No one wants a broken doll...

[notsamskeeper]

ooc: follows THIS and then THIS.The glitches had happened the moment Dean drove away without his brother. But he didn't blame Sam for them. Sam didn't put the tech into his head. Dean should have already known that when something was dead or broken, it was better off that way, and he shouldn't try to fix it

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[there_isame]

Echo had gone to check the weapons cache and see what was left, in case they needed it, while Adelle had gone to check what they had in ways of food and other supplies. Topher was a genius, but not everything happened at the speed of light. He would need some time to figure things out and get things perfect -- especially when he was figuring out people's brains.

When she returned from the weapons cache, placing a few spare rifles in the chair room, she spotted Bravo practicing Tai-Chi in the entryway. It wasn't something she was unfamiliar with, and to be honest, she missed it a little. There was something about the routine of the house that was soothing, even in the face of everything else out there. Shedding her jacket quietly, she draped it over one of the guns she had placed in the open area of the house, before making her way over to him slowly.

"Would you mind if I joined you? I think I could use it."

She was careful. She knew Dean didn't care for her, and at this point she didn't blame him, but she was also someone who attempted to fix what she had broken, and here she had certainly done some damage.

[notsamskeeper]

Bravo looked up at her, a smile coming to his face at his "sister" a moment before it dropped as Dean responded in his head with what he wanted to tell Echo to do. But Bravo pointed out that Echo was trying to help and that he was her friend. Dean muttered something and Bravo sighed, then nodded to Echo.

"I believe the phrase is that it is a free country." Bravo smiled a bit, having started to learn to joke a bit from Dean. "As long as you promise not to punch me this time."

[there_isame]

"I only punched you because you shot me first," she said with a bit of a smirk, before settling in next to him. She had managed to patch up the shoulder in the car ride, and it had been a through and through, so she would manage. It was still a little sore as she moved, but it was the kind of pain she could work through.

"I missed you, after you left the house," she said slowly as she moved through the motions. "It wasn't the same when it was just the three of us."

[notsamskeeper]

"Neither of us were in control at that point. Though Dean will state he is not sorry the trance did that to you."

Bravo went into the motions, his not as smooth as Echo's from lack of practice, but it was nice. "I have missed all of you. It is not the same now, though. I am not me."

[there_isame]

Echo nodded, before pushing through each motion as she went. "Caroline wasn't thrilled when I told her I was in charge. She's a new addition, and I'm still trying to get her to assimilate with the others. I'm afraid that that was a lot of Caroline when I was dealing with you earlier. She's -- an idealist. She doesn't like it when people sit back and do nothing."

[notsamskeeper]

"Dean is the one in charge. He is just too broken sometimes to work, so I help him until he is again." Bravo moved a bit as he got quiet, Dean getting loud again because he did not want Bravo telling Echo about his life.

They will know when you tell Sam and Topher. I can at least explain to her in a way we think.

"Dean does not like you," Bravo said after a moment. "But it is not you, but the idea of you and what you make Sam do that he hates more."

[there_isame]

She glanced over his shoulder at him, confused. "I don't know what you mean. I don't make Sam do anything. I didn't even ask to have him as my handler -- I was surprised when I saw that it was him, after Boyd got promoted."

The thought of Boyd still stung, hard and fast, and she wasn't sure how much she was willing to tell about that at the moment, but she just pushed it to the side, continuing to move through the motions.

"And he's not broken. Well, not really -- he's just different. Like me. Like Alpha." She was hesitant to admit it, given what Bravo may or may not remember about Alpha, but it was the truth. "Topher can help. He understands it now."

[notsamskeeper]

Bravo was quiet again, then sighed. "Sam did things before because he cared for another woman who was bad and made him do bad things. Because of that, Dean had to destroy himself to save him. Sam left him again for you, and now this has happened. He does not have the same strength anymore to save him again and is mad at you because he believes it is your fault."

Bravo shook his head. "He is very stubborn on that. He is not happy we are friends." And then he looked at his hands a moment. "Am I going to become like Alpha then?" he asked softly.

Dean's fear was becoming that demon that lurked inside. Bravo understood because he remembered when his friend Alpha went crazy and left, and then came back to hurt Echo. He did not want to become that and hurt people.

[there_isame]

And suddenly things made much more sense. Dean probably wasn't told all that much about Echo's situation when Sam left him, and so Dean was just left to jump to his own conclusions. And she knew what happened when people jumped to conclusions based on past history. Bad things happened.

"Sam is not looking to be saved this time," Echo replied, stopping what she was doing and turning to face him more. "He wants to do the saving. That's why he reached out to Dean. He doesn't want you to get hurt, he wants to take care of you."

She paused again for a moment, before moving forward and placing her hands in his. "And you won't be Alpha. Alpha let the imprints control him. But there is a way to control them. It takes practice, but you can do it."

[notsamskeeper]

Bravo winced as he felt Dean lash out inn his head and he closed his eyes, trying to calm Dean down. "He does not want to believe you. He's in a lot of pain."

Bravo looked back into Echo's eyes, squeezing her hands. "I think our head is too injured to let him. He has tried. He did good for a long time. But it now hurts too much for him."

[there_isame]

"I know," she said softly, bringing one hand up to his face lightly. "Sam should be here within the day. Adelle said he was taking Paul, Priya and Tony -- Victor and Sierra, I mean -- to South Dakota to stay with a friend of yours. Bobby? And then he and Topher would head back to LA. He says they'll be safe there."

She leaned in after a moment, sliding her arm around his shoulders. "They'll find a way to stop the pain. If anyone can do it, it's Topher."

[notsamskeeper]

"I just need a treatment and it will stop," Bravo said, confused a bit at the affection but he leaned into it a bit and then tilted his head.

"Are Victor and Sierra like us too?"

[there_isame]

"No," she said softly as she pulled away. "They're just them. Their original personalities put back in their bodies." She paused for a moment as she considered this. "And just in case you see her again, her name is Priya. Victor isn't choosy as to what she responds to, but Sierra doesn't like it when she's referred to by her active name. She ... never really wanted to be one in the first place."

[notsamskeeper]

"Oh."

He considered this a moment, and felt a mental shoulder squeeze from Dean. He knew what that meant then. They would not remember him. Just like he should not be hear to know who they were. Or Echo or Alpha.

"I will miss them too. They will not even know me now. Dean was right - it is not a good feeling when you lose people in your life."

He looked at the floor, then straightened himself up because he needed to be the strong one for him and Dean and he could not miss his friends right now. "It has been a long drive. I am going to take a shower now and find my bed again. Let me know when Sam is here?"

[there_isame]

"I will," she nodded. "There should be clean clothes still, if you wish to change."

[notsamskeeper]

"I believe I will. We have not done laundry in awhile."

He nodded again and looked around as if trying to remember which way to go, and then he left to find the showers. He wasn't embarrassed as he stripped his clothing off and left them on the seat to step under the warm water. He closed his eyes, letting the water wash along his face as it tried to soothe the headache that was in the back of his head.

I'm sorry you have lost all your friends. I know the feeling and it sucks.

"Echo is still my friend," Bravo whispered softly as he started to wash his body. "She is like us. That is why Sam stayed."

I won't believe it until Sam tells me. There was a pause as Dean thought a moment. But I guess she isn't as bad as I imagined. She's no where near as bad as Ruby.

"Just give her a chance. She really does want to help."

That was the end of the conversation, and now clean Bravo walked naked to grab a towel, and then to where the clean clothes were. He went to find his bed, then stopped as he saw the piles of books that were starting to surround one of the beds. He tilted his head, confused, then went to his bed and crawled down into it before pressing a button to let the screen cover him so it blocked out the light and he could just get some sleep.

Bravo wondered to himself if it would be him waking up, or if when that time came, Dean would be healed enough and wake up himself. He actually hoped it would be Dean, because Bravo wanted some time to himself now.