75 [Accidental Video]

[marsfireignite]

[Rei is sitting in her fire reading room. She hasn't left it very often since the memory event ended, somewhat obsessed with trying to see glimpses of home through the flames. That and the warmth and fire is a comfort to her -- so she may as well get whatever work she needs to get done finished inside

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[Offline, if it's Ok?]

[buntails]

[Usagi slips into the room and, for once, is quiet as she stays with her back to the wall. She smiles at Rei.]

Hey. Thanks for doing this. Do you want some help?

[She's here to talk about last week.]

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[marsfireignite]

[Last week was horrendous -- or, well, it wasn't. It was waking up and realizing the Animus had yanked part of her away that was the horrendous part. But Rei was trying not to think about it -- hence brainless activity.]

Ah -- no problem. Someone's got to make sure we don't all freeze to death.

[And Rei pushes Youma off of the clothes gently.]

Sure, if you want -- you can sort through that stuff.

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[buntails]

Mm. [She nods, and sits down cross-legged to start sorting, right on the floor, chattering as she works.]

Minako-chan's here now. And Michiru-san is back to normal, too. She remembers us now again.

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[marsfireignite]

Yeah, I know. The orange one is for her.

[Rei gestures to a coat she found before ripping out another seam.]

-- and yeah. I remember everything now, too.

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[buntails]

So it's not as bad now. Rei-chan, we've fought a lot of hard battles, here and back home.

Don't let them change being glad for the peaceful times.

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[marsfireignite]

... it's not that I'm not grateful.

[She frowns down at the coat, working on another seam.]

But I'd rather fight through it with my memories than be blind and peaceful without them.

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[buntails]

[She starts to sort things into a few piles, letting herself relax while she works. Only Usagi could manage both of those at once. Lazy.]

You're right. I'm just saying to be glad we're back to normal now.

What the Animus do isn't forgivable.

[She says 'do' and not 'did'; none of the things the animus have done to affect the people in Adstringendum is acceptable. She knows that.]

But even if I say that, I haven't been able to stop them, either. So what should I do?

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[marsfireignite]

[She pauses in her sewing to look up at her, with a frown.]

The Animus are intelligent. Sentient, I think. I don't know if they can be stopped -- or even if they're the ones that need stopping.

[She runs a hand over the lining of the coat, brow furrowed.]

They were dragged here just like the rest of us. The real people that need to be talked to are the scientists.

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[buntails]

People are still looking for them. With winter coming, it might be harder for awhile, but maybe soon, maybe even in Spring, we can find them. And start to fix this.

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[marsfireignite]

If we're all still here, anyway.

[It's something to keep in mind, always, and Rei purses her lips as she carefully begins to stitch in the lining into Castiel's coat.]

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[buntails]

[She winces visibly, but there's no protest that she doesn't want to think about that or not to say it.]

If we have to be here, I want it to still be together. Even if it's wrong of me, I keep feeling that way.

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[marsfireignite]

We work best when we're together.

[It's said without hesitation.]

But I can't leave here -- a lot of people can't leave here -- until we figure out --

[She frowns to herself.]

I can't leave here unless we have our memories with us. All of them. For everyone.

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[buntails]

[She nods; agreement. And mingled with the seriousness of their words, it still feels good to be in one accord again.]

I can't just leave this situation like this. I want everyone to be free. And I don't want them to lose what happened here.

Rei-chan, we forgot our past back home, more than once. Don't you think we can find a way to undo it again? If Luna was here... she might know, just like she gave back our memories last time.

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[marsfireignite]

I don't know. The Animus are something new -- I don't think even Luna can control that amount of power.

[Losing her own memories is a small price to pay compared to what other people would lose. Castiel needs his memories when he returns home or else he will go insane in his future.]

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[buntails]

[If Ami were here... But she isn't. They have to do without their clear-thinking strategist who might be able to come up with a plan.

Then Usagi thinks of something herself.]

Rei-chan, if we find an idea, we can test it. I went home and came back. If we can make me really, clearly remember the time before... We might have the way to remember here when we leave for real, too.

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[marsfireignite]

... we could try. But messing with memories is dangerous, Usagi. It might cause something else to break -- and trying to dodge the Animus has gotten people killed before.