Reunion

[self_named]

A whole year. It hadn’t even occurred to him, actually, until midmorning. He’d been here a year and two days. January 30th, he’d fallen out of the sky and washed ashore on an island from which there was no escape and a year and two days later, it was… Well, it was more home than Earth had ever been, before. Almost as much home as L2 had been,

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[forged_hero]

"no, No, Arnold!" Moist called, clamoring after the puppy Lipwigzer, who had taken off at a sprint as soon as he'd opened opened the door. "Stupid, stupid mut," he muttered savagely, chasing after the dog in barefeet, pajama bottoms, and Ponder's "Actually, I am a Rocket Wizard" tee-shirt and quiet a bit of bed head.

A fifty foot tall armed, metal...thing was not something someone from a pre-industrial revolution world should have to deal with before ten.

The puppy growled at it. Then, the puppy began to mark it. Liberally.

Moist swallowed, hard. "Bad dog, bad dog, you're going to....my gods, are those Gnus?!"

[self_named]

Duo was, it would be fair to say, cackling with pure, unadulterated joy. He whipped past Moist, threw himself against the spike on the machine's foot, hugging it tightly.

"Oh my fucking god i can't believe you're here oh man oh man oh man oh man oh man," he said and promptly climbed onto the foot and launched himself in what was an exceedingly impressive feet of strength and springiness, clutching at the grooves in Deathscythe's wings and starting to scramble up it.

[forged_hero]

"Of course this is yours!" Moist called up to him, standing as far away as he could and still be in earshot. Arnold was looking up at Duo and whining hopefully.

"What the hell is it?" He eyed the many Gnus warily. "Are you certain that's safe?"

[self_named]

"it's mine!" Duo yelled down, "It's my gundam!" then he disappeared behind the folded wings. Seated and shielded it looked like a pod. But the panel slid open for him- always did- and he tumbled into the cockpit and grabbed the joysticks, and laughed.

From Moist's point of view on the beach, it might have been slightly terrifying. There was no whir of machinery. There was no sound of an engine powering up. The eyes set into the machine's face glowed bright green, the color lancing out across the black sheen of its wings. It unfolded, wings spread, reaching upward, casting ashadow on the beach, and the gundam stood. Duo laughed raucously from the cockpit.

"Safe? That depends on who's side you're on!"

[forged_hero]

Eventually, Moist stood back up, brushed dirt and twigs from his clothing and hair and managed to crane his neck back far enough to observe the thing head on.

He had to sheild his eyes to glance up far enough to see Duo looking joyfully psychotic behind a bunch of controls. It wasn't the expression, he would decide later, so much as it was the laughter made him want to talk softly and hid all the knives.

"Your side!" he called quickly, edging forward. "Very much, your side."

"Er, I do realize that this may seem incredibly stupid but...what is it for, exactly?"

Because maybe all the weapons were part of a radical landscaping project. Or perhaps some sort of new age, high risk barber.

[self_named]

"For world peace," Duo said, beaming. Actually, it was for leveling armies, but Moist seemed kind of on end. Duo groaned softly, running his hands over the controls.

"God, I missed you," he sighed, and the gundam took the scythe up in both hands and the two huge, silently crackling beams of green energy lanced forth. he let out another whoop.

[forged_hero]

"Of course," Moist muttered mostly to himself, "Of -ing course."

"Shall I leave alone with him, then?" Moist asked eagerly, edging away. The dog had lowered its head and was growling menacingly at the thing's right foot. "Sounds like you've got some..uhm...catching up to do..."

[self_named]

Catching. Ah hah.

"Nah!" Duo said brightly, taking an experimental swipe at the air. The thermal blades scythe silently through it, leaving a faint shimmering of air in its wake. He turned it off, dispelling the green bars, shouldering the staff. The giant machine knelt and extended a hand, one which four people could have easily stood, Duo grinning with all-too-chirpy friendliness.

"Wanna check out the view?"

[forged_hero]

"It's terrifying enough from here, thank you," Moist called back up, eyeing the huge metal hand warily.

[self_named]

Duo laughed.

"C'mone, Moist, never seen a giant robot before?"