A bawling serenade. Squishy arms wrapping around flesh and blood separated by for too long. No control or self-consciousness spared to the dangers of infection or overzealous compression. Metal and cloth and black spongy mass met like all the world had disappeared. That time was only as powerful as will would allow.
Grit tried to rein in tears more silent, to fight what couldn’t be in word and mouthless joy. But could only join with his daughter in turning this stark space to glimmering reunion. Leaving judgment to drop to the wayside it belonged, and bidding the once furious to hug back in full.
To accept that her mistakes were such and her cause foolhardy. That her held out hopes were not vain and hollow. That the tainted resolve that drove them both here in the first place, that demanded they take back what was and had been taken. For noble and selfish causes alike, now so akin it hurt on all accounts. A true pair of fools made putty by fate. And allowed their happy ending before their tragedies intertwined.
“I knew you were alive! I knew you had to still be out there!”
Her mechanical extra muscles tightened near to regretful, impossible to decouple from this mass release of all that had been held to. Memories even more so, of being left behind so he could safeguard her future. Of so much justification for abandoning her. All of it washing away as life seemed to return to its old paradigms delayed. As fresh vindication and maladaptation blurred away to backwash. As she was allowed to have back her-
“I missed you so much…”
“...mom.”
Huh…? Wait, no… h-he was Micha. He was her dad.
The crushing embrace faltered on one side as confusion and misunderstanding seemed to mount but…
No. He was…! He had to be. He had the tag with his name on it and… and yet wore it around his neck. Rather than around…
The fog jostled like the twin tags intertwined in her hand. A hand mirrored and numbing away by trauma reasserting itself. Memories and dreams intermingling in kind, without cause but with all the reason in the world. The jangle of another tag wrapped where it was supposed to be indisputable. That replacement claw raising to be seen by eyes in flux. As identify and memory collided disrespectful of reality. As conflicts fired off and cut the fog apart, yet added its own to the tumultuous mix.
As feeling and misnomer crashed headlong into id and ego and the painted patchwork walls he’d thought were his. As a life once lived flashed and unwound. As anatomy denied commonality and understanding. The Green hegemony all but absolute in its takeover. No need for gender or self, the only certainty of conquest in that one field.
But the name offered by that lowly tag was pure and familiar, too close and all known. Yet held only so much similarity. Memories tethered to it, held tight by it, and pulled free against a will that never even saw them. Channels against the madness of cold sequestration cutting apart this turmoil. And yet misaligned and beating…
As a tune fought all for authority of this mind.
♪Let them say what they will of us.♪
♪That we're something far from glorious.♪
♪But it doesn’t matter if we're happy in the end.♪
It was that old song again, but remade and restrung. Strummed along on a guitar only just played well. The words changed and the big band folded down to one. Only a single man… Only…
Micha.
♪So let those horns call rapture and rumble.♪
♪Let it all fall to dust and crumble.♪
♪We'll be right here still in love till that end.♪
It didn’t feel real, but there he was. Sitting staged away from this… makeshift bar of collapsing memory. The smell of barely aged spirits and hand rolled cigarettes fluxed by a cool hominess. Dim lights spared as the sun peaked it last through the windows, lighting his smiling face for every freckle it had. And… and all this scene playing out from the only one sitting before him. Fluttering between laughing at the absurdity and audacity…
And yet loving every half taught note.
♪So let them scatter and sway.♪
♪Let them fall down and pray.♪
♪It won't matter at all.♪
♪They'll still regret what they had.♪
♪Feeling awfully bad.♪
♪When we see it fall away.♪
That song flowing like a river through a dry plain. Filling paths thought gone, flooding passed in memories returned a new. Fluxing back into that ancient goodbye as the rest of the bar fought to make this message too clear to ignore.
♪We’ll meet again.♪
♪Don’t know where, don’t know when.♪
♪But I know we’ll meet again some sunny day.♪
As the real goodbye loomed high over heartstrings. As the dreadful jangle of all that remained of him was handed back under a flood unrivaled. And in turn kept close. Hung under torrent around…
Around her neck.
So she could keep him by her side, always.
To keep Micha… in Gila’s heart.
♪There's nothing that dares to challenge this.♪
♪This punishment so powerless.♪
♪Because no matter what we'll still… be... in... love...♪
♪Till…! That…! End!!♪
“You were there… this whole time.”
Yes…
Yes she was.
Rachael’s words very nearly drowned, but there was nothing that could stop her sentiments from reaching. From reaching the mother that had reunited herself at long last. As her own tears returned and her embrace made pale by an all true reunion.
She, Gila, was back from a death she didn’t even know she’d had. Lost in a fog so think it blinded her even to herself. Even to who she had loved for so long it hurt to return. But return all of it did.
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All the memories, the missions. The wrought despair and determination to see the unthinkable through. To steal that reactor away from the war like and callous. The ones who had taken the one she loved away from her and their daughter. To take from them and keep this broken world safe so at least she could see it bloom again. But all of that moot and old. Taken by time and made regret. Made to hurt so that wounds could heal.
“No one ever said what happened. No one ever came back. All we had were rumors and that fucking graveyard.”
But this good hurt was not reciprocal, sadness was compounding too hard to just smoosh away. The hug released with a love unswayable and eyes so flooded it was impossible to not be her mother’s. Careful claws stayed close to keep her here and keep this moment so nothing else mattered. But Rachael’s face was nearly drenched, as red as the hair it tried to hide behind.
“I… I never believed you were dead… That you failed or died or-hggr... I knew you had to be somewhere out there. We just couldn’t reach you, couldn’t get to where you were. I knew if we could find that reactor we could get to you no matter where you were but… But… but everyone had given up and… and I… This was all just some stupid waste of time.”
Those claws gripped her shoulders and her mother shook this shame away with. They didn’t need to dwell on their shared shame and cavitating regret. They were back together, that was all that mattered. All that should ever matter. She drew her back into a hug as the only means to say her peace, to put this past to rest as best it could be.
“Yea- hrrmm… It was all just selfish bullshit. I mean… I almost dragged poor Dan down with me.”
Her tears were drying and the moment drawing a little too long, she was desperate now to distract away the pain of hindsight. But Dan was more than able to take that small duty for her. Though drawing Gila’s attention seemed to provide its own distracting facetiousness.
Her squinting just above a knowing pseudo smile saying what she couldn’t. A puzzle easily deciphered for its motherly intent. Forcing him to come to terms with his own admissions thought private. Mouthing his admonishment to not break the moment wide open.
But still Gila drew her back out to arm’s length before they were stuck like this. That admonishment coming through only just as she smiled at her daughter’s life lived better than she could have ever hoped for. Her own smile read that she understood that look for all the devilish pride she had in her. Though Rachael still turned down in thought.
“Hughhh. Fuck… now how the hell are we going to explain this to-“
But easy words were interrupted by a hiss of unsealed air, the door to this airlock scene sliding open, the air turning to concrete, and three uniforms looking to make this something less happy real quickly.
“t-t-TaH!!! He-hey commander! We-I uugghhh?!”
“Save it Rezz! I know what you were planning. You didn’t even bother to armor down for god sakes. But I’d say the fact you're still here means there’s at least some scrap… of…”
The rush of scolding authoritative air whipped to tension as Gila’s presence was finally made out. And as she flatly stared at her from around Rachael’s turned head. Only able to hide in her shadow so long from trained eyes. Eyes burning to overshadow that sun already watered down. And unisonly whipping out more barrels to make their own judgments heard in scorn and fear.
“What the hell is that thing doing here Rezz!?! The reactor was one thing, but a feral!?!”
Real fear devoid of the acceptance of death, Gila’s body fought her every will not to flee back to the dark escape behind. Her heart thumping her throat, head reeling, hands flailing in dissuade, but feet not listening and sliding back. She had something to live for and too much left to just die because someone was afraid of her.
But… Rachael wasn’t afraid of this death pointed her way as well. Powered arms stretched out, body shielding her mother as little it could, but a smile bordering on paradoxical meeting her commander’s glare. Like she was too happy not to.
“Commander… You don’t need to. It’s her… It’s my mom…”
Tears almost restarted as glares flinched. Her story felt even by hardened guards assigned to their commander’s side.
“Wait really?”
“Fall in Ramirez!! Cass!! I don’t know what that thing showed you, but one miracle is hard enough of a sale as it is!! That thing can’t be her, don’t just listen to it blindly!!”
“She was the one I said was living over the reactor ma’am. She followed us all the way here because of it. She still remembered that mission. She… she still had my dad’s tags like you said she would.”
“That doesn’t mean it’s her Rezz!! Don’t throw away everything just because you can’t let go!!”
Rachael’s only response was to deepen her smile, even as her arms fell to her sides. Sadness eking in, even as confidence exuded beyond reproach. She was certain that her mother had returned, not even afraid of the guns trained on the both of them. Turning to look up into her concerned eyes as if she wasn’t the only thing stopping them from both being shot in the head! Forcing Gila to be demandingly face to face, even at distance, with this new star wanting to burn her alive.
And yet… seeing something familiar in the glare. Time taking its course, as none are immune after all, but faces only changing so much. A new scar there, some scoring on her chin, but certainty was falling it all into place.
It was Maytag’s niece made a leader at last, Matlock finally getting what she had wanted. And her antics still fresh even as her demeanor seemed harder. Her presence alone fighting Gila’s fear back down. And adding a smirk to that green streaky grin.
Her claws rose up, slow and steady like a coming surrender ill fated. But they stopped halfway, balled up and like a boxer about to play at striking, until they started shaking up and down to a beat felt only by her. Tail swaying as she shook like no one was watching, eyes closed and smile too clear. A fool made to remind and blare the truth to the only one who knew it firsthand. Rachael, Dan, the guards to either side, all left out of the loop and gradually cringing in on themselves. Rachael starting to regret ever getting out of the way, until her mother’s arms shot out like pointing poses and her commander’s teeth gritted near to cracking.
“Rezz… I don’t care if that is your mother…! Get out of the way so I can kill her myself!!”
All that cringe and jest turned to insurmountable fear as that stellar hate charged her way toward him. Gun dropped to her side but brandished for all its metal shillelagh.
“Twenty four years and the one thing you think will tell me you still exist is that FUCKING DANCE!?!”
Gila truly couldn’t help but cower back. Claws waving dissuasure and eyes begging forgiveness. Only making it the barest step before that she was towering over like no true god could help her. And slamming down the butt of that pistol onto her head like a gavel sounding the sentence.
*SPATT*
At least only as hard as her squishy form could take. Stars and tears and enough pain to make the point known in spades. But that glare staying put over her beaten down and lightened heart.
“Twenty…! Four…! Years…! You left me with her for twenty four years! We checked every unit on that fucking field! We scrounged as far as we could into that goddamned place! We couldn’t stand to lose any more people, but so many kept looking for that fucking thing! And in the end you were just sitting on it this whole time!!”
Her grit, her condemnation, her own radiating forshame. A new beating sun all its own to crumple that heart back down. To drop it back to the defeat and acceptance it deserved to feel. But all of it crashing to smother as she lurched down to take her own piece out of her. To take her own bottled up pain… and turn it to hurt too sweet not to tear up to. Both arms squishing that spongy head tight against her chest as true feelings made everything moot.
“I’m just glad one of you made it back to us.”
Not quite as tearful, more one sided actually. But she had missed her true enough. Demanding authority falling to the wayside as even her guards felt this love. Dan finally getting back to Rachael’s side and smiling along with everyone else like this really was a happy-
“Hey!! Don’t you dare think this is over Rezz!!”
And of course reality had to throw that back in everyone’s relieved faces as she tossed Gila aside and returned all that authoritative air that they all thought cooled.
“Wait wha-“
“Don’t even try it! You still came here to take that reactor for a goddamned joyride! Be lucky I’m not counting that as treason!”
“B-But-“
“No! No buts! You’re sweeping the base till I say otherwise!”
“WAAHH?!”
“Would you rather it be latrines?”
“N… no ma’am.”
Her joyful reunion was flattened like a pancake, consoled only by smiles just as flat trying not to share in her fate. Gila stood back up straight and returned to her side, claw placed on her shoulder and streaky snout saying what she couldn’t.
Rachael looking back up at her mother’s alien face without a hint of old fury, more keen on wrapping her arms back around her and hug to her chest. A slight squeak elicited as artificial muscle pressed harder than warranted, but no complaints allowed as this reunion returned to joyful.
Returned to something bordering on content again. The pond and its guardian so far away now, but its splendor and scenery now happier than ever. A hope to one day return following along as mother and daughter walked away from the prize that brought them back together.
A hope to see The Green wither and its victims freed of their own fogs. To reunite others separated by this gulf of time and dreaded change. To maybe see those scarred faces return to what they used to be one distant day. And if not, at least more reunions like this one. Though maybe with less guns.
A hope fueled by that ever churning reactor. That small sun burning its near infinite path into the future. Defiant of the ravages of time. So that maybe there was one thing immune to it.
End