001 -- Audio

[heavyweaponsbot]

[The voice that suddenly booms over the journals should be familiar to some.  And, if not, it's certainly loud and attention-getting.  Someone is clearly unhappy.]

This... is a lie. It must be. It cannot be possible -- not again!

[A pause.  There's some mechanical shifting while the party in question tries to remain calm.  There is also a sound

Comments

[audio]

[stillseecracks]

[Xanth has done this before, too: heard a familiar voice belonging to someone he loved. Every other time it happened, they hadn't recognized him, and it hurt.

But this time, there are differences. Ironhide talks of his worlds being gone again. Ironhide talks of a frog.

Then again, Ironhide might have had such things before the Elegante. This could be a different Ironhide entirely.

But Xanth has to try.]

I-- I--

I-Iron...hide?

[commentlog]

[stillseecracks]

[A lump forms in Xanth's throat as he approaches. He puts one hand on Ironhide's, then the other, and then it's just too much. Tears spill over and he ducks his head.

He shouldn't cry - he's here for Ironhide, not the other way around - but he can't help it.]

[commentlog]

[heavyweaponsbot]

[He says nothing. What... can he really say? He just curls his big fingers around the boy's hands.]

[If Xanth wants to cry, Ironhide won't stop him. He certainly feels like... well. Not crying. But doing something out of grief.]

[commentlog]

[stillseecracks]

[There's nothing either of them can say, and that's what hurts. There is nothing to say. Whether Ratchet and Kairi and so many others are gone barely matters; the fact is that they aren't here right now.

At this point, 'right now' is all they really have.

Though he cries, Xanth does not sob. Eventually, he takes in a deep, shaky breath and looks up at Ironhide.]

S--Sorry. N-Not-- not about th-this, [he sniffles, then looks down again,] b-but about... ev... e-everything e--else.

[It's not an apology. It's sympathy.]

[commentlog]

[heavyweaponsbot]

[Ironhide doesn't really know what to say. Instead, he just tugs Xanth over, loosely curling an arm around him.]

... Told you not to apologize for taking the seat.

[That's easier to think about than everything else. He knows why Xanth is apologizing. But... he may be deflecting, a little. For the boy's sake.]

[commentlog]

[stillseecracks]

[Xanth lets Ironhide move him and then leans against his frame. It's not warm or soft, but it's comforting all the same.

To Ironhide's comment, Xanth manages something like a laugh; it broke the tension.]

I-- I-I know. I-I just, I-- c-couldn't-- h-help it. [Sniff.] It-- i-it's t-too bad I don't h-have it now, m...maybe s-someone could-- I-I don't know, f-fix it, or-- s-something...

[He's babbling now, he won't deny it, but it's better than silence.]

[commentlog]

[heavyweaponsbot]

[In all honesty, there's probably a few pieces of seaweed caught in his armor. But that's not important. The company is. Xanth knows exactly what is running through his mind right now, and that's what the old warrior needs.]

It does not bother me.

[Which is true. A missing seat is like a broken fingernail or something. There are a number of worn joints and broken whatsits that actually hurt him -- the seat is nothing.]

It will be fine.

[commentlog]

[stillseecracks]

I-If... you s-s--say so.

[Even if Xanth knew just how irrelevant it was, he would still feel guilt. But it was what kept him alive on the way to the Shore - without the seat, he would have sunk.

He keeps talking, the topic growing less important. He can't help it.]

P--Pity I d-didn't-- get to k-keep that sword, though, it-- i-it was-- p-pretty n-nice...

[commentlog]

[heavyweaponsbot]

I do say so.

[Certainty. That's a little bit more like the old Ironhide. Just a bit. His good optic lights up somewhat.]

[He tilts his head, then lifts an arm, studying his cannon with a distant expression.]

... still have these, at least.

[commentlog]

[stillseecracks]

[Xanth wipes the blur of tears out of his vision, then looks at the arm Ironhide has raised. He manages something like a smile.]

Y-Yeah. I-- I guess D-Deior's not as p-picky with... w-with weapons, as... y-you know.

There's-- th-there's even an a-armory, b-but I-- I don't-- th-think it's stocked r-really well...

[commentlog]

[heavyweaponsbot]

[He lowers his arm, starting to tinker with the settings... out of want for something to do with his hands.]

Good. All the better means to get out of here...

[Ironhide just trails off, slowly realizing what he's saying. His shoulders droop.]

[commentlog]

[stillseecracks]

[Xanth's expression and gaze both fall. They couldn't escape on the Elegante; why would escape be any likelier here?

But then something hits him. It made him absolutely furious upon hearing it, but now that he thinks of it more, it's a good thing.]

Y-You know, they-- th-they said... e-everything was gone be-b-- before. A-And-- they were wr-wrong then. S-So...

Wh-- who says they're r-right now?

[commentlog]

[heavyweaponsbot]

[It takes him a moment, but he looks at Xanth, curiously.]

... What do you mean?

[Hadn't he seen the visions? Ironhide had -- and they were ingrained in his memory banks for the rest of his life.]

[commentlog]

[stillseecracks]

[Of course he had. Watching his family get torn apart was something he would never forget.]

Th-- this place i-is here. If it... i-if it was all gone, then... we... w-we couldn't be here.

[He rubs one eye with his palm, his fingers disappearing beyond his hairline.]

I-I don't... know what e-else is o-out there, or, o-or anything, really, but... why didn't th--the End get this place, t-too? C-Could it-- really be th-the only e-- exception?

[commentlog]

[heavyweaponsbot]

[He wants to forget those images -- he'd love to.]

[Ironhide falls quiet, turning this over in his head.]

I... Hmn. That... is a point.

[But it doesn't solve all the issues here. All the concerns.]

But what of the others? If... the Shore is gone... what happens to them?

[commentlog]

[stillseecracks]

[Xanth looks up to Ironhide, but then he looks back down. What if they were all gone? True, both Xanth and Ironhide were still living without them, but not happily.

The visions The End showed them had given them certainty to their families' demise, at least at the time. Now all those questions, all that grief, and all that confusion, were back in droves. As he considers Ironhide's question, Xanth is silent.

Then, thickly:]

I-I... I... d-don't know.