victory_road | Audio/Action for Remnant House

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Audio/Action for Remnant House

((OOC: Content warning for spoilers, angst, and probable discussion of death.))

[It's early morning when the broadcast goes out under Penny's Pokénet ID, after a week of radio silence. Her voice is shaky and hesitant, but clear enough.]

Um. This is Penny Polendina. I'm- I'm awake.

I'm fine.

[Hiccup.]

I'm. If anyone was worried, I'm sorry.

[There's a moment of fumbling, and then the feed clicks off.]

[Sitting on the floor between her bed and the wall, Penny took a shuddering breath and pulled her sheets tighter around her, cloak-like. Flynn was a warm weight next to her, the tiny Vulpix leaning into her and occasionally making soft whimpering sounds.]

[The date on her gear confirmed it was only about a week since her last memories of Johto, but it felt like months. The fallout from her father and Mr. Ironwood for running away again. The inter-school dance she spent under armed guard. Hearing about the Grimm erupting from the subway only secondhand, and after the fact. The Vytal Tournament. It all had felt so real, had BEEN real, her life at home playing out as if she'd never slipped away to Johto. No memories of her new friends, or Pokémon, or other worlds. No warning.]

[This is going to be so much fun!]

[Even now, she didn't remember it exactly. Just the thrill of the fight, getting to test her skills against one of the best young fighters of her generation. Going in for what felt like it might have been the finishing shot of their match, and then. Nothing.]

[Just a vague impression of Pyrrha lashing out, what felt like the force of a freight train smashing into her. Her vision flaring into static. Then waking up back in Goldenrod, rolling out of her bed in a panic. Even without what the others had told her, it wasn't hard to put two and two together. Their information just confirmed the worst.]

[Penny took a shaking breath, eyes squeezed shut for a moment. She couldn't go back home. As much as she loved it in Johto, getting to be a real girl, her duties back home had always loomed somewhere at the back of her head. Their disappearance should have felt liberating, but she just felt empty.]

[Opening her eyes with a sharp inhalation, she grabbed her Pokégear again and pulled up the text option with shaking fingers.]

::Private Message::
Recipient: Ruby Rose

I'm awake
I remembered
I'm

sorry
I couldn't stop it.
Sorry.

>SEND

[She took a deep breath, her eyes closing again.]

::ERROR:: This Pokénet ID Number is no longer in use

[The unfamiliar alert tone from her Gear brought her back to full alertness, eyes scanning across the error message displayed.]

...What?

>RESEND

[There was an instant's delay, and then again the sound of an alert, and an error message flashing across the screen.]

::ERROR:: This Pokénet ID Number is no longer in use

What- no, that's not-

>RESEND

[Her thumb slammed into the send button, once, then twice, then again and again, trying to brute force the message successfully across the network.]

::ERROR:: This Pokénet ID Number is no longer in use
::ERROR:: This Pokénet ID Number is no longer in use
::ERROR:: This Pokénet ID Number is no longer in use
::ERROR:: This Pokénet ID Number is no longer
::ERROR:: This Pokénet ID
::ERROR:: This Pokénet
::ERROR:: This Pokénet
::ERROR:: This
::ERROR::
::ERROR::
::ERROR::
::ERROR::
::ERROR:: This Pokénet ID Number is no longer in use

[The errors piled up over one another, Penny's fingers shaking as the last one displayed in full before clearing itself and returning to her unsent message.]

[This Pokénet ID Number is no longer in use]

No, that- no, no, no, no, no-

[She was up and moving, Pokégear falling forgotten from her hands, tripping over her sheets as she broke into a stumbling run, Flynn at her heels with a distressed yip.]

[So, barely minutes after Penny's broadcast, her room can be found with the door wide open and entirely vacant, if a bit of a mess. Ruby's room, now unoccupied, can be found with the door ajar. And boy does that sound like a crying ginger inside.]

[>Investigate?]

((OOC: Responses to the audio portion will ICly come a while later in the day.))

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[Oh wow. Uh. That sure does sound like someone who's...not okay? Even if Jane doesn't know this girl, those are definitely the words and tone of someone who isn't okay. She can't just...ignore this, can she? Even if it's kind of awkward to reach out to someone you've never met...well. Jane knows that, in her darker moments, she would've wanted the same done for her. Her voice is a little unsure, but steady.]

Um, excuse me...Miss Polendina? Hi. Uh...I can't say we know each other, because we don't, but do you, er...do you need someone to talk to?

[ she knew this was going to happen. she knew things were getting more serious between Penny and Ruby. it had started with a joke she hadn't even meant to make "don't worry, I don't think they broke your girlfriend" but like. Yang knew. she'd seen the signs. it may be a different bond, but the pain is just as real.

she waited outside the room for the crying to subside or, at least, five minutes to pass. whichever came first. then she let herself in clutching a fresh box of tissues between her elbow and her side. Yang just stood there, silently, letting the box drop into her hand to make a hollow sort of sound, and then cleared her throat to announce her presence.

maybe they shouldn't have cleared everything away so quickly... ]

[It's a fairly long time before Penny picks up her Gear again, and longer still before she responds. The urge to just ignore the message is strong, but... she still hits the 'audio' button, hesitant for once.]

Um. Salutations. Thank you. I'm-

[Not fine.]

It's. My friend. She went home. I just found out.

[Yeah, it's definitely the five minutes. There's a minor scramble inside the room at Yang's cough, Penny getting to the door a little too quickly. Her face is almost hopeful despite the tears, as she opens it fully, expression falling minutely as she recognizes Yang.]

[Sorry Yang, but at least she's past the gross sobbing stage?]

Yang-

[There's too much to ask, too many answers that seem to obvious.]

[So, slightly wet hug incoming.]

[That's fine. Jane's not doing much but walking anyway, so something to distract from trees and grass and top percentage Ratatta is great, even if it's late.

Still...]

Oh. Oh, I...I'm sorry to hear that. I'm guessing that something kept you from finding out sooner. Not that you have to say what that is.

[Gotta try and...respect the boundaries of strangers and all. Try being the key word.]

I'm...afraid I don't have a lot of experience with this whole "showing up and leaving in the blink of an eye" business. I haven't been here very long myself.

[ her first-hand experience meant Yang raised her arm in such a way as to catch Penny in a firm, supportive hug. tissue box be damned. ]

There, that's it. Get all the first stuff out. Take your time.

[....Well.

Rakka hadn't heard from Penny in the past week, like. At all. It was already a little disconcerting. Now, with that new message rolling out, she simply can't believe that everything's fine. Because Rakka knew when things sounded bad... and when someone was reeling from something terrible.]

...Penny? Hello? It's Rakka.

[She's unsure, but boy is she reaching out anyway.]

[...Aw, hell.]

Penny? Pen. Hey. Talk to me, girl.

I was- sleeping, remembering. Things from home. It's- I don't know how it works.

[At least it'll never happen again. Ha. Ha ha.]

I've been here- ten months, I think? I'd heard about it happening, I just never really thought-

[She goes quiet for a minute.]

You just got here, then?

[So hey let's talk about LITERALLY ANYTHING ELSE.]

[Yeah, it's gonna be a minute. Hopefully Yang's ribs are sort of used to being compressed, cause Penny's hugging just as hard as usual.]

I remembered.

[It's quiet when she finally speaks again, still breathing hard.]

The tournament, and- everything.

[There's another moment of silence. She still hasn't let go.]

...is she really gone?

Rakka?

[It's not exactly unwelcome, hearing from someone familiar. But what exactly do you say after that?]

...I'm- sorry. If you were worried.

Dave.

[She's quiet, and not in the I'm-stuck-in-a-weird-Rocket-base-and-need-to-be-stealthy way.]

...Ruby's gone. She went home.

[ the hug is returned with all the intensity that Yang can still muster in that one arm. if there was just one of them who deserved to steer clear of the big picture; or to forget that matters were unfolding badly in general, it was always Penny. they all would have likely agreed on that.

now?

now there's just more pieces for the group to pick up and one less pair of hands involved. ] I'm sorry. It was tough. You shouldn't have been there. It... could've gone down some other way. Any other way...

Sleeping and...remembering? You're certain it wasn't a dream?

[Mm, Penny's free to ignore that though, since she's so insistent on changing the subject. Still, it's an odd tidbit Jane will keep in the back of her mind.]

I did just get here recently. About a week ago now, actually!

Yeah. It's me. [she's here, Penny.]

You don't have to apologize for anything.

Oh.

[Oh, no.]

Aw, Penny. Shit, I'm sorry, right after you two finally...hell. I'm really sorry. How long has she...

Um. Pretty sure?

[Even aside from matching up more or less perfectly with what she'd been told, it had felt pretty darn real. And dreams typically didn't span months in realtime.]

You sound like you're adjusting well, at least! A lot of people don't take being here very well at all.

I thought-

[Another big inhale, trying to stay coherent.]

I'd thought- hoped I could maybe change things. Stop them from-

...I couldn't. I didn't remember anything, and- I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

[That gets a kind of bitter laugh, and a sniff.]

People keep saying that.

[She's speaking quietly.]

I know- I know it should be true. But it doesn't feel that way.

I'm- a few days, I think? I wasn't-

[Give her a second.]

She went- it happened while I was asleep. I couldn't-

[This is one more thing she couldn't have stopped. Being awake would've just meant finding out sooner. But there's just enough of a 'what if' to twist around inside her.]

...I was dreaming. Remembering. About- home.

Ah, well, it helps that this place is a lot nicer and livelier than where I was before. When you come to prefer where you are simply because of what it is, that makes warming up to the situation a lot easier, I think.

I know, Penny. Believe me, I know. We all thought the same thing. We made plans, and —

[ she sighed. angrily. ] It all went to hell anyway.

[ Yang pulled back, hand firm on Penny's shoulder and gaze hardened too. ] Listen to me, okay? You're a victim, too. Don't feel guilty. Don't apologize. You did absolutely nothing wrong, you hear me?

[It takes a second for the implications to sink in.]

...Shit.

Shit, Penny, I...

[What. He's sorry? Of course he's sorry, but that isn't even a drop in the bucket of what Penny's got to be feeling. He trails off, then switches to video so she can see him. So she can at least know that he's still there. Still real.]

I don't...fuck, P, I don't know what to say. But I'm not going anywhere, okay? I'm...I'm gonna stay right here. For as long as you want. No matter what.

Then it's true.

[I was told that too once.]

...Penny, what happened? D-did something happen to you? I know you said you were fine, but... [People say a lot of things.]

[It takes a minute for Penny to follow suit in changing to video. That she spent a good portion of the day crying is probably pretty obvious. Mostly she looks exhausted. ]

Thanks, Dave.

[It's not the same as having someone actually there, but at the same time it almost feels better being almost-alone. No one to see her pain in person.]

...I thought maybe I could still change things. Save people. But- while I was there, I didn't remember anything. Everything about here was just gone, I didn't even know I'd forgotten anything.

Edited 2016-08-25 17:10 (UTC)

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