with, so there's less risk of shoving things off onto the table. the real pain is the tines of his fork scraping the plate here and there in his errant stabs and coasts along to find the other time places.

suffer for sharing, Grey. suffer with your ears. (it's surely fair if Manabu's ears suffer, too)

after a few attempts, Manabu gives up with a sigh:] Okay, I get it...a special skill I'd have to actually practice to make use of.

[Grey keeps to his promise not to make fun of Manabu, despite the assault on his hearing from the clumsy scraping of metal against ceramic. There's not much guidance he can offer, but he watches patiently while Manabu hunts for the remnants of his meal.

Though after Manabu gives up, Grey does offer a dry rebuttal:]

Isn't any skill like that? Even sighted people have to learn how to use a knife and fork at first.

[Thanks to Rezo's memories, Grey at the very least can recall what it was like having to clean up after every single one of a toddler's meals. Though perhaps that's not the most flattering comparison for a grown man like Manabu.]

Though it's unlikely you'll ever need to use this one.

[he shrugs, pushing the last of his rice into a pile he can scoop onto his spoon.] It's nice to know anyway. I mean, it's what you know, so it's nice knowing a bit more in that sense.

[innocuous sentimentality, the Manabu Yuuki special, drops out of his mouth just as quickly as the food gets shoveled in. it's just sense to him, unfettered by his fraught feelings over the past few months; the normalcy of the space they're in, the daylight...it goes a long way.]

[And Grey in turn responds to such sentimentality with only the most eloquent of words.]

Oh.

[There may be a faint flush on Grey's face at that moment. This damn, nonchalantly sentimental man-!

It's good to see Manabu in a better mood. But it's another reminder to Grey of how important it is for Manabu to get back to his old life, his family and friends in the SDF.

When the last of the rice has been inhaled Grey glances at the remnants of food on his own plate, then back at Manabu.]

-Are you ready to move on?

Ah...

[move on. the meal starts to sit a bit heavier in him, no longer as delicious as it was mere moments ago. ever the anti-pokerface, Manabu looks somber for a few beats before he double-takes back at Grey and catches himself, straightening up.

he puts his utensils on his now-empty plate and nods.]

Let's do this.

[time to try and set some of this right.

...the things that need to be set right.

Manabu's reminded of the tail with the ache in his spine as he climbs to his feet, reminded of himself as a body with the weight, the tension starting to course back into him. but it's time to go.

though, once outside, he hesitates.

warily:] We...can walk there, right? [not that flying is inconvenient. but--but it makes him nauseous!

and walking is slower.]

[Grey nods. Time to take care of things. Whatever consequences they're going to face for this whole affair, they can expect to face them very soon.

But it's hard not to brood speculatively on those consequences, so Grey is quiet and stern as he sets his cutlery aside and accompanies Manabu to the door. Thinking about where he'll go. Before all this, what had he even been planning on doing next...? And if they get caught at the station...

He notices Manabu hesitating and turns, momentarily concerned.

Oh, walking.]

Right, that's fine.

[Grey's a little concerned about how well Manabu's stamina will hold (one more thing to brood about.) It's a fair bit longer to the train station than it was between here and where they spent the night- but he would prefer Manabu not horf up breakfast, so.]

Just stay close to me.

[At least he can be on hand if Manabu's overestimated himself.]

[having a proper meal and some daylight goes a long way to helping Manabu overestimate how well he is, because in his mind, surely a week or two was enough to recover from everything that can be recovered from - being spoiled by the SDF's advanced emergency care can't help matters; he was up and running minutes after being stabbed multiple times! drugs are great.

drugs are not involved right now, and he feels troubled and annoyed that he doesn't feel as brisk as he needs to be, but to voice complaints now is akin to conceding defeat, and he's not about to do that. and while he notes when Grey slows his steps, it only compels him to work harder to keep a steady pace.

that just brings them closer to the station sooner. along the way, his thoughts are entirely forward and elsewhere, missing the way some bodies seem to be going in the same direction (it's a public train station, why wouldn't people head for it?), keeping up with them.

his heart starts thumping when they reach the building, scanning over it. every station is unique to the city they're in, so not everything is always in the same place. some things are, though.]

There should be an interface terminal inside I can use to send the data and ping Big One. Civilians aren't supposed to use it, so... [he glances up to Grey.] So you think you can keep the officer stationed by it busy for a minute or two?

[Grey's a little more wary of the people around them during the walk over, but it is a public train station indeed. Nobody's acting in a particularly suspicious way or doing more than absently glancing in their direction. Grey does his best not to glower at anyone he sees, aware that they need to keep a low profile. Half his attention is on Manabu anyway, in case the other man starts flagging. It's impressive how steady a pace Manabu manages to keep, really.

The St. Simona train station is bigger than Tabito's, but rather modest for a city this size. A two story, narrow brick building shields a station that consists of three platforms and four tracks. Grey's of the understanding it exists primarily as a requirement for Ruvinagald's connection to the SDF, and the building's a tad shabby without being in actual disrepair. A pair of robots guard the front entrance, the sort that are shaped like floating salt shakers. They aren't stopping anyone from going in, but they could be a problem. Fortunately, Grey knows from experience that they're easy enough to take out when needed.

Manabu speaks, and Grey glances down. In a low voice:]

Peacefully busy? I'll see what I can do.

[He supposes he can keep up a dense tourist facade for the requisite minute or two. Improvise some bullshit about being confused by train schedules or lost luggage.]

[Manabu has to do a belated double-take when "peacefully" busy hits; why did that need clarifying! there's no reason to fight anybody here in public! Jeez...

he'll shake his head a bit, sigh, and square his shoulders. Right. The Big One code is...

...gosh, he hopes he remembers it right; it's been so long! time to try.

he separates from Grey, walking askance of the information station, trying to stay out of direct view of the officer on-duty behind the plexiglass while nearing the terminal he can use to pick out a call. once Grey's engaged the officer, he'll draw near, bypassing the passenger UI with an SDF code. the data stick goes in, the code for Big One tapped in...]

[To be fair, Grey wasn't just thinking of fighting- explosions can also be very distracting things! But he's sure Manabu would rather he behave. So he heads directly towards the information station and makes full use of his size as he leans against the plexiglass with one arm and asks a random question:]

Excuse me, what time does the train to Zoana arrive?

[The employee on duty is a youngish man who had a vague air of boredom that steadily changes into one of flustered irritation as Grey proceeds to ask him a series of questions about the train schedules and how the lost and found works, refuses to let the officer redirect him to any of the passenger terminals or official sites and feigns utter confusion with every bit of technology mentioned, and repeatedly sidetracks the conversation into talking about Grey's (non-existent) sons and the officer's thoughts on having kids. Just really reaching within himself to channel the late Rezo in full Obstructive Old Man mode.

Grey's a good actor and liar, but it takes a lot of effort to seem relaxed. He constantly has to hold back the urge to glance Manabu's way, in case something happens while Grey's not looking. Foolish, really, since he knows he'll hear if something is wrong.

God, how long is it going to take for Manabu to send the data...]

[not that long! he just...needs to remember his password, link this to his ID--]

Ah--

[It's still active... that makes him weirdly emotional. throat tight, he swallows, watching to make sure the transfer completes, then turns and calls:]

Grey, all set over-- [he bristles, seeing the glint of a weapon.]

[Grey perks up at the sound of his name and turns towards Manabu while the officer on duty gives him a confused look. Finally, they can-

It's Manabu's posture and sudden quiet that puts Grey on guard first, and in a split-second his gaze goes to the man standing across from Manabu with an outstretched hand, holding something that glints in the sunlight.

His pulse rate feels as though it triples in speed and a glowing barrier encircles Manabu with Grey hardly even thinking about it. And then, just as it had at the lab, a spike of psychokinetic energy lunges out of the barrier towards the man pointing a gun at Manabu. It pierces the gunman's hand, slicing through his fingers and wrist, cracking the handle of the gun which drops from his shattered hand.

The barrier smooths out and Grey lets the gunman be in favor of dashing towards Manabu. He can distantly hear the officer on duty, the injured gunman, and the other people in the station making noises, but Grey's more concerned about reaching Manabu.

It's a pity he isn't paying more attention, because then he might have realized that the gunman isn't alone. He's nearly at the barrier when he hears a gunshot and feels something hit him in the thigh, making Grey stagger and slam his shoulder into the glowing surface of the barrier.

Grey grunts at the fiery sensation in his leg and the duller pain from the fall, but reshapes the barrier to let him inside and grab at Manabu's arm.]

The terminal- Manabu, did you manage to send the data?

[Jesus Christ, his leg hurts. He belatedly realizes someone managed to shoot him.]

Grey!

[Manabu drops down barely a second after Grey hits the floor, his reflexes to the sound of gunfire to get low and shield others (regardless of any fancy schmancy powers doing just that).

he bends his front over Grey, holding him in place by a shoulder while darting a look around, catching sight of the brazen gunmen being jostled and corralled by security droids and the now-no-longer-distracted officer on duty; it takes a lot of self-control to keep still and not immediately jump in to help apprehend.

with his eyes still glued on the situation:] Are you hit? Tell me where!

[Grey crouches, gritting his teeth. He unthinkingly reaches out a hand and clutches the front of Manabu's shirt while gingerly setting his other hand on top of his thigh. It stings.]

My leg. I can heal it, don't worry about it.

[It will 100% need proper looking at, but the lobby of a train station while there's an active fight going on is not the place for it. Best they can do right now is hold tight while Grey pours healing energy into the injury site, closing up the wound and rapidly knitting blood vessels back together. It takes a lot of focus to do that and keep the barrier up around them at the same time, made harder by the pain being a distraction, but Grey's good at this sort of thing. It isn't long before he feels healed up enough to keep going.

Holding onto Manabu for support, Grey gets back to his feet and casts a glance over at the fracas. Their attackers seem to still be busy- trying to argue with the officer on duty about something.]

I believe it's time we left.

[whether or not Manabu agrees, the odds of that are...not the best. their best (only) bet is stumbling their way along the evacuation route the security droids have already begun urging the handful of other civilians to take. Manabu grits his teeth; the last thing in the world he'd ever do is turn away from fellow officers, and it only gets worse when another officer dashes past them to help.

Why am I running away? I'm...I'm still--]

I need to help them. This is happening because of me.

[Grey was thinking more along the lines of making their own evacuation route; he's more than capable of smashing open a wall. But Manabu apparently has other ideas and Grey gives him a brief double take when the words register.

Should have anticipated this, really. If Grey hadn't thrown the barrier over the two of them then Manabu would probably already be throwing himself into it, between the armed men and the officers that Grey isn't sure they can trust.]

They seem to have it well enough in hand.

[Probably. Nobody's dead yet.]

[Yeah, but--

...but looking after Grey is important, too. he can't just drop him like a rock!

Manabu clenches his jaw and keeps his eyes forward while helping Grey toward the doors, his eyes on the backs of bodies ahead of them that he misses the other malcontents who had been waiting outside to back up their posse.]

[A little bit of tension in his chest loosens. Grey didn't realize he was bracing himself for an argument until he finds himself without one. Instead, Manabu lets Grey lean on him and the two of them start forging their way towards the exit. Manabu keeping his eyes on the civilians ahead, and Grey looking over his shoulder at clash between gunmen and SDF.

But damn, putting weight on that one leg is painful. He suspects that the bullet must've hit a bone, and there'll be shards of loose bone buried inside the wound he forced closed. Grey bites his lip and tries not to limp even as he keeps a hand on Manabu at all times. He'll have to fix that properly later...

From the point of view of certain relevant malcontents, this situation hasn't gone as ideal either. The plan was to wait until the targets were apart, take the smaller man hostage, use that leverage to make the psychic cooperate, and transport both targets to the rendezvous point. But they hadn't been quick enough to take advantage of their first proper opportunity, and now there's a big public scene, the targets are leaving in a bulletproof bubble, one of the gang's disarmed and down a hand, and the local SDF apparently feels obliged to step in.

So one of the more trigger happy gunmen finally gets fed up and aims at the nearest officer.

It's Grey- still keeping an eye on the fighting- who keeps the officer's brains from being splattered across the station wall. When he sees the gunman taking aim he drops the barrier he has around Manabu and himself and reforms it around the officer. There's no real thought behind it, only the knowledge that Manabu would be troubled if anyone got killed.

Some shots slam harmlessly into the barrier before the second officer gets the drop on the gunman and wrestles the weapon from their hand. Grey exhales. Looks like they've meddled enough, and the station door's just ahead. He drops the barrier.]

Come on, let's hurry.

[The sooner they're outside, the sooner they'll be clear to fly off, right? Much like Manabu, he isn't considering the people outside the station.]

[Manabu has to save his breath for moving, so the best he can do for now is flash Grey a quick, grateful smile when he sees the officers spared a sudden, maybe deadly hit.

clearing the threshold into the day where people are bustling and already crowding from the commotion only further conceals trouble looking to poke through.]

Big One should be getting the data any-- [time...

the thought is cut through by the firing of a gun; Manabu assumes the jolting is his own surprise, but when he's quickly begun to list with Grey's weight the realization is fast.]

Grey!

[The sight of the sky overhead is a welcome one, though the crowd around the station- a mix of evacuees and gawkers?- makes Grey antsy. Whatever, it shouldn't be too hard to drag themselves out of the throng and take flight. Grey knows Manabu won't appreciate that, but it'll take the weight off his leg and he doesn't want to be around when the police show up.

Someone fires a gun.

A peculiar numb sensation spreads through his torso, and Grey finds himself sinking towards the ground, rather slower than he would if Manabu hadn't been supporting him. He hears Manabu call his name and with a considerable feeling of apprehension, looks down and touches a hand to his belly.]

What...?

[It's wet. And hot. As milliseconds tick by, the numbness is growing subsumed by a painful heat, as if he's boiling from the inside out.]

A-

[Again?

His chief emotion, of all things, is indignation. It seems completely absurd he should be shot twice (or was it three times?) within a few minutes of each other. And not now, when he's so close to getting Manabu to safety. Why does it have to be now?

It occurs to him that this might actually kill him. The burning heat is slowing his thoughts, but it's not hard to identify the red color that's on his hand, soaking through his shirt, spilling onto the station steps. If he loses too much of that...

Grey's eyes shut and he sinks fully onto his knees, collapsing and curling onto the ground if Manabu doesn't prevent him. Staying upright isn't a priority right now, not when he's pouring everything he has into closing the wounds up.]

Grey! [panic surges as he sees that stain grow, clutching at the sagging body before it can slip entirely out of his arms.] Hang on, Grey! Grey!

[that's surely helpful for the healing process, but Manabu's not thinking about that right now. not thinking at all, really, not when he's this close to another person he cherishes slipping away even though he's right here to--

Stop. Think!

he has to let Grey settle so he has hands to work with, to help staunch the bleeding as he tunes the world back in. his blurring vision sees the swirls of color as bodies are coalescing and separating in the panic to flee from any further gunfire, and there's the high whine of sirens competing with the shouts of authoritative voices. it's all moving off-beat to the hammering of his heart and rapid stutter of his breath.

Calm down, calm down!

he tries. but when he looks back down at Grey's graying, sweat-dappled skin, he feels his fingers starting to tingle and lose that feeling.]

Please don't-- [he clicks his jaw tight to clamp down on the pathetic plea, eyes brimming over. if he gives voice to his thoughts, it'll just manifest the worst, and he can't let it happen. he gulps against the knot in his throat and forces himself to focus on keeping as steady a pressure as his trembling arms allow until rescue teams descend upon the scene.

from there, it's a blur. he may have elbowed an EMT in the face out of reflex before being properly grappled out of the way of responders with steelier nerves and no fraying emotional attachments to panic over. once Manabu can glimpse the uniforms and register the work being done, he stops struggling, his limbs leaden and hearing even more muffled than it already was by the cap.

he's relatively still until he can't see Grey anymore, what with being loaded for transport to a hospital. even reading half the word throws Manabu out of numbness and into fresh panic: No, don't! There's crooked doctors! Staff! They'll put him in the cellar! The evidence, look at the--!

the only coherent thing he hears before a sedative fills his head with cotton is in an unfamiliar, distant-seeming utterance:

"Isn't that...? MIA officer? ...Yuuki-?"

he misses the ride to the emergency room, himself relatively fine but the discovery of his grafted parts leaves a lot of troubled discussion in its wake. he misses the trip back to SDF property, too, but comes to in an unfamiliar room and needs only a few seconds to begin to rile up with worry - but not for himself.]

Where's Grey-?!

[it takes some doing - lots of effort to slow down, back up, recontextualize - but Manabu pleads his case again and again and again...and again, choked with mixed emotions when he does so to a screen filled with the faces of his platoon. the distress is enough to bargain with - nobody's getting a full picture this way - and assurances made. Grey will be moved. Big One will oversee the extraction and ensuing investigation, up until transport back to headquarters at least.

Manabu can't really remember much of anything up until he sees them in person - whether he ate or slept or spoke to anyone, it'd have to be up to the vidfeeds to prove that to him. he simultaneously feels too much and not enough, and it's got him at that point where he numbs all over just to breathe, even when he can feel Louis fiercely hugging him and glimpse Bulge scanning him over with sharp concern.

doing more beyond breathing is much easier in the confines of familiar structure, letting Yuki scan him over and settle him. of course it is - she's pro at this, and she doesn't hesitate to gently remind him of such when insisting he stay put and let her tend to the other. yes, yes, he's here. she leaves him to Louis while she goes to work on what's been stabilized of Grey's condition, her steady and gentle focus what will be there for him when he comes to.]

[We're both getting out of here alive.

He'd said that, hadn't he? Something along those lines. Surely he can at least do that for Manabu, even if they can't stay together. He has to stay alive if it'll banish the distress in Manabu's voice.

Psychic work isn't as draining as blood loss but it does have a cost. It doesn't help that he needs the very blood he's losing in order to heal his wounds. At some point his thoughts burn out entirely, slipping into the dark. He has dim awareness of being touched, of pressure, but he's too lost to find it.

He's not aware of being lifted into the back of an ambulance, nor of being brought to a hospital. Probably for the best, as he'd not cooperate with it if he were conscious. The physicians are surprised to see the state of his gunshot wounds; they're scabbed and scarred over, as if he'd been shot a few days ago instead of forty minutes ago. The discussions over it aren't nearly as troubled as the ones over Manabu's grafted parts, however.

Grey's kept under sedation and given a blood transfusion. This keeps him in the nearest hospital for several hours even after Big One contacts the hospital. He's not ready to be moved for some time. Grey is oblivious to the treatments and the arguments between the SDF, local law enforcement, and hospital staff that go on during this time. Sometimes he floats close enough to the surface to be aware of machinery noise and voices, but his muddled mind isn't able to make sense of anything.

It's late at night before the hospital staff is ready to relinquish Grey to the care of the SDF. He's loaded onto an ambulance once again, driven to the station (currently closed and more heavily guarded than before), and carried onto the Big One. Some of the hospital staff come with in order to help CMO Yuki get Grey set up and pass on information about his condition, but in short order Grey is left entirely in the care of the Big One.

It takes more time for him to wake up properly. The atmosphere of a clinic is a familiar one. Machines beeping, the scents of antiseptics and disinfectants, the sensation of hospital bedding and tubes embracing him. It's a place he's been to countless times in Rezo's memories and many of his own, and it's simultaneously comforting and anxiety-provoking, like visiting the house of an unhappy childhood. When was the last time he was in a hospital environment? It must have been when he went to find Manabu.

Manabu...

His eyes squint open, registering brightness that steadily coheres into a ceiling. He's in a narrow white room, a clinic of some kind. And he's not alone- when he turns his head he can see a person dressed in white, with pale skin and long pale hair that makes her a good match for this white room.

Grey carefully shifts into a sitting position, pinning her with a feral glare.]

Who are you? Where-

[He simultaneously wants to ask Where am I? and Where's Manabu? His heart starts racing as memories from what happened before this, and the awareness that time has passed, start to filter in.]

[used to this manner of unpleasant awakenings (at least he's not thrashing! that's nice.), Yuki takes each concern in stride, laying things out steadily while also checking some active vitals that don't need her to touch him to do so. she's CMO Yuki Sexaroid, he's onboard SDF's Big One, en route to a secondary headquarters closer than Destiny. no, he's not in trouble, but yes, there will be questions asked of him, as he was found in tow with their missing officer, and also would he please present his arm for her to check the IV flow? thank you.]

[Yuki's answers, patient and helpful though they may be, do little to stem the anxiety rising within Grey. His heart is racing, which she may observe on some of the monitors. And when she asks to check his IV, Grey clamps a hand over the spot where it enters his arm and cradles it close to his chest. No cooperation for you!]

Where's Manabu?

[despite the noncompliance, Yuki maintains the patience of a kindergarten teacher. he's on the train, she affirms. he's unharmed. now, if he doesn't mind letting her check, she can ping her crewmate to see if he's up to talk to. maybe. if someone is compliant.]

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