Day 1 | Carolina | S13 in the alien temple

[unflaggingly]

[Stepping through the portal to find herself in the trial for the 'true warrior' and finding herself in a teleporter nexus wasn't exactly what she'd expected to see.

Although she hadn't actually been sure what she'd see, given that it seemed to vary from person to person.]

Epsilon, where the hell are we?

Epsilon, answer me.
[No response which had her tensing, fingers tightening on her gun as she looked aroumd. It seemed deserted, but better safe than sorry.]

Epsilon?

Comments

[unflaggingly]

[Seeing him come through the portal and standing there is enough to have her frozen, because she hadn't expected it to work, to hear his voice again, much less see him there alive. Her hands are shaking a little but she at least remembers to check her trackers before she walks toward him.]

I didn't think it'd let you come through with me. I mean... [And suddenly she can't quite breathe for a moment, yanking her helmet off and dropping it on the temple floor before she crosses to him, her hand pressing against the chestpiece of his armor.]

You're really here. [And she's smiling, at least, as she speaks.] I didn't think it'd actually let you come with me. York...I...

[logicunlocked]

[ He covers her hand with both of his, cupping her fingers. He can understand the feeling she had, the feeling that it just wouldn't work out, but it's one he always avoids giving into. There were too many things that went wrong during the Project, too many missed chances and ruined opportunities, and he had been careful not to let that experience crush him. ]

It's not a dream, and it's not fake. It's real, and I'm here, and if you'll have me I promise not to leave.

[unflaggingly]

[And he's solid and real and the words take a minute to sink in and Carolina makes a quiet choked sound before she finds her voice. Out of everything, his loss had hit her the hardest, even if her revenge had been tied to all of them. Her team, her friends and Epsilon.

Who was still missing, come to think of it, not that she minded if he was gone for a few more moments. She managed a slight nod though before taking a slow shuddering breath.]

I'm not sure I'll be able to let you out of my sight for a while. I...there's a lot we still need to talk to about but we can do that when we get to Armonia.

[logicunlocked]

You know this place? [ He glances around for a moment. ] If you feel like we need to wait, we can wait.

[unflaggingly]

Yeah, there's lot to cover from the time you and Tex went after Wyoming till now. For the moment, though. we're on a planet named Chorus and it's currently in the middle of war. Armonia's the capital city and where the actual inhabitants of the planet are.

What's left of them. Also the guys we're fighting use cloaking equipment so we should probably move. [As much as she wanted to stay put and explain everything, getting him to a safe place was her first priority.

Then they'd talk.]

[logicunlocked]

[ He releases her hand so she can replace her helmet. ]

Oh...you know about that?

[ Weird, he didn't think there would be anyone to tell if the portals caused him to time travel. Unless— ]

Wait, did Tex tell you about it?

[unflaggingly]

No. I heard through other sources. Tex was already gone by the time I'd picked up on it. [And North and South too.]

Well, that version of her, anyway.

[logicunlocked]

[ He gives a one-shouldered shrug, gesturing at her with his hand. ]

Sounds like you're going to tell me we've been sucked into some kid of multiverse thing. Like in a sci-fi movie or something.

[unflaggingly]

[That actually gets a laugh before she shakes her head.]

She was an AI, York. The first one Alpha purged, the only one he purged without the Director's interference. So she came back a few times, >or so I've been told.

[There's a moment where she's hesitating before she just comes out with it.]

It's been a few years since you teamed up with her to take down Wyoming. A lot's happened.

[howkickassiam]

Yeah, of course she was. She was Allison. The one all the AIs were screaming about that day.

[ Well...she was an Allison, anyway. He knows it's a bit more complicated than that.

In any case, they're not supposed to be standing here gabbing according to what she'd said earlier, so he turns and comes alongside her. ]

Where are we headed?