Thirty four

[brute_shot_bully]

[There is an exceedingly long pause between when he sets the filter up and when he actually says anything. He only has very vague and incomplete memories of what he did the last year and a half. He doesn't remember the AIs at all. He does, however, remember more then a few cases of doing some not nice things to people who didn't really deserve it, and though he wasn't really one for apologies, he does recognize these attacks were more direct and less "oops lol didn't mean for that grenade to go there.']

[Plus, he'd promised York he would, and he's not about to back down from that. So, with a characteristic growl he clears his throat,]

Sorry. About what happened.

Comments

[encryptedlock]

[...Will wonders never cease. He actually did it.

It doesn't mean York is any closer to forgiving him or trusting him just yet, but he is a little surprised Maine is even trying.]

[brute_shot_bully]

[It's not much, but it's a start.]

[encryptedlock]

[It's not much, but it's a hell of a lot better than nothing.]

filter;

[bloodsugar]

[l-lol. he's scratching his cheek over here...

not quite sure where he recognizes the voice from, exactly. 'about what happened' REALLY ISN'T SPECIFIC, EITHER. way2confuse the derp, Maine.]

Ah. Well!

...All's well that ends well? [yeah, let's go with that.]

Filtered/Dictated Forever

[brute_shot_bully]

[He can't help but snort at that, amused.][He'll take it.]

yes that :>

[bloodsugar]

Let's consider it water under the bridge, eh? Turn the other cheek and all that!

[still no idea who he's talking to slkdjgsdf...]

derpderp I suspect massive HTMfaiL in my last tag >.>

[brute_shot_bully]

Yeah ... yeah, okay.

[He's quiet a moment longer. He wants to just leave it at that, but it'd be too easy.]

[The whole point of this excersize was to do the hard thing, wasn't it?]

[He was never very verbose. He did what he did and he didn't care, whatever happened happened, and he never made apologies. But it hadn't been him.]

I ... remember. Attacking you and Tres. Tres isn't here.

Accept sorry for him too.

it is the past, my friend. /sagely nod

[bloodsugar]

--ah...

[well. there's very little question as to who this is after that. Tres hadn't exactly been assaulted on the regular, and the familiarity in this voice finally... clicks.]

...Is this...?

/relieved sigh

[brute_shot_bully]

Maine.

[He. Doesn't really want to say the other name. :/ ]

/pats gently... never fear!!

[bloodsugar]

[so, it really WAS him.]

...Agent Maine.

I have to admit... I'm a little surprised to hear your voice, it's... been a while, hasn't it? [and you were THE CRAZY META last they, you know. crossed paths.]

I get the feeling a lot has changed since I've been away, huh?

meep :3

[brute_shot_bully]

Something like that.

[Oh yes, he's been busy. Both before and after the rewind. At this point he's just trying to mend the bridges that Meta burned exploded.]

[bloodsugar]

...Are you alright? [you sound... less. not alright.]

[brute_shot_bully]

[This is awkward and embarrassing, give a guy break!]

[Maine give a noncommital grunt.] Yeah.

[bloodsugar]

I'm glad to hear it... [no really. you know, crazy sentient nanomachines being something he can sympathize with after losing Cain to them.]

Do you... mind if I ask what happened? [you know. the crazy switch got flipped... uh, how exactly?]

[brute_shot_bully]

[Maine gives a little grumble. He's not even really sure what happened, left with a patchy and confusing recollection of the least year and a half.] Don't know.

[bloodsugar]

[hmm... well, that really isn't implausible to him -- he knows Cain couldn't recall what'd happened after he had the nanomachines removed. maybe it was the same?]

...In any case, I'm glad to hear this...

And you have nothing to apologize for as far as I'm concerned, okay? It's all water under the bridge. Consider this a fresh start.

[brute_shot_bully]

[Wow, this guy sure was understanding.] Sure.

[bloodsugar]

So!

...I'm Father Abel, Agent Maine. It's nice to properly meet you!

[brute_shot_bully]

[He really was serious about starting over, wasn't he?]

Agent Maine. You too.

[bloodsugar]

Have you gotten a chance to speak with Caterina...? Ah-- the Duchess Milan? That's Tres' former master, in case it slipped your mind. It's been a while since she was in Paradisa.

If not, I wouldn't mind smoothing over things beforehand. I think she'd like to talk to you, now.

[brute_shot_bully]

[He rumbles lowly at that, almost affectionately. She'd been right there when he'd woken up.]

Yes.

[bloodsugar]

[--well, now. :3]

Aha! Good! That's one less thing for me to do...

It's better if we can work as allies, right? There's never quite enough of those in Paradisa, sometimes.

[brute_shot_bully]

You're close? [This would be a good thing to know, if he continued to run into Caterina and go on walks with her and generally worry about her well being.]

Well. Count me in.

[bloodsugar]

Caterina is my superior at home, and we've been friends for... ah. A decade-- longer, now... Tres is my partner! We all work for the same branch of the Vatican's Ministry of Foreign Affairs together.

[so yes, close. IF YOU'RE WEASELING IN ON HIS LITTLE GIRL...

...okay Caterina is perpetually his little princess so prepare to be getting the dad-on-porch-with-shotgun treatment. ...except not really because it's Abel but still sldkjg...]

--Ah, one more to the team? I'm liking the sound of this!

[brute_shot_bully]

[Nothing more then a suitable bodyguard, if needed, but her immediate concern had left an impression on him he wasn't going to soon forget.]

Heh. Yeah.

[bloodsugar]

[look don't lie, he knows she's a looker... BE HONEST HERE... is bodyguard a keyword for something else... wink wink--]

It's good to have you with us, Maine. [much better a friend than enemy.]

[brute_shot_bully]

[It'd be lying to say Maine didn't appreciate her visually, or that if the opportunity ever arose, he'd turn it down. Not his intent, believe it or not.]

Yeah, it's good. [Indeed.]

[bloodsugar]

[wheeze-- BEHAVE YOURSELF MAINE.]

Are things... alright, between you and the others?

[brute_shot_bully]

[WHAT there's nothing wrong with looking :| ]

[This is met with a considerable amount of silence.] No.

[Not everyone is as forgiving as Abel, apparently.]

[bloodsugar]

[b'aww... ;(]

I guess things are a little rocky, hm... [uh, understatement of the year alskdjf...]

[brute_shot_bully]

Used to rocky. [What fun is easy, but on the other hand, what fun is not having your teammates trust you and only knowing less then half the reason why.]

[bloodsugar]

That doesn't make it any better in the end, does it? [sob Maine he feels bad for you. ;/]

...Do you mind... if I asked what you remember? How it... happened? Getting the AI...

[did he make the choice? did he know what would happen?]

[brute_shot_bully]

[Another long bout of silence. The castle was phenomenally good at making even the simplest things lack any sort of satisfaction. It'd wiped all Maine's memories of the AIs here, as well as any memories from home that took place later then that fateful mission and the sniper bullet he took for Carolina.]

[Who right now was the only person who treated him with any amount of normalcy.]

Can't remember.

[bloodsugar]

[hmm.]

The other Freelancers... have any of them told you anything about it?

[brute_shot_bully]

Wash. Not much. [Maine ... does't really talk to York, and Carolina doesn't really know much more then him about the AIs in the first place.]

[bloodsugar]

[well, this really is a shitty situation, isn't it?]

...I'm sorry you had to go through something like that. I know the situation is complicated, but...

I hope that you can put together the pieces from here.

[brute_shot_bully]

[As curious as it is that this guy is so accepting, Maine growls at the comment about picking up the pieces. That wasn't likely to happen, not with how York was being.]

Not that easy.

[bloodsugar]

Things rarely are.

But you're not going to give up, are you?

[brute_shot_bully]

[He just grunts, bitter.]

No. [Of course, not like there was much else he could do.]

[bloodsugar]

Good. If you went and did something like that, then I might have to do something drastic! [WHAT, YOU ASK? well, the world might never know.]

[brute_shot_bully]

[Maine can't not ask. This is almost a little creepy.]

Like what?

[bloodsugar]

I suppose long as you keep up hope, you'll never have occasion to find out!

[brute_shot_bully]

[He snorts. Hope? Hope? What kind of sap does Abel take him for?]

[bloodsugar]

[he knows there's an inner woobie in there somewhere... :3]

For what it's worth, my door is open, alright? Anytime! If you need anything at all.

[brute_shot_bully]

[He's going to be sorely disappointed. If there is an inner woobie in Maine, it's probably covered in spikes.]

Uh, yeah. Whatever.

[bloodsugar]

[haha oh bro.]

Take care, Maine.