[ todomatsu blinks at the spot where temenos was a moment ago — where he'd landed after jumping in to protect him, only to be torn away a second later before he could fully register what had just happened.
ah. he probably should have thanked him. that's what he gets for rescuing someone without a heart.
coughing hard into his hand, he makes a shaky attempt to get back on his feet. his vision is still blurry with tears and his head is swimming, but he tries to get a handle on the situation as best he can — are the vines still coming? or is it quiet now, aside from the very vocal presence of his own self hatred? ]
[ there are still vines, unfortunately, but there's also still people. it's not just todomatsu being hunted for sport by the flora of the planet. but there's no more familiar faces left for him, here.
above, the craft they arrived in is trying to find stability in the winds of the veritable storm that's broken out over the planet. it's the only sign of hope right now, and even that is in a delicate balance now, slowly lowering as the door remains open.
did todomatsu ever activate his helmet? he didn't, did he?
having your face smashed into the ground without protection can't be very pleasant, and the burn in his lungs intensifies. maybe it really will be his allergies that take him out this time?
a vine wraps around his ankle as he lays there, and pulls. ]
[ no he sure didn't. he's probably already forgotten he has one, he was so distracted when adrastea's message came in. it's not like he's supposed to need that kind of thing anyway. a helmet's just part of a costume.
he yelps as the vine grabs onto him and pulls, and — self hatred or not — instinctively tries to reach for anything he can take hold of. a railing, a rock, a— probably not a root. anything that isn't going to move and isn't going to turn on him. there's got to be something, right? he can't just be out here on his own. ]
his beautiful face is cut up in the process of being dragged across the glass covered ground, ruining his makeup more than his earlier tears did. if his wig isn't secure, that's getting ripped off as his clothes are torn, snagged on thorns and glass and debris from the atrium being ruined. his palm is sliced as he grabs at anything he can reach that won't betray him.
with the grip that the vine has on his ankle, it's probably going to be twisted if not broken as the vine jerks.
but his hands land on a 2x4 length of metal from the atrium frame. it comes along with him as he's dragged and cut up.
[ his wig is on very securely, actually; he's not enough of an amateur to wear a wig to an action scene without plenty of hairpins and a strip of lacefront tape to keep it in place. unfortunately this actually works against him in this situation, because when it snags and tangles on the thorns and gets pulled off, it yanks his own hair and scalp hard, twisting his neck at a painful angle and ripping out some strands that were stuck to the tape at his hairline.
the upside is that he's already focused enough on that pain that he doesn't feel it at full force when his ankle bone snaps a second later. again, small fucking blessings.
as for the piece of metal...well, that figures. but fine, then, he's just going to use this stupid piece of shit for something else if it won't help him the way he hoped. his hand is already cut up and bloody, but he uses all his strength to grip onto the metal and swing it at the vine, aiming to both slice at it with its sharp edges and beat it into submission if he can.
after how much these stupid plants and the shitty people behind all of this have already taken, he has no intention of giving them a damn thing more if he can help it. ]
[ ouchies. at least the pain offers clarity to go with anger and desperation, and he gets himself free by slicing and smashing the vine. it's... still around his ankle, but the part there is no longer attached to the whole, so he's suddenly motionless on the ground with this newfound weapon on hand.
it's also getting so much harder to breathe, todomatsu.
your lungs burn, and your eyes water as your muscles spasm intermittently. it feels like something is filling you up from the inside out, and it's trying to get out now, growing, pulsing. the pollen needs to be breathed in to take effect, but every open wound tingles miserably from exposure to it as well, a terrible toxin inside and out.
Hey. Cover your mouth, son.
more of the vines are rearing back, preparing to strike. ]
[ he's still riding high on that anger and desperation when he hears that instruction from— somewhere, and his instinctive reaction to it is— ]
The hell?! I'm fucking dying here and you're going to lecture me on my coughing manners?!!
[ though it's probably barely intelligible when he's wheezing and coughing between every word... especially since he does, in fact, cover his mouth with the hand that isn't still gripping onto the piece of metal, tasting blood and glass as he does so.
...
oh. right. he was supposed to put on his helmet or something, wasn't he?
he holds his breath as he takes his hand off his mouth again and fumbles around for the button... though he wonders if maybe it's too late for that to make a difference at this point when he's probably got 8000 times the recommended amount of pollen in his lungs by now. ]
[ only time will tell? imagine you came back to the eudora half a tree person, would that be fucked up or what.
at least the helmet going up protects his head from more hairpulling and cuts, since it's riddled with those now. whether it'll keep him from being added to the true Hanging Gardens is hard to say - at least it doesn't get any worse, but it doesn't exactly get any better.
especially since there's still vines moving around. the screaming, at least, has died down, but not for the reason you'd hope it would. the chaos continues, and your own blood is smeared across the ground as the vines whip out again, slamming forward.
[ the wig falls off of the vine and lands on top of his helmet.
at least there's no new pollen flying into his eyes now so he can start to cry out what's already in there. it's an improvement. he grips his metal piece as the vines whip out toward him.
[ with this goddamn 18, the wig stays on his helmet after it plops down.
he also pulls an owner and cuts the vines in such a way that it parts the red sea, so to speak, for the single coolest thing that todomatsu has ever done.
except no one fucking sees it. no one will ever know that you were this cool, in this moment, because no one is alive or there to see it. to the side, you hear more metal and glass being destroyed, screams in the distance dying out. the vines are in pieces, shredded and beaten away, but there are still more of them surrounding and filling the atrium. your ankle is broken. you're bruised and cut into, bleeding everywhere on your ruined dress, but god. god you're alive.
it gets a little easier to breathe, for a moment. what's the next move, femme fatale? ]
wait, NO ONE SAW THAT? THROWS DOWN HIS METAL PIECE
then hurriedly picks it back up, that thing is his datz office chair now and it's staying with him until he dies, which he REFUSES TO LET HAPPEN ON THIS SHIT PLANET.
that said, he has no idea how he's supposed to accomplish that, and he's really bitter right now that the tools he brought with him were a fucking screwdriver and a flashlight. he doesn't know if his earpiece is even working at this point, but he's going to shout into it between coughs anyway as he tries to (fastly) limp away. ]
Kind of preoccupied at the moment, Matsuno! Haul your ass over to Kazuki - where are the other two?
[ the ship is... trying to land, where that crashing crushing noise was. adrastea has some sort of long ranged weapon that you can't see, because the opening for the gangplank is on the other side of the craft, but there are bolts of blue that are being fired off to get through the vines there.
but then, there's a wave of energy that bursts outwards. the ship is buffeted, causing the officer to swear, and the vines... convulse. their movement becomes even more erratic, like a snake with its head cut off, the body seizing and whipping around. he gets smacked by a stray one, for one last insult to injury.
except... despite the rough landing, there's a familiar sigh. but it's less tired than when you, your brothers, your mother had that scare. that same voice is your thoughts, but not again. it's warmer than the self loathing that's plagued you since the loss of your brothers.
Hey, come on... you did pretty good today. You need a hand up? ]
[ he doesn't get around to answering the question before the energy blast hits, though it hardly matters, since his answer would have been that he didn't know where the hell any of them were. he gets smacked by that vine and goes down, and curses under his breath.
and then he hears that other voice, much too familiar and casual for this crazy situation, and freezes. ]
...Dad?
[ he tentatively turns his head to look around, hoping this really is just another voice that's all in his head. something his subconscious is using to encourage him to pull himself up.
he doesn't want to watch another member of his family meet their end in this stupid, terrible place. he doesn't want to be the only thing mom has. ]
[ adrastea has no answer for that, but it's fine. he can see where the craft is, as it lowers unsteadily and closer to the ground so that adrastea's figure can be seen just outright jumping down before it even lands properly.
there's no sign of his dad anywhere, fortunately - just a warmth that feels like familiar hands, on his back, his arms, encouraging him upright and onto unsteady feet. like maybe, maybe this time things turned into a shitshow... but he did good. he did pretty damn good.
maybe no one actually saw that, but your dad's approval and encouragement feels awesome.
you can make it if you run, even if you have to grit through the pain. ]
[ ah. his eyes are full of tears already but they just spill over completely at this, stinging harshly as they sink into the bloody cuts and scrapes that cover his face. with a sniff, he nods to himself, and makes it onto his feet. (along with his chunk of metal, just in case.)
he can still do this. mom and dad are still there. he has to get home for them.
[ todomatsu draws closer to the craft, where it has actually managed to land on the no-longer-moving vines. adrastea is... nearby, having climbed a swarth of them where they're trying to free kazuki, it looks like.
their helmet is off, but their back is to him, so all he can see is dark, short hair.
no more vines move, at least enough to matter more than a twitch, but the warmth stays. just a little more. just a little more, and you'll be alright.
temenos' voice can be heard over the earpieces: ] ... Owner. I'm... going to find him.
he finally comes to a stop a short distance behind... adrastea, apparently; and, taking their lack of a helmet to mean they don't need them anymore, he takes his off too. (the wig slides off, and he picks it up and... puts it back on his head in a bit of a daze, his own hair very much visible under it now that he's lost his wig cap.)
his vision is still blurry and he's squinting to see what's going on up ahead. ah... they found kazuki? that's good.
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ah. he probably should have thanked him. that's what he gets for rescuing someone without a heart.
coughing hard into his hand, he makes a shaky attempt to get back on his feet. his vision is still blurry with tears and his head is swimming, but he tries to get a handle on the situation as best he can — are the vines still coming? or is it quiet now, aside from the very vocal presence of his own self hatred? ]
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above, the craft they arrived in is trying to find stability in the winds of the veritable storm that's broken out over the planet. it's the only sign of hope right now, and even that is in a delicate balance now, slowly lowering as the door remains open.
did todomatsu ever activate his helmet? he didn't, did he?
having your face smashed into the ground without protection can't be very pleasant, and the burn in his lungs intensifies. maybe it really will be his allergies that take him out this time?
a vine wraps around his ankle as he lays there, and pulls. ]
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he yelps as the vine grabs onto him and pulls, and — self hatred or not — instinctively tries to reach for anything he can take hold of. a railing, a rock, a— probably not a root. anything that isn't going to move and isn't going to turn on him. there's got to be something, right? he can't just be out here on his own. ]
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his beautiful face is cut up in the process of being dragged across the glass covered ground, ruining his makeup more than his earlier tears did. if his wig isn't secure, that's getting ripped off as his clothes are torn, snagged on thorns and glass and debris from the atrium being ruined. his palm is sliced as he grabs at anything he can reach that won't betray him.
with the grip that the vine has on his ankle, it's probably going to be twisted if not broken as the vine jerks.
but his hands land on a 2x4 length of metal from the atrium frame. it comes along with him as he's dragged and cut up.
something. ]
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the upside is that he's already focused enough on that pain that he doesn't feel it at full force when his ankle bone snaps a second later. again, small fucking blessings.
as for the piece of metal...well, that figures. but fine, then, he's just going to use this stupid piece of shit for something else if it won't help him the way he hoped. his hand is already cut up and bloody, but he uses all his strength to grip onto the metal and swing it at the vine, aiming to both slice at it with its sharp edges and beat it into submission if he can.
after how much these stupid plants and the shitty people behind all of this have already taken, he has no intention of giving them a damn thing more if he can help it. ]
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it's also getting so much harder to breathe, todomatsu.
your lungs burn, and your eyes water as your muscles spasm intermittently. it feels like something is filling you up from the inside out, and it's trying to get out now, growing, pulsing. the pollen needs to be breathed in to take effect, but every open wound tingles miserably from exposure to it as well, a terrible toxin inside and out.
Hey. Cover your mouth, son.
more of the vines are rearing back, preparing to strike. ]
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The hell?! I'm fucking dying here and you're going to lecture me on my coughing manners?!!
[ though it's probably barely intelligible when he's wheezing and coughing between every word... especially since he does, in fact, cover his mouth with the hand that isn't still gripping onto the piece of metal, tasting blood and glass as he does so.
...
oh. right. he was supposed to put on his helmet or something, wasn't he?
he holds his breath as he takes his hand off his mouth again and fumbles around for the button... though he wonders if maybe it's too late for that to make a difference at this point when he's probably got 8000 times the recommended amount of pollen in his lungs by now. ]
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at least the helmet going up protects his head from more hairpulling and cuts, since it's riddled with those now. whether it'll keep him from being added to the true Hanging Gardens is hard to say - at least it doesn't get any worse, but it doesn't exactly get any better.
especially since there's still vines moving around. the screaming, at least, has died down, but not for the reason you'd hope it would. the chaos continues, and your own blood is smeared across the ground as the vines whip out again, slamming forward.
roll to either eat shit or do sick shit. ]
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at least there's no new pollen flying into his eyes now so he can start to cry out what's already in there. it's an improvement. he grips his metal piece as the vines whip out toward him.
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he also pulls an owner and cuts the vines in such a way that it parts the red sea, so to speak, for the single coolest thing that todomatsu has ever done.
except no one fucking sees it. no one will ever know that you were this cool, in this moment, because no one is alive or there to see it. to the side, you hear more metal and glass being destroyed, screams in the distance dying out. the vines are in pieces, shredded and beaten away, but there are still more of them surrounding and filling the atrium. your ankle is broken. you're bruised and cut into, bleeding everywhere on your ruined dress, but god. god you're alive.
it gets a little easier to breathe, for a moment. what's the next move, femme fatale? ]
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...
wait, NO ONE SAW THAT? THROWS DOWN HIS METAL PIECE
then hurriedly picks it back up, that thing is his datz office chair now and it's staying with him until he dies, which he REFUSES TO LET HAPPEN ON THIS SHIT PLANET.
that said, he has no idea how he's supposed to accomplish that, and he's really bitter right now that the tools he brought with him were a fucking screwdriver and a flashlight. he doesn't know if his earpiece is even working at this point, but he's going to shout into it between coughs anyway as he tries to (fastly) limp away. ]
WHERE! IS! THE SHIP!!!!
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[ the ship is... trying to land, where that crashing crushing noise was. adrastea has some sort of long ranged weapon that you can't see, because the opening for the gangplank is on the other side of the craft, but there are bolts of blue that are being fired off to get through the vines there.
but then, there's a wave of energy that bursts outwards. the ship is buffeted, causing the officer to swear, and the vines... convulse. their movement becomes even more erratic, like a snake with its head cut off, the body seizing and whipping around. he gets smacked by a stray one, for one last insult to injury.
except... despite the rough landing, there's a familiar sigh. but it's less tired than when you, your brothers, your mother had that scare. that same voice is your thoughts, but not again. it's warmer than the self loathing that's plagued you since the loss of your brothers.
Hey, come on... you did pretty good today. You need a hand up? ]
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[ he doesn't get around to answering the question before the energy blast hits, though it hardly matters, since his answer would have been that he didn't know where the hell any of them were. he gets smacked by that vine and goes down, and curses under his breath.
and then he hears that other voice, much too familiar and casual for this crazy situation, and freezes. ]
...Dad?
[ he tentatively turns his head to look around, hoping this really is just another voice that's all in his head. something his subconscious is using to encourage him to pull himself up.
he doesn't want to watch another member of his family meet their end in this stupid, terrible place. he doesn't want to be the only thing mom has. ]
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there's no sign of his dad anywhere, fortunately - just a warmth that feels like familiar hands, on his back, his arms, encouraging him upright and onto unsteady feet. like maybe, maybe this time things turned into a shitshow... but he did good. he did pretty damn good.
maybe no one actually saw that, but your dad's approval and encouragement feels awesome.
you can make it if you run, even if you have to grit through the pain. ]
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he can still do this. mom and dad are still there. he has to get home for them.
so, he runs and doesn't look back. ]
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their helmet is off, but their back is to him, so all he can see is dark, short hair.
no more vines move, at least enough to matter more than a twitch, but the warmth stays. just a little more. just a little more, and you'll be alright.
temenos' voice can be heard over the earpieces: ] ... Owner. I'm... going to find him.
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he finally comes to a stop a short distance behind... adrastea, apparently; and, taking their lack of a helmet to mean they don't need them anymore, he takes his off too. (the wig slides off, and he picks it up and... puts it back on his head in a bit of a daze, his own hair very much visible under it now that he's lost his wig cap.)
his vision is still blurry and he's squinting to see what's going on up ahead. ah... they found kazuki? that's good.
he coughs and waves weakly. ]
I'm here...
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