Not all Catastrophes are Earth-shattering...
Lennox was in an oddly pensive mood, finding that he needed to order his own musings, something - something had been clawing at the back of his mind. That earthquake; he’d only been dimly aware of it, engrossed in his own busted ribs and trying to keep the pain in check. Since then, his usual morning runs had become jogs, but he still made his way around the area. As he’d recovered, Will mapped the changed paths around their little ramshackle community. Mechs had gone missing, assumed caught in the cataclysm. Or had those no longer accounted for simply ceased to be… There wasn’t a specific list posted up anywhere, but it seemed that a running tally was going in their collective consciousness.
He wondered if they had died. Will wished he had talked more with Ironhide about the Cybertronian beliefs in the afterlife, if there were some. A depressing thought, the Ratchet he knew was among those that had vanished. And Bonecrusher was gone. He was a bit of a freak, but he had been someone to bicker with. Will took his kicks where he could get them, sometimes.
So if they were gone but not dead, where had they gone? Did they return home? He couldn’t be the only one desperate to return to his original universe, right? The gestalts were missing the rest of their… units. Will was still a little hazy on the depth of that connection, but it was a bond. Ironhide had explained bonds to him. They would need to get back to their home to be whole again. Others had to be missing those they shared bonds with as well, right? Bondeds, families, children, all of them were waiting.
The Ranger wandered toward the most changed area of this world. The rift, it was the epicenter of that earthquake. He followed the glint of water to the edge of the new lake-cum-river. Blackout’s island rose above; a new water body, new island. There seems to have been a number of additions in Nexus-ville recently. One thing that was happening, an influx of new individuals. Their population was growing.
Individuals were still being pulled in by whatever force had brought them here. But aside from those lost in the earthquake and ensuing storms, not many seemed to leave…
Unbidden, a song flickered through his head…
♪ Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before
“Relax,” said the night man,
We are programmed to receive.
You can check out any time you like,
But you can never leave… ♫
Whatever doorway leads here, it sure seemed like a one-way entrance.
“No, no no no…” he muttered, pupils wide in panic and shuffling up to the edge of the water. “I - Can’t stay here. I need to get back. They need me…” Will’s heart rate ratcheted up, pounding beneath bruised ribs. So many of the others seemed content to just live day to day, play with their new buddies and lovers, and the Major simply could not understand.
“I need them…” he choked, retching when his body rebelled at the messages his mind was finally unable to deflect and bury. Healing ribs protested and Will lurched forwards, spitting the bile pooling on his tongue.
He replayed the last time he had seen Sarah and Annabelle. Every goodbye could be the final one, a hazard of the job. Will tried to do things right whenever he was home. Get up early to watch Sesame Street with Annie even if he’s dead tired, hug Sarah close and memorize the smell of her and her perfume, make love to his wife and hold her until she fell asleep the night before a deployment. Never leave angry, always say “I love you…”
The man dropped to his knees and splashed cold water on his face, trying to keep himself from a complete mental break. Will stared at his rippling reflection, “Dammit,” he mumbled, “I didn’t ask for this… I did everything right, didn’t I? Fought to protect my home from a threat no one could even know about… Did… didn’t I deserve to at least not lose all I love in a blink?”
Lennox cupped his hand and washed out his mouth a few times. Scrubbing his wet hand on the back of his neck, he shifted back from the edge of the water and sat down. He pulled the picture of his family from his pocket and stared at it. Sarah, laughing in his arms in all her beautiful glory, and sweet little Annabelle, all the promise of a magnificent woman she would grow into.
“I can’t give up on you, ladies,” he rasped. Honestly, there could be no way out, no way back to his family; he was starting to come to terms with that. But what kept humanity going, no matter how bleak and catastrophic the situation seemed, was hope. “I’ll see you again, I’m not dead. I promise, my ladies,” he said to them. “Just gotta have hope.”
(ooc: Umm, he's far from happy, but entirely willing for someone to happen upon him or chat. [read: distract him before a complete psychotic episode.] Hear him talking to himself and a photograph if you want or not.)
He wondered if they had died. Will wished he had talked more with Ironhide about the Cybertronian beliefs in the afterlife, if there were some. A depressing thought, the Ratchet he knew was among those that had vanished. And Bonecrusher was gone. He was a bit of a freak, but he had been someone to bicker with. Will took his kicks where he could get them, sometimes.
So if they were gone but not dead, where had they gone? Did they return home? He couldn’t be the only one desperate to return to his original universe, right? The gestalts were missing the rest of their… units. Will was still a little hazy on the depth of that connection, but it was a bond. Ironhide had explained bonds to him. They would need to get back to their home to be whole again. Others had to be missing those they shared bonds with as well, right? Bondeds, families, children, all of them were waiting.
The Ranger wandered toward the most changed area of this world. The rift, it was the epicenter of that earthquake. He followed the glint of water to the edge of the new lake-cum-river. Blackout’s island rose above; a new water body, new island. There seems to have been a number of additions in Nexus-ville recently. One thing that was happening, an influx of new individuals. Their population was growing.
Individuals were still being pulled in by whatever force had brought them here. But aside from those lost in the earthquake and ensuing storms, not many seemed to leave…
Unbidden, a song flickered through his head…
♪ Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before
“Relax,” said the night man,
We are programmed to receive.
You can check out any time you like,
But you can never leave… ♫
Whatever doorway leads here, it sure seemed like a one-way entrance.
“No, no no no…” he muttered, pupils wide in panic and shuffling up to the edge of the water. “I - Can’t stay here. I need to get back. They need me…” Will’s heart rate ratcheted up, pounding beneath bruised ribs. So many of the others seemed content to just live day to day, play with their new buddies and lovers, and the Major simply could not understand.
“I need them…” he choked, retching when his body rebelled at the messages his mind was finally unable to deflect and bury. Healing ribs protested and Will lurched forwards, spitting the bile pooling on his tongue.
He replayed the last time he had seen Sarah and Annabelle. Every goodbye could be the final one, a hazard of the job. Will tried to do things right whenever he was home. Get up early to watch Sesame Street with Annie even if he’s dead tired, hug Sarah close and memorize the smell of her and her perfume, make love to his wife and hold her until she fell asleep the night before a deployment. Never leave angry, always say “I love you…”
The man dropped to his knees and splashed cold water on his face, trying to keep himself from a complete mental break. Will stared at his rippling reflection, “Dammit,” he mumbled, “I didn’t ask for this… I did everything right, didn’t I? Fought to protect my home from a threat no one could even know about… Did… didn’t I deserve to at least not lose all I love in a blink?”
Lennox cupped his hand and washed out his mouth a few times. Scrubbing his wet hand on the back of his neck, he shifted back from the edge of the water and sat down. He pulled the picture of his family from his pocket and stared at it. Sarah, laughing in his arms in all her beautiful glory, and sweet little Annabelle, all the promise of a magnificent woman she would grow into.
“I can’t give up on you, ladies,” he rasped. Honestly, there could be no way out, no way back to his family; he was starting to come to terms with that. But what kept humanity going, no matter how bleak and catastrophic the situation seemed, was hope. “I’ll see you again, I’m not dead. I promise, my ladies,” he said to them. “Just gotta have hope.”
(ooc: Umm, he's far from happy, but entirely willing for someone to happen upon him or chat. [read: distract him before a complete psychotic episode.] Hear him talking to himself and a photograph if you want or not.)