tampered | Doing the big sister thing. NBD

Entry tags:

Doing the big sister thing. NBD

When; During the Sand Event, late february
Rating; PG-13 for character death
Characters; Ken, Evil Ed and Charlie
Summary; Ken didn't listen when Charlie told him to stay in the Glass City and now she and Evil are going to rescue him, only for it to end badly for someone.
Log;

Charlie had been content in the safe zone for the most part. She was sunburned to hell, ached everywhere and her sleep schedule was shot, but she'd made it. It was a silent decision between Ed and Charlie to grab temporary quarters together, never mind the reasoning behind it. It just happened. Charlie didn't question it.

She'd been sitting on the floor in front of the bed, her device in her hands, when she saw Ken on the device. He was out of the Glass City and Charlie was in a panic. Why didn't he listen? She told him to stay where he was and now she had to find him and get him to the Safe zone.

She tried leaving before Ed woke up but it took her so long to get things organized that he caught her packing and after an argument, she decided to just take him with her. He needed to eat, anyway.

She was now back in the van, driving towards where she hoped Ken still was, stopping long enough to let Ed catch a few things but still feeling panicked that they were taking too long. She kept her eyes skyward, watching for Ba'ul as she leaned against the white machine, arms crossed and the sword she'd made stuck in the sand nearby.

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Ed came back soon enough, or as soon as he figured was necessary. Yeah, sure, Charlie was in a hurry, but it wasn't his friend who'd decided to be an idiot and come back here, and anyway hunting was something that couldn't be rushed. He was still convinced she was being just as much an idiot for this plan to save his ass as the kid was for leaving the other city in the first place.

And so it was that he eventually sauntered back, casual as you please, licking the remnants of breakfast (dinner? Dark made the labelling of meals a little tricky) from tacky fingers as he came.

Everyone rather underestimated him, didn't they? Well, not that he was capable of much without Wormmon, but he wasn't incompetent, and with his mind could actually take care of himself fairly well. With the addition of Ba'ul, no monster would come near him, which is likely part of why Ba'ul stayed with him.

Fortunately, for Charlie, seeing the large guy would be easy enough, with Ken sitting, leaning up against Ba'ul, worried, and eager to get to the safe zone as everyone else seemed to agree on it.

And, of course, they stayed in place, waiting, though a little impatiently, for Charlie to arrive.

Meeting an unexpected extra person....well, at least Charlie had company and hadn't come alone.

"Oh, there he is," Charlie says as she hurries over, grinning. She stop short when she gets an eyeful of the thing with Ken. "Whoa. Okay. Wow."

Jesus. What were they going to do with that thing? It could eat the van, Charlie was sure of it. "Um...Ed, this is Ken. A friend of mine. Ken, this is Ed." As for what he was? She wasn't entirely sure.

"It's getting cold. We should head back to the safe zone. Okay?" Plus, Charlie was sure she heard something moving in the desert and she wasn't sure what. Maybe they were keeping their distance because of Ba'ul?

Ed's less eager to join the new member of the group; sure, he stalks over, but it's mostly out of curiosity, not so much because he's feeling sociable. The weird critter lurking next to the kid's a bit of a surprise too, and he takes a curious sniff; it definitely doesn't seem like anything he's familiar with. He offers a smirk in greeting nonetheless, even if it's nowhere near as warm as Charlie's grin.

"Dunno, with that thing I think he's pretty much set out here. ...What is it, anyway?"

Ken gave an honest bow, only the slight hint of any smile, his mind focused more on worries and concerns.

"These are unfavorable circumstances to meet under. And this is Ba'ul," Ken told them, before he gave a shrug and admitted, "I didn't have the chance to ask his companions what he was."

For Charlie, Ken gave a nod. "Agreed. Ba'ul can follow us, flying."

Charlie shot Ed a brief look, almost frowning at him. He couldn't at least pretend to not be a creep? While she knew Ed better than she let on, this situation was exasperating. She looked at Ken, one hand on her hip and her tone even and calm when she spoke. "When we get to the safe zone, you and I are going to have a serious conversation about listening. Okay?"

She turns, starting back towards the van and only getting a few feet closer when she stops and turns her head. She's listening for something, watching her surroundings with a careful eye.

Her hands dig in her pocket a moment, pulling out the keys to the van and holding them out for Ed.

"Here. Get the van started," she says, looking Ed in the eyes and lowering her voice. "I'm not sure if I'm hearing things or what, but if anything happens, get Ken to the safe zone." She leaves off the 'alive and in one piece' she so desperately wanted to say, instead communicating it with a look. It's not her typical angry or annoyed look, either. She's worried. Something isn't sitting right with her at all.

The request gains a raised eyebrow, an amused look more than a genuinely curious one. "It's the same noises we've been hearing for the past however long we've been out here except without all the talking over it, lay off the caffeine." But he takes the keys anyway. "You're being paranoid; if anything it's probably more spiders or a worm or something, and we've got that covered, so quit it with the 'if I die' talk. It's annoying." And has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the prospect is something he does't particularly want to think about, of course; he'd only be annoyed because something else got to her first. Either way, he heads towards the van, keeping an eye on her just in case she starts to get extra weird.

A serious conversation - those are words he hasn't heard in a while, and Ken looks appropriately chastised, and looks down. There's little to be done for it, and trying to explain to her about how he could do this and not worry would require way too many other explanations.

When he does venture to look up again, he notices Charlie looking around, then looks at Ed, then back to Charlie, frowning all the while listening as she gives Ed directions.

"What are you going to do?" he asks, finding those words a bit ominous. Why use them if she wasn't thinking of doing something she probably shouldn't?

She notices Kens behavior and change in demeanor and looks at him, smiling just slightly. "Hey, don't worry. I'm not at all mad at you. Just worried and a bit alarmed. Okay?"

She tilts her head towards the van briefly, her way of saying head to it, and then follows them at a distance. Whatever the sound was seemed to have stopped so maybe she was imagining things.

Except, it's ill-advised to think such a thing. This was Charlie's experience with hoping that something wasn't at all bad. It usually was.

Ed and Ken were in the van safely when some thing shot between her feet and she tripped, landing with an 'oof'. She was by the glass sword she and McGonagall had created, one hand reaching for it when she stopped.

She could faintly make out the outline of something behind her, watching the reflection in the swords blade.

It was tall, scaly and hissing as it moved towards Charlie, hair bending and twisting and hissing around it's face.

Shit. SHIT! Charlie closed her eyes tightly, working hard to think of a way out of this but all she could come up with...well, if the way she thumped her fist into the sand, swearing with each thud was any indication, she hated her plan. Completely, unconditionally and entirely.

She was between the Gorgon and Ed and Ken and she didn't like it. Eyes still closed, she started to stand. The Gorgon hissed and growled and advanced on Charlie who turned on the spot, head bowed and eyes still shut tightly. Her skin was starting to glow and her breathing quickened slightly.

"It's time to go, Ed. Get Ken to the safe zone." There was an unnatural calm to her voice, all things considered. And she didn't even wait for an answer before opening her eyes and looking at the creature head on. She gave a small smirk and there was a loud whoosh that mixed with the sound of small rocks tumbling one over the other.

She really did just need a second to think, just one small push and the Gorgon was rapidly turning to ash as quickly as Charlie was turning to stone. The creature hit the ground, gone and Charlie was a statue, smirk on her face.

Ed, if Ken is harmed at all and she finds out about this when this event is over...

Edited 2012-02-23 04:11 (UTC)

...Shit. He's not sure how exactly he thought that would pan out, but Charlie turned to stone certainly isn't it. He frowns, an expression that turns to an outright snarl because WHAT WAS SHE THINKING, but it's at least half just out of annoyance at the extra responsibility. He doesn't want to have to play babysitter, it's not his job, he has better things to be doing. Whatever the other half of the source of his annoyance is, he doesn't stop to examine it too closely. A future meal ruined, and that's all there is to it. Just fucking great.

He flips off the statue with a muttered "thanks a lot, Snack Cake," then turns back towards the van, propelling Ken forward with a firm pressure against his back. "You heard her. Let's get going."

He'll get Ken back to the safe zone, but don't try to push your luck here, Charlie. Whether he gets there in one piece or not isn't his problem so long as he gets there.

Ba'ul had left sometime ago to return to Judith once Ken had company.

Numb, shocked, and knowing that if they didn't get in the van someone else might get end up as stone, Ken allows himself to be ushered into the van, but once he can think again, shaking, he insists, "We can't just leave her like that." She's only stone. She's not DEAD, right?

"Can't we do something for her?"

"Do you want to carry around a statue? You know your mythology, right? That's pretty much it. There's nothing we can do. She wanted to be a dumb shit and go after it without a plan other than to burn the fuck out of it, that's her mistake."

He didn't care. He didn't. It just meant there wouldn't be any answering thumps through the floor when he got too loud for her taste. It was fine. He just kept looking ahead, put the van into drive and continued on towards the safe zone.

Not that he had much say in the matter once the van was moving. Ken looked out the back, and absently, voice hollow, answered, "I didn't learn much Western mythology, but yes, I remember this one."

A pause, then he muttered, "She's going to come back. But I don't know where or when she will." Should he go back? Or would that only cause her more trouble? It was his fault she was like this, after all. Even if Ed did have a point - she chose to go after it - Ken still saw his blame in it.

Maybe it was best they do what she wanted, for now.

"You know that for a fact, do you?"

His tone was sharp, sardonic. He'd told Jerry they didn't matter, that they'd only been allies and temporary ones at that, and he reminded himself of this fact again. It hadn't been a lie, not exactly, but even so. It beared reminding. It had been habit that got him accustomed, that was all, and everyone always left in the end anyway, one way or another.

He washed his hands of all this. The minute they were somewhere safe he was taking off on his own, heading...somewhere. Ferry to the other city, maybe, if he could manage it. ...Which was doubtful, given the state of his wallet, but hey. At least it was something. A goal.

Safe zone first though. In one piece.

To that, Ken actually turned around to respond. Something about focusing on facts he had learned, or what he knew versus what he didn't know, seemed to help him focus off the numbness he felt. And maybe it was a little of Ed's tone as well, Ken's not as polite as usual, though still at a calm and soft level.

"Yes, I do. Another of my friends died by a monster attack, and recently she came back and explained how that works to me. I didn't know this place allowed for that," Ken said, before turned back to face out the window, Charlie's statue no longer visible.

It was for the best - Ken would easily find other friends heading out on his own, and get to safety so when Charlie did come back she wouldn't have to worry about him. And he'd be able to say Ed did his part, just as she wanted. He would, too.

Why was it, though, knowing she would return didn't make things hurt any less?

"And how does it work?"

Professional curiosity, of a sort; it helped to know, if only for his own sake. In case anybody managed to off him.

He fiddled with the radio, but all it gave was static. Either the damn thing was as encrusted with sand as everything else or there wasn't anything to pick up, but really it shouldn't have been a surprise either way. Stupid thing.

"I don't know. Something about this place," Ken admitted with a shrug. "All I know is that she did come back."

Hearing the static come from the radio, he sighed, sad, and finally turned back around in his seat proper, leaning his head against the window.

"I'm sorry I was thrust on you like this," said the guilt-filled child from the back. "But it's not that much further to the safe zone, is it?"

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Doing the big sister thing. NBD

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