mental link // S72

[servitor]

DIASPEIREIN To scatter, spread about.	MELIORISM The belief that the world gets better.
ORIFLAMME A symbol or standard that inspires confidence, devotion, or courage.	VANGUARD The troops moving at the head of an army.

( CODE BY WHAMBAM )

Comments

[somnifacient]

[Nyx might sound dubious, but Noctis reflects it back with a stringent certainty. The man may have been difficult to read, oily and untrustworthy at first, but now he knows better. They memories of fighting him in the midst of a crumbling Insomnia were still recent to Noctis. He could play them back in his head not unlike a movie, frame by frame by frame.]

His real name was Ardyn Lucis Caelum. [A neat little bomb to drop, said plainly.] He held a grudge for thousands of years.

[Yes. His family is... messed up.]

So yeah. You're right.

[servitor]

[It's a dire moment but he's trying hard to hold back the bark of a laugh that wants to escape his throat. Yeah, everything sucks. Everything's brutal. They've been taken from everything time and again, and for Nyx, he's constantly reminded that he wouldn't amount to much after the war.

Still. He soldiers on.]

You ever think I came out here to check up on a teammate? Check up on a friend?

[servitor]

[There is an incredibly slow blink, a very physical manifestation of trying to process an immortal being destroying the city on the basis of a grudge.]

So the chancellor is your... uncle. Cousin. Doesn't matter. He's been around long enough to harness the darkness and destroy the city, then make the world go dark.

[He lets out a low whistle.]

No offense, but I'm not jealous of you.

[somnifacient]

[That... isn't expected. Maybe it should be, with how much Noctis refuses to be treated special, to be treated like the royalty that he is. What irony is it, then, that he assumes Nyx only comes here out of some sense of obligation, some permanent shred of duty that'll never fade?]

Friend, huh...

[He's silent, but surprise and gratitude radiates outward. A singular warmth in a flood of grief and sadness.

Noctis is bold enough to give Nyx a little nudge with his elbow, grinning weakly despite himself.]

You're just trying to soften me up for running more laps in the morning.

[somnifacient]

I don't know exactly how he's related to me. Great uncle times a hundred, great grandfather times a hundred... It doesn't matter. It's not like we really had much of a family bonding time.

[Sarcasm practically drips from every word. Sarcasm, and something faintly reminiscent to pity.]

Either way, I'm not jealous of me either. But if it makes you feel any better, I managed to beat him in a fight.

[servitor]

[The assumption wouldn't be wrong. He is honor-bound and duty-bound through and through.

But it's more of a personal need to make sure he's doing okay, as opposed to anything else. They do need to have clear minds for the missions, sure, but in the end, Nyx is genuinely worried. He'd go out of his way for anyone.

He gently pushes back, with a tiny smirk.]

Caught me red-handed.

[servitor]

He deserves it. Had I known I would've done it myself instead of going after Drautos.

[Though Drautos was the immediate threat to the city and the Princess.]

[sizeofyourbaggage]

( Maybe. I keep thinking one of these days, something's gonna be big enough to shut at least some of them up and make them listen to each other, but so far, nothing has. )

[ Being nearly killed by a mysterious force is honestly common enough for most of them, but Sam still would've thought that waking up with a symbiote in your brain and a mental link to a few dozen other people might be enough motivation to actually get together to do something, but apparently not.

But then there's something like a chuckle, the sensation of a tiny smirk. ]

( Maybe not everyone's, but you definitely got on mine. ) [ Look, he can't help it, all right. ] ( Give 'em time, man, they'll come around. Just a bunch of paranoid jackasses. )

[ Not all of them will, maybe, but Sam still hopes. He hums thoughtfully at that - it's a good point, Sam just doesn't see much of a way around it. ]

( I guess if anyone takes it badly, they can be pointed back at me. )

[somnifacient]

[A small, breathless "heh" escapes him, and he returns his gaze to nothing in particular -- the gardens, stretching out before him.]

Well... even if that's the case, thanks.

[The sense of loss is great, and Nyx's reassurances are small, yet still exponentially better than not having anything at all. At having no one here to worry for him.

There's a small amount of comfort to be taken in that.]

...For looking out. I'll try to return the favor.

[somnifacient]

You might've had a little trouble with that.

[He wasn't exactly, well. Easy to kill.]

But hey, I would've cheered you on anyway.

[You know, if he was there.]

[servitor]

Put it on my tab. We'll talk about owing later.

[Not that he ever cashes out, or forces anyone to pay up. Not his style.]

I know how this is going to sound, but you'll be okay. Not because we have to be. Just because I don't think you'd give in.

[somnifacient]

[A long inhale, a long exhale through his nose. For what it was worth, Nyx was right. He had to be.

Noctis straightens in his seat, nodding.]

You're right.

[Sorrow and loss are not so easily swept under the rug, but he'll not find himself tripping over it again and again. The memories of his broodmares were worth more than a weight chained to his ankles, holding him back.]

...On the tab it is, then.

[servitor]

( Like anyone could ever be mad at you. )

[He's got his own charm and easy grins but Nyx can say it's not quite as effortless or welcoming as Sam's level of friendliness. Nyx is still rough around the edges, truth be told. Call it life, call it being a Galahdian. Might as well be some wild animal in a zoo the size of a city.]

( We still need a plan. Something in case someone gets stuck. I don't plan on compromising the mission but I'm not the kind of guy to leave behind anyone if I can help it. )

[servitor]

Trouble or not, it would've been worth it.

[Not like Drautos wasn't enough trouble with hulking armor and him without magic.]

I can't imagine things went great during that darkness.

close it up here?

[servitor]

[He sighs lightly. Maybe one day they'll all come to terms that their lives are nothing but misery and loss. Until then? There's only the future and those who are still alive.]

Let me know if you ever need anything. We're in this together, until the end.

[sizeofyourbaggage]

( If Ilde and the Darkling were still here, they'd probably have a different opinion. )

[ Damon's not all that happy with him at the moment, and it's only a matter of time before he and Bucky are shouting at each other again or Katie's leaking anger all over him, but those are different.

Besides, Sam kind of likes Nyx's rough edges. Honestly, he's always a little uncomfortable around people who're too smooth, who feel like they haven't lived at all. Hard to relate, maybe - or maybe it's just that Nyx says stuff like that, and Sam can't hold back just how much he emphasizes with that, or just how damn good it is to find someone who feels the same way. ]

( Me neither. I was pararescue before I went special ops. ) [ Not that pararescue itself isn't special ops, just different than when he put on the wings or became an Avenger. ] ( We've got the memory shots for small stuff, much as I hate the idea. When it comes to getting stuck in a bigger way... )

anyway nyx is gonna hit on him again real soon

[servitor]

( Memory shots aren't going to save us if we're being shot at. )

[How the hell are they supposed to pull off a covert mission with no real direction, no real leadership, and spread the word among people who are so adamantly unwilling to work together?

He'd trust Sam in a heartbeat, that much is true. It's everyone else that he can't rely on, and it kills him. Lexa had mentioned they're not at war or the battlefield, that demanding proof of trust is available.

Except it's not. Except it's still a commodity. Except they are at war, just a much slower one.]

( We need a rendezvous point first. If we get separated or lost? That has to be our first order. Anyone who's got infiltration or rescue needs to go with us if we have to go looking for someone, while everyone else plays their part. )

[somnifacient]

No.

[He pauses, taking a drink from his soda, the can almost forgotten. He feels the fizz as it goes down, providing little distraction from the memory of Eos, and the state it was in when he left.]

Insomnia was... a mess. There are daemons crawling around, as far as the eye can see. Most of the civilization is holed up in or around Lestallum; the flood lights keep the daemons at bay, or so I was told. I didn't exactly get a chance to visit.

spoilers sam's gonna hit on him back

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ There's the sensation of a soft huff that could almost be laughter, and a swirl of agreement. If they're being shot at, they're a little past being stuck and well into fucked.

The lack of direction and leadership has been a point of contention for Sam since the start - but then, would he have followed Cathaway or Prince if they started with orders? Would he now, would any of them? Honestly, he's not sure.

But it'd hardly be any different than now, and at least it'd be better than throwing people with no training into a mission like this.

You don't send people still going through basic on highly classified special ops missions. ]

( Yeah. Yeah, good idea. I'm going with nobility for my cover, gonna make it seem like I'm in the habit of getting too close to my bodyguards, so I'll have a real good explanation for wandering off with someone if we need to. )

[servitor]

[He just... hopes his mother is still around by then. He's assuming now that she got out during the evacuations. It's something he'll never really know, will he? Nyx doesn't expect records to have survived the bombings, even less after Eos fell into chaos.]

I guess we can count on people to stay alive, huh?

yeaaa girl

[servitor]

( Anytime I open my mouth I get into trouble, so I'll leave the nobility to you and the rest. I'm just here for the backup when things go south. )

[Making it seem that things will, inevitably, go south.]

( I'll be around anyone who needs me. Call it a personal guard for anyone who's attending. It's not like I haven't done that all my life already. )

[And really, he'd rather be able to fight than to talk, because Nyx is really no good at talking the way the royals can talk. The last time he said anything it got him demoted worse than was necessary. Funny how he's fulfilling the same demotion now that he's far away from Insomnia.]

[somnifacient]

To stay alive, and to fight. To stay... resilient, from what I saw.

[A hand comes up to rub at the back of his neck.]

I was gone for so long... I.... [A frown.] I wanted to set things right again. But, well. You know what happened after that.

[Those plans were cut short, for the sake of being brought onto the Station.]

[servitor]

So... does everything keep going then?

[Because he's not... exactly sure how it works here. They're different times, and his future, according to Noctis, is set in stone. Or is it? Now that they're here... does this mean it's going to change?]

[somnifacient]

I don't know.

[It's as honest of an answer as anything. He holds his hand up, Ring facing outward.]

Ardyn's body is dead, but his spirit-- I didn't get to finish the job there. I don't know if he'll just come back, or if it's a moot point because Eos is being overtaken by the Enemy, or what. [Uncertain settles uncomfortably within him, like a puzzle piece with not enough sides.] I just know that I need to get back. Even if they say it's impossible, I know that we have to try.

[servitor]

For all we know the Enemy is the Empire, or a part of it. [Only the gods know how big of a target he made of himself once he tore after the Princess and tried to get her out of the city. Yeah, that would probably explain why the Enemy is out for him, if they'd infiltrated the Nifs.] You know I'm not going down without a fight.