Arlene/Ryu Dream(?)land end

[02:38] * Arlene_Sanders takes in a breath, finally, her sopping-wet unclad flesh dripping onto the rocky surface below as she pulled herself out of the water and up onto the moist stone. Her long blonde hair drizzled for some time as she sat patiently, waiting for Ryu to follow her up into the off-shooting cave... Which somehow was lit fairly well. It probably would lead them back to the surface.
[02:41] <Ryu_Masahiro> Ryu takes a moment to catch up, coming up above the water and immediately gasping, wheezing and even coughing slightly as he hauls himself out of the water. Despite what would make sense from someone who's been living with Arlene, he still hasn't quite got the hang of this 'swimming' thing. "...Ugh..."
[02:47] * Arlene_Sanders glances over, her one eye holding a concerned look that somewhat betrays her grin. "You alright, Ryu?"
[02:47] <Ryu_Masahiro> Slow nod. "Better than before..."
[02:54] * Arlene_Sanders nods, albeit a bit reluctantly, as if not buying that Ryu was alright. "But the pain is still there, isn't it..."
[02:57] <Ryu_Masahiro> Another nod. "Barely."
[03:12] * Arlene_Sanders sighs, trying her damndest to read Ryu more clearly. "I'm guessing you know what's causing it..."
[03:13] <Ryu_Masahiro> "I'd imagine Kou went and got Sa--M101's head blown off or something."
[03:15] <RickDominated> <We will recover.>
[03:15] <RickDominated> The voice is sudden, filling the cavern with its silence.
[03:16] <Ryu_Masahiro> "...Was wondering where you'd gotten to."
[03:18] <RickDominated> <We have been here, just as you have.>
[03:18] <Ryu_Masahiro> "...We?"
[03:20] <RickDominated> <You and I>
[03:20] <RickDominated> It doesn't particularly seem to want to be lucid at this moment.
[03:20] <Ryu_Masahiro> "Oh."
[03:20] *** Ryu_Masahiro changed nick to BRBRyu
[03:26] *** BRBRyu changed nick to Ryu_Masahiro
[03:27] <Ryu_Masahiro> A shrug aimed at Arlene. "Brain damage, I guess."
[03:28] <RickDominated> <We were...hurt, in the battle, yes.>
[03:33] <Ryu_Masahiro> "Again, I should point out..."
[03:36] * Arlene_Sanders mmms... "EVAs can survive without their heads - in theory - right?"
[03:37] <Ryu_Masahiro> "In theory."
[03:43] <RickDominated> <We...survive, for now.>
[03:44] <RickDominated> <However...>
[03:44] <Ryu_Masahiro> "...Go on."
[03:45] <RickDominated> <Our Time...here...grows shorter by the second>
[03:46] <Ryu_Masahiro> "Ah."
[03:54] <Arlene_Sanders> "And when you say 'our'..."
[03:54] <RickDominated> <Your time has already ended.>
[03:54] <RickDominated> The voice sounds...sad, almost.
[03:54] * Ryu_Masahiro folds his arms and waits for an answer. It can take a while to get the truth out of this thing, after all... Though the almost-sad tone gets a blink.
[03:55] <Arlene_Sanders> It seems to take Arlene a while to catch onto what the voice refers to. "Ah... Yeah. I know..."
[03:55] <RickDominated> <We... cannot stay here, forever.>
[03:56] <Ryu_Masahiro> "...So what I was to sacrifice back there... Was just time?"
[03:56] * Arlene_Sanders looks down into her own lap, her expression... Mournful, somehow. "If it makes you feel any better, Ryu... All I did was buy them time, too."
[03:57] <Ryu_Masahiro> "Not... quite what I was getting at. I'd meant sacrificing some of my own time in exchange for that power. Power... that I fear I may need again."
[03:58] <RickDominated> <You will...for IT is close at hand.>
[04:01] <Arlene_Sanders> "And IT is... Well... I can't even begin to imagine what," Arlene spoke rather bluntly.
[04:01] <Ryu_Masahiro> "Tch... Red and White, correct?"
[04:03] <RickDominated> <They also move.>
[04:04] * Arlene_Sanders just... Looks at Ryu with a morbidly confused expression painted on her pretty face.
[04:05] <Ryu_Masahiro> "..." Concern crosses over the redhead's face. "So... It, Red and White are all beginning to move... And I'm guessing that you have something in mind for when I return."
[04:06] <Arlene_Sanders> "Are you going to keep intentionally being stupidly fuckin' vague?" Arlene barks, though her voice has by now surely fallen completely into background noise.
[04:07] <Ryu_Masahiro> "Are you sure your old heart can take that kind of stress?"
[04:07] *** Anti-Goth ([email protected]) joined
[04:07] <Arlene_Sanders> "Just because I'm fifty doesn't mean I'm old," Arlene responded indignantly.
[04:11] <Ryu_Masahiro> "Regardless... Answer the question, Samael."
[04:14] <RickDominated> <A final battle looms for us.>
[04:15] *** Arlene_Sanders quit (Ping timeout: 240 seconds)
[04:15] *** Arlene_Sanders ([email protected]) joined
[04:15] <Ryu_Masahiro> "Hm... What happens after that?"
[04:17] <RickDominated> <...We are unsure. We must survive first.>
[04:18] <RickDominated> <We... know that SHE will not make it easy.>
[04:18] <Ryu_Masahiro> "Well, what preparations have we made for survival?"
[04:18] <Arlene_Sanders> "And who is 'she' ?"
[04:18] <Ryu_Masahiro> "...If my hunch is right, Tovia."
[04:19] <RickDominated> <No...She is a puppet to her master... who is as much a speck to SHE as we are to him. >
[04:19] <Arlene_Sanders> "Christ... So does that mean I was right about Tovia?"
[04:21] <Ryu_Masahiro> "...Tch. I have no idea."
[04:21] <RickDominated> <SHE is beneath us...sleeping...bound... even now she calls, but We have forsaken her.>
[04:22] *** Ryu_Masahiro changed nick to BRBRyu
[04:22] <BRBRyu> "...Then who is she."
[04:22] <RickDominated> <...The First Other.>
[04:23] <Arlene_Sanders> "Can you tell me who 'we' refers to, then?"
[04:23] <RickDominated> <We are We. Together, here.>
[04:24] <RickDominated> <But not forever, together. Not much longer at all.>
[04:24] <Arlene_Sanders> "I see... And... I know."
[04:25] <RickDominated> <You are not doomed to be alone, however. You are We as well, in a way.>
[04:26] <Arlene_Sanders> "Whatever way that might be... I'm just glad to be here."
[04:28] <RickDominated> <You shall see the extent...>
[04:28] <RickDominated> <Soon>
[04:29] * Arlene_Sanders nods solemnly. "So be it. I guess I don't have much to live for anyway, eh..." the former Helljumper chuckles.
[04:32] *** BRBRyu changed nick to Ryu_Masahiro
[04:33] <Ryu_Masahiro> "Depending on who you ask, you've nothing to live for, given that you're dead. At least depending on who you ask."
[04:34] <Arlene_Sanders> "You know how they say SPARTANs never die... They're just missing in action. Well... What do you say about the ones who are better than the SPARTANs?"
[04:34] <Ryu_Masahiro> "They're modest enough to admit when they're dead?"
[04:34] <Arlene_Sanders> "We talk about modesty as I sit here naked and wet in a cave with a child over thirty years younger than me."
[04:37] <Ryu_Masahiro> "I like how you just think of me as any other person for that sentence alone."
[04:38] * Arlene_Sanders shrugs. "Well hey; you know how I am. Do you really think I care a whole lot? Hell, now that I'm dead, do you think I care **at all**?"
[04:40] <Ryu_Masahiro> "...We're getting off-topic. Samael, I asked what preparations were made for our survival."
[04:41] <Arlene_Sanders> "Off-topic, aye."
[04:41] <RickDominated> <As much as can be... We can only act so much directly against SHE.>
[04:42] <Ryu_Masahiro> "Hmm... Anything you're willing to share?"
[04:43] <RickDominated> <Your other rides Our Shell, perfecting our body as much as it can, powerful weapons are avalible...but we cannot be sure to win against SHE.>
[04:43] <RickDominated> <Even so...he draws us out, more and more.>
[04:44] <Ryu_Masahiro> "So Kou is... essentially channelling us?"
[04:44] <RickDominated> <Yes>
[04:45] <Ryu_Masahiro> "Strange... I suppose this would be due to the two of us being identical twins."
[04:46] <RickDominated> <He is like Us...enough to draw Us out, and fight alongside Us.>
[04:46] <Ryu_Masahiro> "And what are we."
[04:47] <RickDominated> <Yes...but our time indeed grows short.>
[04:47] <RickDominated> Again it sounds...sad.
[04:47] <RickDominated> <We have preperaations of our own.>
[04:47] <Ryu_Masahiro> "...Skillful question dodge, Samael. I'm beginning to think I might've rubbed off on you a bit."
[04:48] <RickDominated> <You are We, afterall.>
[04:48] <Arlene_Sanders> "Thank god you aren't as dense as me."
[04:48] <RickDominated> Unseen eyes seem to focus in on the Helljumper.
[04:48] <Ryu_Masahiro> "But that doesn't answer my question. We may be each other, but what are we, together?"
[04:49] <RickDominated> <Together. We are Power.>
[04:49] <RickDominated> <Enough to maybe stop SHE.>
[04:49] * Arlene_Sanders seems to... Stand on end. A sixth sense - a sense developed in combat first-hand - tingles somewhere in the back of her mind, and her one visible eye scans the cave warily as the voice speaks.
[04:50] <Ryu_Masahiro> Smirk. "A good enough answer. So, what next?"
[04:50] <RickDominated> <But...we must soon leave this place...completly.>
[04:50] <RickDominated> Again it sounds...sad.
[04:50] <Ryu_Masahiro> "Do you know what this place is, friend?"
[04:50] <RickDominated> <And only We can make the final journey.>
[04:51] <RickDominated> <We are...here, and here is all, and nothing.>
[04:51] <Ryu_Masahiro> "So you don't know either..." A glance at Arlene. Though what is she doing here... "So what can I do, in the meantime."
[04:53] <RickDominated> <There is...no more time. We must leave, soon. We are...sorry.>
[04:53] <Ryu_Masahiro> "...This is it, huh."
[04:53] <Arlene_Sanders> "You say you're sorry... But you both know where I'll always be." Arlene pats her heart, causing unnecessary jiggle of course.
[04:53] * Ryu_Masahiro nods... But silently.
[04:53] <RickDominated> "You are We as well, afterall."
[04:56] <Ryu_Masahiro> [...Someone found their volume dial at last, I see.]
[04:56] * Arlene_Sanders stands, albeit painfully. "...That sounds like our cue."
[04:56] <Arlene_Sanders> And... For sure, those are tears, from both eyes.
[04:57] <Ryu_Masahiro> "...It does... If there's anything left to say, say it now I suppose."
[04:59] * Arlene_Sanders ... Finally lifts the eyepatch away, revealing her other eye, finally. It is the same red as Ryu's, almost as if he's staring into a mirror as he gazes upon it. The contrast of red and green is... Curious. "I love you, Ryu. I always will. Even in death... I'll do everything I can to serve you, to keep you safe..."
[04:59] <Arlene_Sanders> "...As I promised. You possess my heart, my hand, and my soul... Use them well."
[05:00] <Ryu_Masahiro> "..." The SAPPHIRE pilot turns away slightly. "...Bad enough the first time..."
[05:01] <Arlene_Sanders> "...Please look at me, Ryu."
[05:03] <Ryu_Masahiro> There's a moment's hesitation, but Ryu does as asked, revealing the reason for the sudden nervousness-- even his serene mind is struggling to hold back the tears, a small sheen to the two emeralds...
[05:06] * Arlene_Sanders approaches tentatively, gripping the pilot in a hug... As if to swear she will never let go. "Whenever you need me the most... You'll know where to find me."
[05:08] * Ryu_Masahiro nods, not saying a word as he returns the hug... Although that's probably his tears keeping him quiet. To keep himself together would've been asking too much of him, and even he knows it.
[05:12] *** Anti-Goth quit (Quit: Leaving)
[05:18] <RickDominated> <When We are ready... follow us into the caves. We are leaving this way."
[05:19] * Ryu_Masahiro nods. "I'll... Do that."
[05:25] <Arlene_Sanders> "Feel free, Ryu... There is nothing for you to gain by staying around here, clinging to a ghost..."
[05:25] <Ryu_Masahiro> "You'd probably drag me as far as you could anyway. Doubt you'd want me to stay around when there's something else to be done..."
[05:26] <Arlene_Sanders> "I want you here more than anything... But this isn't about what a dead girl wants. It's about what you have to do, Ryu."
[05:27] * Ryu_Masahiro nods. "There's something else to be done..."
[05:30] * Arlene_Sanders speaks smoothly. "What is it, Ryu?"
[05:30] <Ryu_Masahiro> "Black Team... I can't really let Kou keep piloting. Not if things are escalating this fast."
[05:33] * Arlene_Sanders smiles, nodding. "Go. I'll always be with you."
[05:33] <Ryu_Masahiro> A nod. "...Who knows. I may be back."
[05:35] <Arlene_Sanders> "Not if I can help it, hun."
[05:37] * Ryu_Masahiro smiles. "If needs be, needs be. Still..." And now serious. "Don't go too crazy if that happens." The arms unwrap from around the Major, a quiet sigh coming from the redhead. "...I should be going."
[05:48] <Arlene_Sanders> "I'll be seeing you around, Ryu... Take care."
[05:49] <Arlene_Sanders> "Walk softly... Strike silently."
[05:50] * Ryu_Masahiro nods and slowly starts making his way into the caves. No real need to say anything else. No real desire to say anything else, even.
[05:51] *** RickDominated changed nick to RickSleep
[05:52] <RickSleep> <You are We...and now We must leave." The world around Ryu begins to darken with every step...his plugsuit already hugging his body.