[ M̬̱͢e̴͚̜͔̜m҉̹̼̬̘ͅo̮̳͎̥̙͙r̢y̻̣̗̠̻]

[achievementhunter]

[The first sign that something might be wrong is the fact that, rather than a soft chime to indicate an incoming message, the phone you’re so reliant on lets out a rather ear splitting screech.

And then the panting starts. Soft, laborious. For those who take the time to hold onto their phones, the altogether unpleasant sensation of your ribs caving in on one side is rather prominent; despite the pretty surroundings of a tree covered mountain-side that wavers back and forth with every ungainly step by the feed’s creator, your side is burning under the tight weight of your own arm pressed against it; the only brace you have, in case more damage has been done than you’ve expected. In case letting up on that same pressure would be enough to send you straight to the ground under the pain, and who knows?

You might not get back up.

The mountain has a slope to it that just makes this all the more difficult; of course it does. It’s a mountain, but you’ve made your choice, and you’re not stopping now.

You’re….you’re not stopping now.

But you need to stop for a second. Air is a necessary factor in motion, and you’re struggling to gain that much.

Looking down, you note that, at the very least, the blood that had soaked through most of the front of your tatty sweater is...dry. Your lips wobble with the distinct urge to smile, and the somewhat hysterical giggle that bubbles past your lips is one you immediately regret.

Time to keep going. There’s no path for you to follow, just patches between the trees and the overgrowth of wild plants for you to slowly navigate your way around, hyper aware of anything with the potential to cause you to fall.

Then the ground starts levelling out. Your shoes meet a lip of rock, taking your focus from the few feet immediately in front of you to take in what you’ve found. A cave. The opening is wide, and vast, and altogether a little threatening, despite the fact that natural light appears to be pouring in from somewhere deeper into it. For someone not looking to be found, it’s the perfect hideaway.

And you are certainly not looking to be found.




The feed cuts.]

Comments

[heritrix]

We have a deal. [With a firm nod, Rin watches him disappear beneath the generator before fixing her head to look back the other way.] So the first thing I want to try is...

[And here Rin explains one of several schemes to come, each one with its own bout of straightforward questions. She'd love to take the time to understand some of this more properly (keyword heavy on the "some"), but for this she's happy to accept the simple answer. What would happen if I did this? How would you visualize that thing you just described? What are some vulnerabilities in this part of the system? I'm going to work some safeguards into this spell so it doesn't change anything outside of what I'm focusing on; I'll list the functions I'm protecting, and you can tell me if I've left one out.

There's not just one thing she tries, but several. Scrying. A cleansing spell. Hiding the video behind a magically created, virtual shell. A few things that actually do give her a bit of magical backlash, when she gets overzealous, though she treats that as more annoying than harmful. At one point she had the master plan of hypnotizing the network into removing the video itself. That likely had some interesting if unexpected results, though nothing along the lines of what she wanted or thought would happen. Magic is weird, man.

Eventually, there's nothing but the sounds of Sans tinkering away with repairs. Rin's been quiet for a few minutes now.]

[justribbing]

[ For beings of magic, monsters don't typically work with it on the sort of... level that Rin does. Typically. Quantum physics was a complicated enough subject, and the unique magical applications monsterkind discovered during their time in the Underground made the numbers of monsters who actually practiced or studied it few and far between.

That makes this a singularly rare experience.

But then, he's never had to participate in an effort to purge from the network a file that supposedly does not exist. She promised him no hard work, but by the time they're done, Sans feels like his skull is ringing from a mental workout.

If it weren't for the subject matter, this would've been kinda...

...Fun.

Sans has since finished replacing the coolant line and has bled the system, but noticed a few other things that needed adjustment. A few tightened screws, a secured wire, little things that become bigger problems if he let them go too long, things that... not long ago, he would've just let happen because what's the point.

She's been quiet for a while. ]

...Hey. Don't, uh, be too hard on yourself. I mean, if you're outta ideas. We're kinda chasing ghosts here, pal.

[heritrix]

Yeah. [She breathes out softly.] This is the point where I give up.

[But despite her remark, the inflection of Rin's voice isn't one of defeat. She doesn't have regrets, even about failing. The anger has bled out of her, and satisfied she tried all she could think of within her power, everything from her pose to expression is markedly calmer than it was when they started.

He stayed this whole time for it. Rin didn't miss the way the pudgy skeleton kept finding news things to tinker with each time he finished with the last one, instead of leaving the first chance he got that was convenient. And even when her ideas got more convoluted, he went with them.

She thinks of the gadgets and toys in his room, and wonders if this interested him. Thinks of how mad she was when she heard him say there was nothing left to do, after his diagnostic had finished. So quick to let it go, but he stayed. Like it mattered, and he only needed the excuse.

But mostly, Rin thinks of a hand on (not her) head, and crying into a t-shirt. The unshakeable fear that the hands carrying that small body would hurt it. A pain in the side indicative of several broken ribs, and a sweater stained in blood. A fall that felt like peace.

All the things she didn't want to think about before, basically.]

[justribbing]

[ He's a little surprised.

Not that she tried so hard -- tried everything, and then a lot more that he would've never thought of -- but that she doesn't seem angry or upset over failure. He's seen humans get frustrated. Determination exists right alongside the sting of failure, he knows, but her? She's taking this a lot better than he expected.

Then it hits him.

Sans pushes himself out from under the generator, sitting up, sagging back against his arms like they're the only thing left to prop him up, goggles hanging over his collarbone. ]

This really doesn't get under your skin, huh.

[ He laughs that off. It's a single beat, dry. Tired. ]

Hey, whaddya know, me neither. [ For the obvious reason. ]

[heritrix]

[This is the part where they pretend, huh?]

Not at all.

[Rin plays along. Or seems to. With those words spoken coldly and convincing enough, she raises her eyes. Scrutinizing him.

Or maybe not.]

That's a lie. I'm still annoyed. I might not be angry anymore, but that doesn't mean I'm okay with it. I just have no regrets.

[Bluntly honest, Rin doesn't hesitate to say that, and her words are no less sharp when she looks away and across the room again.] I threw every idea I had at that problem. It was something I thought I could do, so I didn't really have a choice. It'd bug me forever if I didn't try.

[That clinical, machine-like way of processing things is an ugly side to her nature, she knows. Kirei praised it often, so it had to be. Nonetheless, she can't deny it suits her well.

She's not sure if Sans saw through that, or if that was what he was relating to himself. She doesn't think so. From those memories she feels like a peeping-tom for seeing, by contrast, she thinks he carries a lot of regrets. He strikes her as being like Archer, in that way. So maybe he meant failing instead, or not being bothered by the memory.

Even then, when he says it doesn't get to him, she can't help but think that's fake. Rin can act with the best of them, hence why she went with it like she did, initially. It wasn't until the words were out of her mouth that she decided that's not what she wanted to do. She can't shake the mental image that if a certain person were here, he'd look too sad hearing her talk that way.]

[justribbing]

[ Is there really ever a part where Sans doesn't?

But it prompts an honest admission, and Sans looks at Rin. The only part of him that moves are the points of light in his sockets. ]

Guess sometimes it ain't about whether it's the right or wrong thing. You can, so you, uh, have to, right?

[ His eyelights dim, directing thoughtfully at some spot of floor unoccupied by either of them. Not seeing it so much as the first-person view of a difficult hike up a mountain, a sweater stained dark. ]

[ He pulls the goggle strap over his skull. ] I dunno if I buy it.

Kid's lucky to have you in their corner. Hang onto these for me while I get this generator running again. [ Think fast, because he's tossing the goggles over at her, turning to climb around the generator to reach the main power switch. ]

[heritrix]

[Lucky as an Irish spearman. The dismissal irked her, but the comment to follow sends a ripple of goosebumps up and down her flesh. Fumbling a bit, she still manages to catch the googles when they're tossed to her, on reflex more than anything, cheeks reddening. They dangle from one hand, as she draws her legs up close to her with arms wrapped around them.]

Idiot. [She scowls at him from over her knees.] First dates with you must look like zeppelin crashes.

[justribbing]

Heh, yeah. It's a flaming gasbag fulla hot air.

[ The generator promptly begins humming, a quiet, deep bass that sinks right into one's bones. ] Or was that the Hindenburg? Anyway, they're both disasters.

[ Sans shuffles back, both to get a little distance from the generator -- the hum gets a little aggravating after a while, when you're nothing but bones -- and takes stock of its operation. Finally satisfied, he stoops to collect his tools, preferring to sweep them under the generator rather than go through the effort of bringing them back to his room to put away. ]

Think we should check on the kid?

[heritrix]

[Oh, he's familiar with that? She wonders if it's something he read up on, or if his Earth isn't that dissimilar from her own, with a few exceptions.

Maybe she'll ask another day. She feels the generator hum gently, faint reverberations that reach her from the air and the floor. A sensation she associates with magical energy and mana presses at a different sense entirely. To her, it's a comfortable feeling. His question makes her wonder what Chara is doing now.]

It'd be too obvious. Especially if we're together.

[If Shirou were here, he'd probably go anyways, knowing that all the while. He'd ignore how mad it would make them, and how awkward and awful it might be, thinking it more important not to wait.]

[justribbing]

[ Some things are a little too famous not to have read about, and people throw away a lotta old tapes, a few of them with recordings of documentaries and holiday specials, complete with commercial breaks.

He's got a battered collection of the original Carl Sagan's COSMOS somewhere back home on VHS. It's a prized possession. ]

Yeah, you're right.

[ Unlike Rin, Sans is ready to give up on a moment's notice. He drops a hand onto Rin's shoulder, grinning lethargically at her. ]

Thanks for takin' one for the team, buddy.

[ Sans no you should really go do it yourse--oh hell. ]

Welp. Looks like it works. I'm headed back to bed. See you around, Little Miss Cactus.

[heritrix]

[How did she suspect something like that was going to happen. Doesn't keep her from looking any less annoyed when she glances up at him.]

Fine. [She calls out to him, when his hand leaves her and he inevitably goes to make good on that.] Just don't expect to hear how it goes from me!

[If you want to see how Chara's doing, going to have to do it yourself skeleton-man. She's not playing gopher.

...This also gives her breathing room if she's actually asked, because she's definitely not going tonight. In the end she's not Shirou. She doesn't know what kind of mood she'd find Chara in if she went looking for them now, and with the last memory she got from them earlier in the month...

Rin's not keen on digging deeper. She's selfish like that, without apology.

Maybe tomorrow though, when it's easy to pretend running into each other is a casual encounter. It will mean less then, when Chara's had a chance to stitch things back together, but Rin tells herself that's fine. Raw wounds aren't meant to hang open.]