Day 4 ☀ Digging through my own muscles for a clue
Who: Ichigo ( savior_n_black ), Shiro ( holeheart ), Rukia snowwhitesoul ) AND POSSIBLY MORE LATER?
What: Ichigo, and Shiro's powers finally force them to merge back into a single soul.
When: Day 4, early
Where: Middle of the city
Warnings: Language, violence, minor body horror?
( Hoping I can clear the way by stepping through my shadow, coming out the other side. )
What: Ichigo, and Shiro's powers finally force them to merge back into a single soul.
When: Day 4, early
Where: Middle of the city
Warnings: Language, violence, minor body horror?
( Hoping I can clear the way by stepping through my shadow, coming out the other side. )
Rinzler sees it coming this time, and the panic's less overwhelming. He still twitches unhappily as he's grabbed, silent rumble uneven and discomforted. He doesn't like this-the contact, the uselessness. If he'd known what the hollow was thinking, Rinzler would be in utter agreement. Ichigo shouldn't be doing this.
But he's not able to argue. The program stares sideways, gives an ineffectual tug to get loose, and (mostly) resigns himself to being helped. He hesitates, an edge of quiet unease (fear) twisting through his processing-then shuts down most of his nonessentials.
Combat function and external awareness drop, hastening the reset and leaving power for basic motion and diagnostics. He hates it-feels blind and defenseless while held (trapped), at a time more than any other he needs to move, fight. But he'd be equally useless in battle while barely able to stand. And worse than that if they decide to hurt him. The best he can do at the moment is work to restore function-and be as little burden as possible while doing so.
Rinzler hates being weak.
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Oi, don't make a fuss, or else I really WILL pick you up, and carry you.
Princess style, and everything. So deal with being half-held, half-dragged up the sides of the crater to Shiro's current scenting of the air.
I'd say take you to the Clinic, too, but I don't think it would help you.
Being that, you know, Rinzler wasn't flesh, and blood, and sure as hell did not have the sort of reiatsu that Ichigo was used to sensing. Rukia had spoken a little bit about the concept of 'Programs' through her friendship with Quorra...but Ichigo rather doubted the guy who fixed Quorra's code would be willing to help Rinzler in any way shape or form.
For now, they'd take him along, heading for the beach, and figure out what to do later.
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Shiro rolls his eyes, still trying to scent out something. But the smell of blood, and a strange smell like burning silicon, is keeping him from smelling anything too specific. So he just stands back up and jerks his thumb.
I can't smell anything except that crashed machine. Let's head towards the beach.
The dead snake nearby gets another chunk of meat and the attached bone ripped out of it for the road. And with that, he starts walking in that direction, eating the chunk of meat slowly as he walks.
If he slows us down, we're leaving him.
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But he doesn't resist as the user gets him up, out of the crash area. No point wasting energy-particularly not when it would delay restoring function. Though basic sensory perception is still running, the program's focus is largely inward: diagnostics, regulation, activity fading dark before resetting, realigning. It's not an issue of derezz, just instability. Misalignment. And repair won't come quickly, but as the initial shock fades, things should normalize somewhat.
Some sensation's returning already, internal awareness steadying dimly. From sensation to control. To being able to move, act. Fight.
He needs that.
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Not being mean, but Shiro is the one going on about how he, and Ichigo are the same. If Ichigo was slowed down a bit by helping out someone else, then he trusted Shiro to get to the beach faster. And to take care of Lior.
But, now that they're clear of the crash sight, Ichigo is doing his best to avoid the rubble of buildings, and places where the street itself had been broken open.
Damn, a two way turn. Ichigo frowns, then takes the left street? Man this was easier to navigate from above. It's narrow here, and a streetlight that was long since shattered leaves hardly any light to see by at all.
...It might account for the webbing put up between the crumbling remains of the buildings actually.
Shit.
Well, from locusts to walking straight into a spider nest. Hundreds of eyes looked out at them from the shadowed alley ways, and more still from the crumbling remains of buildings. From left to right the long hissing call went up, and several of the 'smaller' ( relatively speaking since a motorcycle is smaller than a mack truck ) spiders were skittering down over the rubble.
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Shiro wasn't going to leave Ichigo behind, after all. For Ichigo's protection... and for his own. If he had to, he would grab Ichigo and run, leaving that damn gimpy program.
The Hollow alternates between running in front of them, and taking up the rear.
Dammit! Ichigo! We gotta split, we can't take these guys! There's too goddamn many!
Leave the program and run! Shiro grabs a hold of Ichigo's arm and yanks him in the opposite direction. Come on! Please!
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And he will not be a weakness.
Functions snap back to activity. He's by no means running normally, but even the few minutes of relative inactivity have helped. As Shiro yanks in one direction, Rinzler jerks his arm free from behind the user, slips down, to the side. He hits the ground less carefully than he'd like, impact jarring through still-unsteady code. He ignores it, rolls aside-away. He can move, and if it's not as fast or well as he might like... that doesn't matter now. Can't.
He doesn't look away from his evasion, from the threats-Rinzler needs all the focus he can gather-but the helmet tips slightly towards the others, jerks back, away. He'll retreat on his own. Go.
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Gritting his teeth, Ichigo yanks free of both, and just as he's turning to make a grab at Rinzler, feet automatically sliding into a defensive stance -- he sees it.
A Warded Circle! A faintly glowing bubble of reiatsu ( what the wizard called 'magic' ) just beyond the webbing that crisscrossed the street. The spiders were closing in on them, though. They had to run.
No one's getting left! DEAL WITH IT!
And by deal with it, Ichigo means blurring after Rinzler's retreating form, using a quick burst of extra speed to get in front of the program, and all but tackle him around the middle. He figures that Rinzler can punch him for it later, but towing the injured program thrown over one shoulder, Ichigo is making a break for that Warded Circle.
The circle! Shiro, it's one of Dresden-san's circles! Get over the glowing lines!!
Because Ichigo all but dives over the threshold to land in an ungainly heap with the program right along with them. It's A bit like crossing an invisible force field. It does no harm to anyone in need of them - especially Resistance members - but it's a wall that the spiders can not cross. They can't even see it, smell it, or touch it, but it's doing a great job of keeping them out.
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"Dumbass! Why can't you ever listen!!" Shiro pulls his sword from his back and slashes as a spider that gets too close. "Go away!!"
Well, that was convenient. When Ichigo makes a break for it, so does Shiro, diving into the warded area and scraping his elbows pretty badly in the process. But it was worth it. The spiders ram against the wall created by the circle, but are unable to break it. The Hollow pants heavily, staring out of the damn circle....
Then kicks Ichigo in the gut.
"Stupid bastard!!! One of these days we're all gonna die, and IT'S GONNA BE YOUR FAULT!"
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There's a burst of new surprise (panic) as the grab shifts to a yank, Rinzler's sideways momentum entirely ignored as the user tugs him forward, carries him across the dimly glowing barrier. Rinzler's still twisting away, an edge of desperate frustration joining the efforts as they tumble past the boundary, because it doesn't matter what kind of shielding they've got, this many-
what?
The threats are stopped. Not passing, not eating away at the encrypted barrier. He doesn't-this isn't normal.
The program stares, brief lockup of incompatible data before a jerk of motion breaks him out of it. The hollow's... oh. Rinzler takes the kick as an opportunity to disentangle himself from Ichigo, mask angling with frustration even as he carefully stays within the boundary. He's not inclined to argue with Shiro.
Even if this had kept him from derezz.
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Ow! Look, we'd have never made it, anyway...this way is better.
The thirty foot in diameter circle kept the spiders back, yes, but once the arachnids started to try, and push against the warded circle's boundaries, they found there was no getting in. They could not see, smell, or feel the barrier itself as anything other than magic.
Certainly some were very frustrated, and attempting to rear up to examine the barrier with forelimbs. But, to no avail.
...Damnitt that really hurt. Look, just wait here for a while. See? They're losing interest in us, and soon we can make a break for it that might actually WORK!
Sitting up, Ichigo looked around at the way the buildings had been broken, or destroyed completely on this street corner. Webbing all over the place...but not on the asphalt itself. If they could just get out of here, they could ( hopefully ) quietly slip away toward the beach.
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Shiro was about sick of all this crap, to be honest. And he was sick of bringing that gimped glowy freak along. He didn't have the same limitless compassion that Ichigo did; his protective instinct extended to immediate family and loved ones ONLY. Rinzler did not fit into that little paradigm.
He gives Ichigo a look, then speaks to him through the connection so only he can hear;
We should leave him. He'll be safe here, and time is tickin' away for us to get to Lior.
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Rinzler may not be able to hear Shiro's suggestion, but it falls pretty well in line with what he's been (silently) suggesting since the crash. At Ichigo's words, the program looks up, glances to the others, and jerks his mask ahead, away. They can make a break for it. His systems are still recovering, and he could use the time here.
They're the ones with a purpose. And Rinzler's far more frustrated with being a weakness than Shiro (or anyone) could be with being slowed by him.
Actually... The program reaches back, undocks his weapon from behind and splits it-still sitting relatively motionless. The helmet cocks towards Ichigo. He'd recognized this barrier. Did he know if internal attacks would disrupt it?
If not, Rinzler wouldn't mind some target practice while he waits.
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I wouldn't do that if I were you. See those weird glowing marks on the ground?
Ichigo pointed at said runes. They were very softly illuminated, but still noticeable. Especially since there were three concentric rings of them, each a little smaller than the last.
Dresden-san told me about these things. When we cross those lines, it activated. Nothing can get us. But the second that one of us crosses those lines again? The circle breaks, and they can get at us.
As for the rest, Ichigo just scowls at Shiro, and stands up himself. There's plenty of room inside one of these circle-things, and Ichigo was busy looking at the buildings, the downed streetlamp on the corner right next to them. Damn, it all looked like a warzone....
...But after a few seconds, he looked up. Above them, there was the broken eaves of the edge of a building, but that was all. No webbing. No spiders. Just clear, if black, sky.
Still looking up, Ichigo only had to feel it for Shiro to feel it too; No. I'm not leaving anyone behind.
Lior wouldn't want us to pass up someone who needed help, just to get to her a few minutes faster. John, and Tavros, and Sora were on their way, too.
And right now, Ichigo had to trust in the strength of his friends. He had to.
But, walking from one side of the circle to another, Ichigo was also noticing that the spiders were starting to drift away again. Some skittering back toward their nests. Some seemed to be prodding around the perimeter, trying to see where their prey might have gone. Right now, the hollow, the human, and the program were all but invisible to the spiders.
Ichigo looked up again, frowning.
...Can you shunpo, Shiro?
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Why can't we just leave him! He'll be safe here! He doesn't NEED our help anymore!
But it didn't seem like any logic Shiro used would get through to Ichigo.
You're an idiot and I'm about to leave without you. Putting yourself in danger for the sake of some nitwit we barely know... You have no priorities at all! Usually Shiro deferred to Ichigo's "wisdom", but this time he wasn't having any of it. The Hollow growls and paces back and forth like an angry tiger.
He follows Ichigo's eye up to the top of the building.
No, idiot. I'm a Hollow. Hollows don't shunpo. I can perform some Sonido, probably enough to get up there.
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He's tired of being useless. Furious at being a burden. And wholly, utterly sick of not being permitted to be anything else.
This isn't how things work.
The program pushes the rest of the way upright-straighter, actually, than he's stood before, though the difference doesn't register in his processing. His disks stay in his hands, and the mask fixes on the user, pale blue lights almost steady for a moment. And he tries something he knows he shouldn't.
"Go."
'leave-stop doing this (stop trying), STOP it'
'not weak (not useless)-fine alone (always)-won't LET you-(rather derezz)'
'hate this, hate you (doesn't make sense)-not yours'
'(not meant to be protected)'
If Rinzler's processing was ever intact enough for simple response, that kind of calm has long since shattered. Fragments cut through-in parts and pieces of varying comprehensibility, quick and edged. There's far more than just words-slices of fury and panic and need to move, get away. Rinzler hates being trapped, hates being weak (broken). And that comes through too.
The Teneka cuts as abruptly as it started, and the program's just standing there. Grip rigid on his weapons, glare invisible behind the helmet, but utterly intent. It doesn't matter if he's slower, more damaged, if he were on the verge of shutting down. He's not letting the user keep doing this.
(They have people worth protecting).
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