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!"

[words_of_god]

Lyra's already standing next to the giant robot, trying to figure out what exactly it is. A vehicle, a weapon, maybe an agent of some kind? She runs the palm of her hand along its smooth surface, barely registering the joyous whoop.

[self_named]

Duo literally skidded to a halt beside her, panting, looking up at Deathscythe. He didn't have tears in his eyes, but he looked as though he should have.

"Oh, man," he gasped, panting, "beautifuly, innit?"

[words_of_god]

Lyra fixes the man with a level gaze, almost calculating. It's a moment before she answers, taking the time to consider his question. Humans seem to place a lot on aesthetics, and it is the closest thing to home she's seen so far.

"Yes," she says, looking back to the machine with a nostalgic smile. "Is it a ship of some kind?"

[self_named]

"Yeah," Duo said, practically a groan, and staggered forward to drop to kneeling at the great machine's foot, reaching out and placing his hands on the cool metal.

"Yeah, it's a mobile suit. It's my mobile suit."

[flyboy_shepp]

During the earlier part of John's jog, the giant robot hadn't actually been there. He thought he'd remember something that huge. He jogged to a stop in front of it, neck straining as he looked up and up and still couldn't figure out what the hell it was or (and these were his Pegasus instincts kicking in) if it was going to come alive and kill them all.

You never really knew, with giant robots.

[self_named]

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" said Duo, running past John at the kind of sprint that left burn marks on the ground and launched himself at the machine, leaping from its foot to the edge of the wing, swinging himself up, laughing hysterically the whole time.

[flyboy_shepp]

John just barely dodged Duo he ran by, not entirely surprised. He watched with a wary eye for about two seconds before breaking into a grin when he realized Duo knew what it was -- or that it belonged to him, which might have been even better.

"HEY!" he yelled up before Duo got too high, "IS THIS YOUR GIANT ROBOT THING FROM HOME?"

[self_named]

Duo hesitated at the top of the wing, looked down, braid trailing behind him, and grinned.

"YEAH!" he called back, then dropped behind them, disappearing.

A few moments later, the robot unfolded and stood, silent and dark in the morning, eyes glowing softly green. One giant hand reached down and lifted the scythe, blade unextended. The cockpit was open, where Duo sat.

"This, my man, is a gundam!"

[heir_of_l4]

It was such a familiar sight that Quatre almost didn't notice it at first. Which, considering it was fifty feet tall, towering great and dark over the sand with a metallic glare, probably said something about what Quatre still considered 'normal.'

And then it sank in. He looked up, and looked at Duo laughing, and said, "Deathscythe?"

[self_named]

"YES!" Duo hollered, skidding to a messy halt, throwing his arms around Quatre's waist and jerking the boy around in a celebratory circle.

"AHAHHAA, 's my GUNDAM!" he crowed and then was running again. He threw himself at the machine, feet leaving the ground, hit it spread eagled, and clung.

[heir_of_l4]

Quatre laughed, breathless as Duo twirls him around--hadn't they been the same height, back home? But then, it had been years, for Duo. "I see that!" he laughed, tilting his head back, shielding his eyes to look up at it. Deathscythe always had been a piece of work. It made him miss Sandrock, more than he'd ever thought he would. But he always took good care of me.

"I'm happy for you."

[self_named]

"I never though..." Duo murmured, walking around the machine, running his hands worshipfully over the metal, inspecting for damage.

"I never thought I'd get it back. The sun's kindova permanent place to send something to."

[equalexchange]

Edward had been on his way down to the beach (still lamenting the loss of normal limbs he'd been gifted for the weekend) when Duo's whoop and laughter had cut through the morning quiet. Ever curious, Edward turned down a different path, in pursuit of the source of that voice.

It was unlike anything he'd ever laid eyes on before; Giant, hulking mass of metal, terrifying and imposing, and (gratefully) motionless. If not for the lack of movement, he might have been compelled to run.

But as it was, he took a few slow steps toward the great mechanical beast, golden eyes wide and round, and jaw slacked.

In a tone that mixed awe, fear, and curiosity, he asked in a half-hushed voice, "What in the hell is that?"

[self_named]

Duo made some excited gibbering noises as he sprinted past Edward that vaguely sounded like "minemineminemine". He flattened himself against part of the machine's wing and purred.

[equalexchange]

Edward took a few, slow, cautious steps towards the ... whatever the hell it was. "Uhh... Duo?" he tried, confused (and maybe a bit amused) at Duo's behavior.

[self_named]

Duo rounded on Ed, tackling him, careful of the automail.

"IT'S MY GUNDAM!!"