Seaside, Reality's Theater [open :D]

[ex_gunholic964]

There were merits in coming to the beach to sulk.. or simply to think. Lumine was unsure which he was doing-- the strange, cold upwelling of disappointment after his foray into the Nexus felt almost alien, and yet Axl's steady presence in the back of his mind was still quiet, deeply asleep after he'd pushed himself to the limits of exhaustion

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[secrets_navi]

Ally was down on the sand with her flag bag, watching the familiar purple and spiky brown heads bobbing in the water.

She smirked and called out to the swimmers.

"Water battles at high noon? Is this a new training exercize I should know about?" she teased.

[hikari_netto]

"Of course it is," Netto said. He was trying to sound innocent, but the grin on his face ruined the effect. "If you get in the water, we'll show you." He didn't let go of Lumine, though. Wasn't going to unless Ally actually got in the water. Why give up a free ride any sooner than he had to?

[ex_gunholic964]

Lumine was watching a few enterprising fish swimming underneath them as Netto spoke, and looked up to see who would be joining them, still smiling faintly. He brought them a little bit closer to shore to avoid a few jellyfish that were floating nearby. The stings couldn't hurt him, but he did have to think of the child on his back.

[secrets_navi]

"Some of us are working, Netto," she stuck her tongue out at him, checking the tracker she used to find Missy's flags. "I've got to pick these things up and get back to a project," Axl's project, in fact. "But maybe I-" she looked at the tracker, gaged the distance the 'ping' was from her and grimaced. "Damnit."

Ally pulled off her sundress and sent it to data storage, revealing a green bathing suit. She clipped the tracker to a strap of the bag and set it down on the sand.

"Flag in the water," she informed them tiredly as she trod out into the breakers.

[hikari_netto]

"Want us to help you look for it?" Netto asked, ever helpful. He wasn't certain how well he'd be able to find it if it was underwater or if it had drifted out too far, but he thought he'd offer. Plus, it was an excuse to spend time with both Lumine and Ally.

[ex_gunholic964]

Lumine chuckled, swimming back towards shore. "It wouldn't be a problem."

[secrets_navi]

She tracked the approximate number of steps to the point where the flag should have been and began digging her feet into the soft sand.

“If you don’t mind, I don’t mind,” she said cheerfully. The water was nearly up to her ribcage at the lowest point of the waves. If she could get the flag without soaking her hair, she would. Reploid or not, it took time to dry.

She raised an eyebrow at Axl when he came near. “New look?” she asked, keeping her voice neutral. Her impulse was to grimace at the red eyes, but if he'd done it deliberately, she didn’t want to insult him.

[hikari_netto]

Netto blinked in confusion at the comment. It couldn't apply to him, so she must be talking to Axl, but Axl looked the same as he had for weeks, maybe months now. "You haven't seen his purple hair before?" he asked as he let go of Lumine's neck. He was too short to reach the bottom without becoming completely submersed, so he tread water as he cast about for the missing flag.

[ex_gunholic964]

"Something like," Lumine said neutrally, before diving underwater to look for the flag. Being underwater meant not having to talk much-- their shared voice had been steadily creeping towards Lumine's accustomed register as things reset themselves to be easier on the new "logged-on" user, so to speak. And Ally recognized him.. not pleasantly, if some of Axl's memories were to be believed.

[secrets_navi]

Something like. Something like Axl trying something new- or something like having a relapse?

Ally forced her face into a more easy expression. Her hand twitched under the water. Go for the gun... or not?

"So how long have you two been out here?" she asked Netto, grinning wanly. She sucked at putting on a brave face. He was still acting nicely. The red eyes didn't necessarily mean anything.

After all... Axl began acting strangely long before he showed his true colors.

[hikari_netto]

"I dunno," Netto said. "Maybe an hour or two. I've kinda lost track of time." Was that a piece of floating cloth in the water? Netto swam over to it, only to find that it was just a piece of seaweed. "Hey, Axl! How long were we playing?" He didn't know if "Axl" could hear him under water, but he was a mechanical, so it was worth a shot.

[ex_gunholic964]

Lumine surfaced after a few more moments before proferring the flag, which had bent in the middle, to Ally.

"We've been playing for an hour and a half," Lumine said as he brushed sopping bangs out of his face with his free hand, nose a little wrinkled in irritation at the way the water dripped into his eyes and blurred his vision a little.

[secrets_navi]

"Thank you," she said, taking it.

An hour and a half and nothing happened. Netto seemed fine... Ally smiled a little, awkwardly again.

"I remember the last time I was de-flagging the beach and found you there. Jax was here instead of Netto. Odd symmetry," she murmured. His voice sounded a little off- in an uncomfortably familiar way.

Should I pull a gun this time?

[hikari_netto]

Well, with the flag found, there really wasn't much point for Netto to stay out in the water. He was a little too worn out to play now, so he started swimming toward the shore. "What do you mean, symmetry?" he asked?

[ex_gunholic964]

"It's not important," Lumine said softly, following Netto's lead. He didn't need to have any weapons pulled on him, especially since he still had the task of getting back into Hunter Headquarters to achieve.

[secrets_navi]

Ally shrugged at Netto, wading behind them towards the shore.

"It was the first time I'd seen Axl with purple hair and red eyes," she said mildly. "They're not his natural color."

He was uncomfortable. ...Axl would have teased me by now. She wished Netto weren't there- she'd have asked what the hell was going on. That wasn't Axl... was he still in there at all? She felt cold- and not because her skin was wet now.