Chapter 6 | Video

[neverfeltthatway]

[Armin wakes in a hospital bed shaking, feeling alone and frightened and bereft. It takes him a few moments to piece together what happened, but then all the memories of the past week come rushing back - and he wishes they hadn't. The torture on its own, he might have been able to handle - but combined with the terror and trauma of his previous death, it had been too much. He runs his hands together disbelievingly, marveling that they're whole again, without pain or scar - or without new scars, anyway.

He takes out his phone, shying from the memory of his actual death. He'd have to face it sometime, but... not now. It's just too soon. He feels like he should take a few moments to compose himself before making a post, but, especially upon seeing he's been dead several days, he's not sure he'll be able to compose himself, without finding out what's happened - if everyone else is all right. And he wants to let them know he's okay too (physically, anyway) as soon as possible.

The camera is shaking a little when he turns it on, his eyes are wide and he's extremely pale. But, though his voice is tremulous, he's very much alive.]

I, um. I'm b-back, I guess. I'm s-sorry for anyone who h-had to see that, or anyone who w-was worried. But I'm b-better now.

Is... is everyone else all r-right. Sansa? Mikasa?

Comments

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[canbebrave]

[ They were right, praise the Gods. Her prayers had been answered, he had come back, he was-- well, probably not okay, but he would be. She'd make sure of it.

Her response comes as she's flying out of the apartment's front door- running to meet him at Stranger knows where.... ]

Where--

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[neverfeltthatway]

[Armin's look of relief nears her own in intensity.] Sansa! I was so afraid...

[He cuts off, looking around.] I'm at th-the hospital, though I'm not really s-sure where that is.

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[canbebrave]

I'm coming, I'll find you. [ ....She has no idea where it is either, but that's all ignored for the sake of getting to him as fast as she can. ]

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[scoutingangel]

[Ah, first things first; letting Levi know about this before she says anything. Done.

Time to say... something. Anything.] Welcome back. [Always a good start.]

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[neverfeltthatway]

[Armin takes a deep, shaky breath, giving Petra something that's almost a smile, but doesn't quite manage it.]

Th-thanks.

[lovesopendoors]

[Anna has been mostly just crying for days. Literally. Checking the network here and then to see if she could find something to distract herself, but nope.

Except this.

No one told her, that he would come back and if it's somewhere there to be found for anyone to see, Anna sure hasn't seen it. So excuse her for missing the most important detail, now she's just staring in shock at his video. It's not like coming back from the death is anything new to her, she's been through that too but hers was waaaaaay different.

Okay. That's it. She's gone insane and she's started seeing things. Or this is just a dream! Maybe her imagination has taken another wild step to something crazy wild and -- Wow, sorry Armin, Anna is actually really, really happy to see you but she's also too confused. She saw that video, yeah, talked with Mercury even and now you're suddenly just there?!!?]

...

[First try of saying something goes so well. ... Let's try that thing called words again.]

... Armin?

Is this audio or video?

[neverfeltthatway]

Anna?

[Sorry, Anna, Armin didn't know either! So waking up was a bit of a surprise for him too...]

[Video]

[sarcaskick]

[ The feed pops on and it's just a wall. Possibly a very familiar wall, still stained with the dried remains of someone's blood. Then, rather abruptly, everyone's favorite asshole slides into the frame with a wide grin. ]

Armin! Buddy! I heard you're well on the road to recovery. That's great, we're both so happy for you! Right, Eas?

[The camera shifts over to Eas who looks very unimpressed with he world as she usually does.]

You had us so worried when you left so abruptly. It's so nice to see you're well. If there's anything we can do for you, just let us know.

[ At this point Mercury unceremoniously shoves himself back into the frame, lifting one hand to reveal... a glass. Of champagne. Where did he get a glass of champagne-- ]

To your health!

[Not actually here]

[neverfeltthatway]

[Armin draws in a sharp breath and unconsciously cries out when he sees Mercury on his screen, instantly recoiling to the point of dropping his phone. Unfortunately it's still playing, and even the sound of that voice... he finds himself shaking again, uncontrollable panic coursing through him. All he can think of are hands reaching for his throat, his helplessness as the world starts to go dark - Mercury's laughter echoing in his ears, and even the pain of his ruined hands burning begins to fade...

He doesn't know how much time passes. Eventually, he comes back to himself, some time after the video's ended. Still breathing unsteadily, he manages to go over to pick up the phone, and with a deep breath, looks at the screen. It's gone dark.

He stares at the 'reply' button. He feels like he should respond - strike back somehow, show that it's not affecting him. But he doesn't know how. Eventually, feeling weak and hating himself for it, he hits the 'end call' button and puts his phone away.

That way, his trembling won't be quite so obvious to anyone who passes by.]

[Video] ooops, a week late threadjack or something

[scoutingangel]

[Oh no, they just didn't... Well, yes they just did. That's it. Enough. Much more than enough. She's been quiet to their direction until now for reasons, but just... no.

Meet more people from Armin's world, though this one is not going to come after them or anything, but she can't exactly just be quiet right now either. Or maybe she should because if she says something they might say something back and so on, who knows. Petra looks furious and she's not exactly the type to shut up when she has something to say.]

Hey, something you two can do... Fuck off.

[Audio] Locked

[frostheartedrose]

[There's a long silence, then a song recording begins. Enjoy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYD5uxBw7Po Mercury, are you my mummy? Bridget is coming for you!]

voice;

[shslprogrammer]

[Here's another face that is happy to see that they have come back and seem to be phyically okay. Chihiro wasn't sure how exactly to respond to this, so he keeps it to voice for the meantime.]

I-I'm glad that you are back and okay. [He was so happy to was crying, thus why he kept this to voice for now, but the sound of his voice made it obvious as well.]

I'm sorry... I-It may seem rude of me to say why, so I am sorry again. [He pauses slightly, he really didn't know how to handle such things. But at least he was trying.] But for now it's okay... We don't need to have lessons until you are ready, okay?

voice; locked

[neverfeltthatway]

Thanks. I...

[He hesitates, uncertain, then abruptly locks the feed.]

T-to be honest, I think I'm g-going to need the distraction. I wouldn't mind continuing. Except... I d-don't know why he targeted me, and I wouldn't want to put you in danger. S-so maybe it's better if we don't continue our lessons. I c-can find may way around a computer now, after all, and I don't r-really need programming for my job...

[However much he enjoys it and enjoys learning, it isn't worth putting Chihiro at risk.]

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[cleanlevis]

Welcome back Arlert.

[He really is glad that Armin is alive again. Though his mind is full of regret and sadness that he lost someone again without being able to do anything. Though he pretty much looks like the normal, composed Levi he always is...]

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[neverfeltthatway]

Th-thank you, sir.

[He doesn't salute, for once - though that may simply be because they're talking over video.]

[Audio] Locked

[frostheartedrose]

[She hasn't slept since then, and she's been working non-stop as well. Sorry, Armin, you don't get to see how she looks right now! But there is a very, very long pause before she speaks.]

Armin, I'd hoped you'd be back but I wasn't aware it would be so quickly. Do you remember which area you were killed in? The Guardians are working to monitor the gates while I do full sweeps, but that room could have been anywhere except Fayren.

[Another long, now awkward pause.]

Sansa is fine as far as I know. The last I heard, your squad was going after that Thing. I've been too busy to keep tabs on them after that first hour.

[Audio] Locked

[neverfeltthatway]

Bridget? I...

[Where he was taken. Right. To business - he can do that. He takes a deep breath, ignoring all his fears and hurts, and sounds much more put together when he continues.]

I'm n-not sure exactly where, exactly, but it was somewhere in Nova City, in the basement of some building with an elevator.

locked; video

[whiteas]

I'm glad you're alright, Armin.

[ She pauses for a moment. ] I know it's probably a little soon, but do you mind telling me where he took you? If you were able to see when he took you there, anyway. I'm not going to make you go back, but I do need to know where it was.

locked; video

[neverfeltthatway]

Th-thanks.

I... don't know, specifically. He b-blindfolded me, and did his b-best to confuse me on the way. It was definitely in Nova City, and there w-was an elevator we t-took to get to the basement. [He bites his lip, frustrated.] At my best guess... we were around [insert general area of the city here].

[ video ]

[halffreckled]

Armin!! I'm so glad that you're okay! [ really, he had been waiting. look how worried he looks wow ]

[ video ]

[neverfeltthatway]

Marco! Is... is everyone all right?

[After all, he doesn't know what happened after he was kidnapped.]

action;

[canbebrave]

[ Sansa had asked for a moment with him alone once they got there. Now she flies into the hospital with a sense of urgency Armin's only seen a few times before- mainly used for her brother.

She almost throws herself upon him- but she realizes, last minute, that he may not be physically completely recovered, and ends up stopping dead in her tracks. Relief washes over her face, replacing some of the previous panic. ]

I'm here. [ Honestly, she looks almost as bad as he does. She didn't leave the apartment while he was dead- barely ate, barely slept. Other than pleading with his friends to not kill themselves over his death, she's hardly spoken to anyone else. ]

action;

[neverfeltthatway]

[Her restraint is in vain, because the moment he sees her he throws himself upon her, wrapping his arms around her and holding on as if for dear life. He's not crying - not quite - but he's trembling, shaking all over, his breathing uneven as he buries his face in her chest.]

Audio/Action;

[inhisdebt]

[Mikasa may have gotten herself more hurt than she should have normally, but at least Levi was there with her so she wasn't by herself. A few close calls and some bruises, but nothing that would kill her or threaten her life. Since then, she's been beating herself up over his death, even if there was nothing she could do. She'd tried drastically and desperately trying to find him before it had happened... She couldn't find him no matter how hard she tried... It was just like trying to find Eren.

Without Armin there to calm her down and Eren gone, she may have gone a bit stircrazy herself. After everything was said and done, the person who had to calm her down the most was Jean. And she knew how hypocritical and stupid her actions were to what she had told him at some point while trying to help him with the Marco stuff...

She couldn't save Armin even when he needed her.... And Eren wasn't there to share in her pain. Sure she had the others and they felt the same as her, but it wasn't the same. She finally gave into her tears and helplessness after returning back to the apartment while hiding away in that empty bedroom. She had reverted back to moping much like she had when Eren left, but then she heard that voice come from her communicator.]

Armin...?

[She hadn't really been informed about how death worked here prior to all of this and it seemed strange that the one who had been here the longest didn't know about it for so long. Instantly getting up from the bed to snatch the communicator, she gave him a shocked and sorrowful expression.]

Armin you.... you're.... [Switching it from video to audio, he might notice her recent bruises and injuries before she did so. Suddenly he'll hear a slam of the door and then running.] Armin... I'm coming...

[She could have put her gear on, but she'd used up most of the gas and it would take longer than she wanted.]

Middle of the night visit.... (sob, so late)

[frostheartedrose]

Most lights were out in the various rooms. The night staff was minimal with mainly support staff, nurses, a few of the less senior doctors. There were no major events going on other than the occasional bedpan check and minor medications to administer. All the attention was centered on the ER at this point and so there were few chances for anyone to note a petite young woman meandering down various hallways. Any surveillance cameras would simply flicker off for a second or two. For Bridget, it was easy to locate the flow of electricity and block it.

So very easy for her it made the royal officer's temper boil under her icy expression, but neither broke her cat-like languid movements. She was wearing heeled riding boots, a split skirt, corset, and loose tunic with a pair of open seams down her shoulder blades, all in black. Her hair was braided around her head like a cross between a crown and a helmet. Frankly, she was operating in her own version of battle dress. Designed to give her major organs a layer of protection while giving both total freedom of movement to her limbs and a way to blend in with 'normal' late-night life. Tonight though was a little different. Bridget wasn't spending her power on non-essentials like the passive illusion of a lightly sun-touched pale complexion. She was pale and had never braved the sun's anger and there was nothing to hide that pallor this time.

One door, a certain room, Bridget had used her mental threads earlier to discover Armin's location while she was physically pinned. At least during the remaining hours she could safely assume that Armin's friends as well as the Weiss girl's company wouldn't leave Armin unattended. But that same circle of defense would be facing her now. Bridget paused and lightly tapped her knuckles on the door in a soft but definite pattern. After a moment, Bridget spoke up.

"It's me, Armin. We met in person when some succubus surprised me and you brought me some dignity." Bridget smiled tightly at the memory. "I really should buy you a tank of gas. And build you a glider."