tearmeanewone | neuf + action/audio

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neuf + action/audio

[Action - Backdated to the 18th]

[It had been an emotionally charged week for Elizabeth, but in the end she was grateful for it. She had the opportunity to see old friends, be honest with Booker and Rosalind and Robert, and see Gai one last time. It was strange, she felt almost at peace about returning and continuing on the path she knew she had to walk. When her younger self was returned, she would be happy in Elizabeth's stead, and safe from the unraveling that was about to occur.]

[After writing a few notes, Elizabeth methodically removes her more modern-looking clothes and changes into one of the many outfits hanging in her closet. Heavy winter jacket for the chill, gloves, scarf, boots... And she removes her makeup and brushes the curl out of her hair. For all intents and purposes, aside from a distinctly cold cast to her gaze, she looks like she always did in Luceti.]

[She contemplates saying goodbye in person, but there isn't time. She didn't want a scene, and if the effects of the experiment were reversed when she was in the middle of crying on Booker's shoulder, things would be hard to explain. So she leaves the house quietly and walks into the forest. She walks a good distance in, then sits down to wait. Her eyes drift shut and she appears to fall asleep against a tree trunk...]

[A few hours later, Elizabeth comes stumbling out of the forest, half-frozen and looking confused and scared. The last thing she remembers is being kidnapped by droids, and now she's freezing to death in a forest and she can't remember anything between now and then. She hurries through the village, repeatedly blowing into her hands to try and warm them as she heads home. Everyone must have been worried sick about her.]

[Audio]

I looked back at my journal, and I realized that my fight with the droids was recorded. I'm sorry, that must have been a real shock for some of you.

But I'm back now--I don't remember what happened, but I think I have all of my limbs attached where they're supposed to go and as far as I can tell there's nothing strange about my behavior (though let me know if there is something I'm not seeing, of course...).

I don't know, do people sometimes come back from being kidnapped without anything strange having happened to them?

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[Gai knew exactly what had happened the moment he'd gone over to the house and found those notes and that envelope. If what she'd told him was true (or even if it wasn't), the droids would be back to pick her up and return the old Elizabeth, and she likely wouldn't have any memories of this past week. He knows that's how it's going to go.

But that doesn't make him worry any less, nor does it allow him to just sit quietly by and wait for her to return. Instead, he bundles himself back up and heads out on a silent patrol of the village and the forest just outside, intending to keep it up until she's returned, whenever that may be. The cold doesn't bother him; he'll just continue searching until he finds her.

And so he just doggedly circles through the snow, keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of Elizabeth and occasionally stopping to ask passers-by if they've seen her...]

[It's cold and bleak, and almost dark when Elizabeth comes walking out of the forest. But Gai's blonde hair against his dark coat is a beacon for her, and she pulls her coat closer around her and runs.]

Gai!

[Robert is waiting. Both of them are, really. With warm tea and less than certain understanding of what will happen. Will the young Elizabeth remember her older self? Will she know the things that came to pass? It's easy to sit in silence with Rosalind, and he does it.

When Robert hears the front door, though, he pulls himself to his feet, looks out into the hall... and sees her. The young woman, coated in snow and freezing.

It is, perhaps, the most paternal thing he's ever done. He goes down the hall, straight to her, and wraps his arms around her, mindless of the chill or dampness of her clothes. It's a tight hug, and his voice is low as he mutters just one phrase:]

Welcome back.

Elizabeth.

[It's obvious what happened, really. She can practically hear the different tone in the voice. So after a moment, Eleanor hurries on.]

Welcome back. How do you feel?

Elizabeth!

[He's turning around the moment he hears her voice, eyes scanning the dark shadows of the forest's edge for her. Once he spots her, he's running too-- straight towards her at top speed, only slowing down enough to pull her into his arms once he's close enough.

It's less a hug and more of an all-encompassing embrace, as if by holding her tightly he can keep her there, make sure that she's real, unharmed and in one piece. Finally, after nearly two weeks, he feels like he can breathe properly again.]

[Elizabeth throws her arms around Gai and squeezes him too. She had been kidnapped, yes, and it made her anxious that she couldn't remember any of it. But the unease she's feeling now stems mostly from how Gai is holding her as though she had been gone either for a few hours or weeks.]

I'm okay, I'm alright I think. [She tries to pull back so she can look him in the eyes.] How long have I been gone? [Elizabeth looks uneasily around at the snow.]

[As Elizabeth walks in the door, she shuts it after her and does a full body shudder as she tries to get some warmth back in her skin. She's trying to figure out what to do about her slowly dampening clothes when Robert comes down the hall and engulfs her.]

[It's a little startling, but Elizabeth falls into it easily and wraps her arms around his back too.]

I'm sorry, I tried to fight them off.

Tired, a little cold. Otherwise I feel fine.

Thank you, though.

[...she feels like there's more to say, but Elizabeth can't quite figure out what that is.]

[Rosalind's close behind, a businesslike rapid click-click of shoes against hardwood for a handful of strides, delayed only by the business of taking up one of the roomy, plush towels they'd had waiting in front of the fire. She is curious as well, but there are priorities, and the girl not coming down with pneumonia is certainly one of them.]

Nonsense. [She's behind Elizabeth in a moment, shaking out the warm fabric and tucking it over her head, ruching the water and ice out of her hair.] To say the deck was stacked against you would incorrectly imply you were even dealt a hand.

I'm glad.

...You do not remember anything? From while you were a...gone, I mean?

No need to apologize.

[It's still strange to know that another version of this girl becomes the Elizabeth who traveled the Infinite with Rosalind and him, who tried everything she could think of to destroy Comstock before she finally understood what she had to do.

It woudln't be this girl. He'd made that promise.

Instead, he hugs her a bit tighter and kisses the top on her head.]

You probably want to get changed into something dry. [Something warmer.]

Yeah, I suppose you both would know. [Elizabeth smiles gratefully as Rosalind drops the towel over her head. The gesture keeps Elizabeth from making a pointed comment about how effective the siphon had been and where the Malnosso could have possibly procured that technology, because there was something very soothing about Rosalind taking care of her hair.]

[Robert kissing the top of her head, though, is a little unexpected. Elizabeth has a feeling more happened while she was gone, but for the most part she's putting Robert and Rosalind's reactions down as a result of her being gone for nearly two weeks. She probably should change into something dry, but the edge of wondering what happened to her in the time she was gone is being dulled by Robert holding her and Rosalind preventing her from getting too much of a chill.]

In a minute. [She swallows.] I don't remember what happened to me. Whatever they did. Everything seems normal, but I feel strangely sad. And tired. Maybe you two could make certain I'm alright...? [Even though the two of them were physicists, she still trusted their scientific opinion on whether something strange was happening to her. She didn't trust herself when the Malnosso and their experiments were involved.]

No... [And clearly that realization bothers her. Anything could have happened, after all.] I remember the droids carrying me off. They had something that completely cut off my ability to fight back. And then I woke up in the forest and it was snowing.

Almost two weeks.

[Which is, technically, the truth. The Elizabeth who is here in his arms now has been gone for nearly two weeks; she doesn't need to know about the other Elizabeth who was returned, and he doesn't plan on telling her until he gives her that envelope.

Reluctantly he allows her to pull back, but he reaches up one hand to smooth her hair before placing a kiss on the top of her head. That's about all the lack of full contact he can stand before he pulls her right back into his arms, to reassure himself as much as her.]

I was so worried about you.

Two weeks... [Thinking about Gai worrying over her, maybe traipsing around in the snow all day long trying to find her, it's horrifying. And Booker, and Robert, and Rosalind--they must have been wondering what had happened to her, too.]

[She wraps her arms around Gai when he embraces her again, trying to reassure him too. She feels terrible, wonders how Gai stayed sane while not knowing what had happened to her or when she was coming back.]

I'm sorry Gai. I tried to fight them off, but they had a siphon. I thought my head was going to explode, I couldn't open tears.

[Really, all he needs for reassurance is her in his arms like this. Not that he doubted she would come back - not after an experiment they'd conducted on her like that; obviously they would want to see the longer-term effects of it, and besides, it's not as if they had control over when people were sent home anyway - but there's a difference between having that knowledge and having her there in his arms.]

It's not your fault. They're designed to be able to counter the abilities of whoever they're sent to bring in. That's how they can capture even the most powerful people here.

[And it pisses him off, to be honest.]

Well you fought them off... [There's an injured note in her voice, like she had somehow let Gai down by not being able to push past the siphon and escape.]

Because I knew the secret, and because I was lucky.

[He kisses her hair again in the hopes of mollifying her.]

I was on a mission where we infiltrated a droid production facility and made some stealth modifications to create defects in some of the droids. You can exploit them if you know where they are, but there's no guarantee that the droids coming for you will be some of the defective ones. It might not work at all.

Oh... [Now she just feels a little silly. No doubt she hadn't been lucky. After all, Gai infiltrating that facility had probably happened long before he'd known her. How long would it take to produce a droid with a siphon attached to it?]

[She sighs heavily and curls her fingers into the back of Gai's coat.] I don't remember what they did to me. Do I seem off to you at all?

No. You seem just like your normal self.

[And she does, after a week of having that other Elizabeth. He'd enjoyed it, to be sure, but this is the Elizabeth he knows best and initially fell in love with. This is the Elizabeth he plans on asking to marry him.]

Are you hurt anywhere?

No. [She rubs her nose against Gai's shoulder, trying to warm it up.] Just cold. And damp. I woke up on the ground in the middle of the forest, if you can believe that.

That's not the worst place I've heard of people waking up.

[He pulls her closer, rubs her back and arms with his hands to help with her quest to warm herself.]

I've heard some people have ended up dumped in the lake. The Malnosso must've been especially bored on those days.

Well that's how I first arrived. Guess they weren't in the mood for repeat performances. [She hums happily as Gai warms her. It just feels good to feel his hands on her again.]

One of the few times they've done us a favor.

[He's happy to keep warming her like this for as long as she wants, though he suspects it won't be long before she wants to go inside to get out of the cold and the snow.]

[She shivers again, full-bodied and long, and then she feels warm in Gai's arms. After a moment, she pulls back and looks at Gai, alarmed.]

Oh God, Booker and Robert and Ms. Lutece.

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