(Untitled)

[thepizzalord]

A man enters the Nexus, clad in futuristic black armor, a small golden hexagon over his heart. A collapsible shotgun and pistol are slung across his waist and hip respectively, and a gleaming silver sword is strapped to his back alongside a long, rune-carved stick. The full-sized staff in his hand is topped with strange symbols that blaze a faint

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[nochancesleft]

Molly is leaning up against the wall, blue hair pushed back from her face. *

"Yeah. Yeah, I have. And ... no. That I haven't. But I didn't pick the right side. The right side picked me."

She smiles, but her eyes are downcast toward her blue checkered VANS.

*[[OOC: Molly split from Canon as of Proven Guilty, and it's only been a few months since that book that she's found the Nexus. Certain things are, as a result, still chafing a bit.]]

[thepizzalord]

Harry is slightly startled, but happy to see his wayward apprentice. "Hey, grasshopper! It's good to see you."

She has no idea how good.

[nochancesleft]

"Always good to see you too, boss," Molly says with a one-sided smile through her hair. "How's it goin'?"

She knows this Harry isn't her Harry, but the vibe is so similar she can't help but smile and be charmed.

[thepizzalord]

Harry is suddenly self-conscious of his decidedly non-twenty-first century getup, and he fidgets a little. "Oh, you know... boy meets girl, boy falls for girl, girl takes boy back to her kickass future spaceship. Boy and girl take on eldritch abominations threatening the galaxy."

[nochancesleft]

Molly widens her eyes and nods. "Wicked," she pronounces, smile widening. "So, what, you decided the whole undead T Rex thing was not the most awesome thing ever and you had to one up yourself?"

[thepizzalord]

Harry makes a face. "It'll make a better story when I figure out if we're going to get our asses kicked. War's not going so well right now."

Which is rather an understatement.

[nochancesleft]

Molly gives a little amused snort. "You have to figure out if you're gonna get your ass kicked?"

She chokes back more laughter. "Sorry. Where I'm from, boss, you are always the one doing the kicking of the ass. It just doesn't parse that it might turn out otherwise." An unsubtle reminder. "You got the sword knights with you?"

[thepizzalord]

"Don't get smart with me, grasshopper," he warns her, unable to quite restrain a grin.

He shakes his head. "Haven't even seen anyone else who uses swords since I left Earth. Well, besides mine." He reaches up and pats the hilt of the silver sword sticking up above his shoulder. It's not one of the Swords of the Cross, just an ordinary silver Warden's sword, but it is genuinely attuned to him. Long story.

"I do have the backing of a pseudomilitary group at the moment, so that's something. Space guns. Very cool."

[nochancesleft]

Harry grins; Molly's grin goes wider.

But only for a moment as he explains he's fighting a war with no Sword Knights. And then, wait, what? "You left earth?" Some of the color drains from Molly's face. She sincerely hopes if there's a Molly he left behind that said Carpenter girl still has possession of her head. Gulp.

"Space guns, yet," she says, glad for something else to talk about and think about. "So ...like, in space, do you get to fling gravity spells?"

[thepizzalord]

"I didn't have a choice, exactly. I've been bounced around alternate realities for a while, and it's just not the same, you know?" Part of his happiness at seeing her is due to the fact that, according to his Murphy (who he only saw briefly), his Molly had gone missing. He's pretty sure he knows what that means, in light of his own sudden disappearance from that reality.

He gives her a slightly forced smile. "No gravity spells yet. I'm still working on the mechanics of launching magic attacks from a cruiser in the first place. 's a lot easier since apparently future tech doesn't explode when I'm nearby."

[nochancesleft]

"Really -- multiple realities, plural?" Molly asks inquisitively. "I only know about the Ways. Never set foot in one except for this one, which I found walking out of the bathroom when I washed the dye out of my hair that one time." Her Harry apparently made it a condition of her apprenticehood for awhile -- though he's relented since her hair's blue again.

"Oh, wow, that must be nice -- to not have to worry about the life support suddenly deciding you breath methane and ammonia rather than oxygen," Molly says with genuine relief. "I'm glad you're doing okay."

Her Harry? Well, okay is kind of a sliding scale.

[thepizzalord]

"Rifts through time and space, yeah. Nasty little things. Flings you anywhere and anywhen. If you ever see a big swirling purple and green thing, don't touch it. Just don't."

"I like breathing," he agrees with a shiver. "It's underrated as a hobby." It's not a joke. Only a few short months ago, he walked through the SSV Normandy as it ripped apart like a tin can, and he watched Shepard's body get blasted out into the vacuum of space.

[nochancesleft]

Molly listens with the perk-eared attentiveness that has been her hallmark since realizing what she -- and her Harry -- stand to lose if she doesn't take the apprenticeship seriously.

"Purple and green swirlies. Bad. Got it." No hint of humor as she mentally tucks away Harry's warning.

Harry shivers and Molly impulsively reaches out to hug him, despite the armor. "You're still breathing. That means the bad guys haven't won yet, right?"

[thepizzalord]

Harry hugs her back without hesitation, mindful of any pointy or pokey bits where armor plates meet. God, he's missed hugs. With anybody. Cerberus aren't exactly the touchy-feely sort.

"There are some days I wonder, kid."

[nochancesleft]

"I don't," Molly says, letting the hug linger as long as Harry wants, since he seems to have been low on his hug quota of late. "You're good people. You make hard choices, but you always follow your heart, and your heart never leads you wrong, not since I was a little bit."

"Everyone in your life knows this -- one of these days, maybe you'll believe us."

[thepizzalord]

Harry finally pulls back, still looking uneasy. "I hope you're right. This time, it might not be enough."

He attempts to make it look like he's not dwelling on it. "So. How are... things?"