Healing Omega

[a_gentle_boy]

[action, 846 Goldberg Street]
[Three days after the escape from the carnival, Lucas reappears on his bed, head thankfully fixed back in the correct position.  His sleep is troubled as he constantly tosses and turns, his quiet murmurings punctuated by the occasional cry.

At about six o'clock in the morning, Lucas wakes himself up when he unconsciously shoots a blast of PK Love at the ceiling and drops a piece of plaster on his head.  Whoops.  Hope that blast didn't bother anyone.]

[phone]
A-Ah, this is Lucas!  Is everyone OK?!  Did we all make it back?!

[He didn't really think it was likely, but the thought of anyone being devoured for good by that fog was too terrible to consider.]

I'm not sure what happened there at the end.  I don't know, I'm so sorry I couldn't do more.  ...It really all happened, didn't it?  It wasn't just a strange dream?  I feel as if I've just been having nightmares for days...  Miss Natalie - Is Miss Natalie here?  Henry, you made it back with the notebook?  And... And Rin, there was that... thing we found in the house about... about the murder, right?

Have we all had a chance to recap yet?  The papers say it's already the 12th, so it must have been... two weeks.  How is everyone?  Did anything terrible happen back here?  There was the 4th, wasn't there?  That was when... all of that strange stuff happened last year.

[Lucas trails off a little, sounding a little unsure of himself.]

Ah, I'm sorry.  I shouldn't be rambling so much.  I still feel awfully... foggy.  Foggy in the head.

...Has anyone seen my paddleball?

[action, park]
[Lucas can be found standing in the park, idly practicing yo-yo tricks and staring up at the perfect blue skies.  ...Things like this were always a stark reminder not take Mayfield for granted.  It was terrible in many ways, but... well.  Clean air, food, and shelter was all anyone really needed to survive.  The sky wasn't falling apart, there weren't monsters hiding around every corner....  There weren't even chimeras or Pigmask Army soldiers to worry about.  For the majority of a month, Mayfield was, if not a perfect place to live, at least tolerable.

After an hour or so of this, Lucas will meander over to a more isolated area of the park.  The bodies weren't there anymore, he knew, but... a grave was symbolic.  To have a body interred was only the physical manifestation of what it truly meant.  He spends a few minutes quietly contemplating the two small markers he and Tiffany had erected for Samantha Achewood and Evan Olney.]

Comments

[gezellig]

Hallo.

[He'll raise his hand in a wave.]

I think I'm mostly okay.

[a_gentle_boy]

[Lucas will patter over eagerly.]

I was worried when I couldn't find you on that last day... Did you spend it in one of the houses?

[gezellig]

[. . . one of the houses? That's the last thing he remembered.]

I remember being alone in a house but I don't remember leaving.

[He'll pause.]

Do you know where that house was?

[a_gentle_boy]

...The ones down by the church, right? It's the only ones I remember seeing.

[gezellig]

. . .

[This was aggravating, so he'll frown, not exactly at Lucas, just in general.]

I don't remember a church. I just remember a house, and nothing else.

[He'll pause, but then ask, sincerely.]

Is that what most people call me? Netherlands?

[a_gentle_boy]

Hm?

...I'm not sure, actually. It's just what I'm used to calling you. I know you have a lot of other names, too.

[OK. This was getting kind of weird.]

[gezellig]

I've just been called a few names today, so I'm not sure which one is right.

[Sigh. And his next question is unfathomable. ]

What's your name?

1/2

[a_gentle_boy]

[a_gentle_boy]

B-But...! But you weren't droned! That's not -- That's... You... That's not really funny....

[gezellig]

Droned?

No, there was a woman in the grocery store that said I wasn't a drone.

I don't remember anything except being in that house alone.

[He looks apologetic, nearly.]

[a_gentle_boy]

...

I think you must have bumped your head.

Hold on, I can cure amnesia.

[And Lucas glows as he gets ready to blast the Netherlands.]

[gezellig]

Wait I--

Wait!

[Why is that kid glowing? Why? That's clearly what his expression is asking.]

You're. . . glowing.

[a_gentle_boy]

[BZAP. It is a nice glow, OK? Netherlands is struck with a strong Healing Beta before Lucas responds.]

...How does that feel? Are you better now?

((Lucas can cure memory loss, but given that it's Mayfield, you can do whatever!))

[gezellig]

[While it does leave him feeling less tired, and his leg hurts much less, he doesn't have a single memory back. He'll still be looking at Lucas with some wariness. ]

I don't think I am.

[a_gentle_boy]

[Lucas looks just a bit upset.]

...They're not gonna leave you like this forever, right? It's just... for a little while.

[gezellig]

[That upset face makes him feel pretty awful, and it's plain to see on Holland's own face.]

You . . . you have an interesting power.

[Kid don't make that face. He'll try to make Lucas feel better. ]

My leg stopped hurting.

[a_gentle_boy]

It's PSI.

[This is the only time Lucas will ever be short with the Netherlands.]

A-Ah, well... you should just try and sleep it off. You'll be back to normal soon!

[gezellig]

PSI. . .

[Hmm.]

Some kind of magic?

[And then he'll open the envelope Ilsa gave him, glancing inside, then sighing. It's so much like Holland, but he's simply off somehow.]

I hope so; I don't think I can read all of this without being bored. . .

[a_gentle_boy]

...It might jog your memory. And I guess if it bores you enough, it might help you get some rest.

[gezellig]

[He'll pause, then set the envelope in his lap and look at Lucas; he'll lace his fingers together, thumbs resting under his chin as he eyes the boy, elbows resting on his knees as he leans forward.]

You must know me pretty well, right?

[He's still giving that pretty sympathetic look.]

[a_gentle_boy]

Aha...

We can talk about that if you're still not feeling better in a few days.

[There is a fake air of chipperness to his voice now.]

You remember where you live, right?

[gezellig]

[Holland nods.]

When I'm not this way, I'll probably tell you?

[He hopes, at least.]

[a_gentle_boy]

((Sorry for being so late. I had to go on hiatus due to a medical situation in the family. Feel free to drop the thread if you'd prefer.))

Of course.

[push push push]

You should... go get some rest. And try to think about... things. And about... being Mr. Netherlands.

/even later

[gezellig]

Everybody keeps telling me to go rest and to stay inside.

Is this really that terrible of a place. . . ?

[ooc: no worries]

[a_gentle_boy]

...Um.

Well. It is a little bad, but maybe that's not why you should rest, so much.