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Post by skyeknight on Jan 23, 2017 16:44:28 GMT
"Sunshine, we can't sit here and play the blame game." Aqua said gently.
Riku went alone. Aqua was at fault for not being there. Riku was at fault for not calling in back up and not getting it looked at by a medical professional instead of Anna. The medical examiner was a step up from some back alley healer, but still... Anna was great, she just worked more with dead bodies than living patients. It was Riku's decision to become a police officer. He could blame his family for cutting him off or making him feel he had to hide the injury, but it was all so very frustrating.
"It happened." she continued, "But we're going to help him."
That much, Aqua was determined to do. She couldn't let Vanitas take another partner from her, even if she was starting to lose heart in the badge she wore. She just hoped that things worked out for Riku, Shadow and Sunshine. No matter what Aqua's ultimate decision was.
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Post by Zuyuri on Jan 24, 2017 3:18:32 GMT
Sunshine clenched her hands tightly into fists. Play the blame game. She was so lucky that her wil wasn't broken just yet, otherwise she would have chewed out Aqua for continuing to blame herself for what had happened to Terra. They were clenched so hard that they shook. Even her eyes became a bit brighter; a sign she was wither angry or frustrated or both.
"At least your partner can be helped."
That was the only thing she said without blowing up. Much like Aqua, she waned to be there for Shadow. "Shadow saved my life. It's only fair that I save his. I...I have no one to go to about this."
Not anymore. Her one hope, Namine, had gone into major shutdown mode since Vanitas had held her hostage. Forcing her to try and transribe memories of a disappeared cop would be too cruel.
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Post by skyeknight on Jan 24, 2017 4:06:40 GMT
At first her mind jumped to Terra. He couldn't be helped. Then she realized she was talking about Riku. There was the possibility to help Riku. He could be turned back but Shadow was hurting. His memories or lack thereof had to be bothering him. Aqua would have suggested Namine but with the state the blonde was in, should couldn't subject her roommate to that. She was scared of everything, even her own shadow. Being around Shadow after his recent blow up might have been too much for her.
"My mother... was a very apt at potions." Aqua slowly recalled. "I could find her old books and take a look for you?"
It was in Aqua's nature to try to fix wrongs. To help. She liked knowing she had eased someone's hurt even just a little. Even if it meant trudging up her own hurts. She hadn't touched her mothers things in years. They were in a storage locker, along with all the rest of her childhood home, away so Aqua did not have to see them.
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Post by Zuyuri on Jan 24, 2017 4:27:27 GMT
"That's a step in the right direction. It's not much, but it's a start. What I really need is something about a girl named Maria Gerald."
Sunshine dig into the pocket of her jeans. She had managed to swipe the picture before being shooed out by the department. She had two reasons for keeping it, both involved Shadow. It was to preserve something safe and to try and find clues to his skewed past. The key was Maria. There had to be a reason the military killed a twelve year old in cold blood.
"Apparently she and Shadow were connected. The only memory he had for the longest time is her death."
She pointed to the blonde haired, blue eyed girl in the picture. If not for the sickly features, she could have been Namine's sister. Or Yang's. Or even Sunshine's.
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Post by skyeknight on Jan 24, 2017 13:58:38 GMT
Aqua peered over the picture. A young girl. Her heart twinged. The girl could have passed as Namine's little sister (if not for the fact that Aqua knew the blonde was an only child). Aqua could only feel how terrible things were for Sunshine to show Aqua this. Something so personal to Shadow, something that was close to his heart. The picture had been so well taken care of, it just had to be important to him. Shadow had come to her, telling her of his memory problems and at the time, Aqua could only direct him to Namine. Now that wasn't a possibility, at least until Namine overcame this newfound fear of hers.
"I'm afraid I don't know her." Aqua said. "Have you tried city hall? It has a city census. You've got her first and last name. Maybe start there?"
Though, if the government had a hand in killing her, they might have tried to sponge her records and eliminate them even. But there was always the minor off chance that they missed something. They could never be 100% thorough with those sorts of things. There might have been some clue floating around in the archives that they just weren't thinking of like school records or dental? Something. Anything was better than the lead that Sunshine had now.
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Post by Zuyuri on Jan 24, 2017 16:48:28 GMT
"I didn't want to start digging until the time was right," Sunshine answered. So in answer to Aqua's question, no, she hadn't tried city hall. If finding out the truth about Maria would give this case partial closure, it would be enough. "I guess now that Shadow's missing, I can get to work."
She paused, realizing she had let a big part slip out. That Shadow had just...went MIA. He hadn't been in Nevermore, and he wasn't as his apartment.
He was just gone.
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Post by skyeknight on Jan 24, 2017 17:16:20 GMT
"Missing?" Aqua rasped.
She felt like her throat closed up to croak out that single word. Missing. The word rattled around in her head with a heavy weight that she wished she could just stop. Stop feeling. Stop thinking. Just stop. But she didn't know Shadow as well as Sunshine did. Or as maybe someone like Yang did. But the notion of him just disappearing in thin air like Terra did struck something in her that left the faery feeling rather helpless. She felt a slight pressure on her shoulders as she bowed her head and her bangs fell into her face.
Missing.
Just like Terra.
"Sunshine," she whispered. "What's going on?"
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Post by Zuyuri on Jan 24, 2017 23:39:36 GMT
Sunshine knew the expression Aqua was giving. Her eyes had go d up alight, her head hanging low, her voice becoming just a small croak. It was the same way Sunshine acted whenever just the mere mention of 'vampire' was brought up. Aqua looked absolutely traumatized. Sunshine hung her own head, her voice also croaking in shame.
"I don't know. He hasn't been in contact since he disappeared after his disagreement with Pitch. So I have no clue what's going on."
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Post by skyeknight on Jan 25, 2017 1:59:48 GMT
"This is... I don't know..." she sighed.
The same things that happened two and a half years ago to her and to Terra were happening again, but with Sunshine and Shadow. Aqua could only be grateful that Sunshine did not love Shadow as dearly as Aqua had loved Terra. They were partners and trusted friends but losing someone who felt like they were your other half? Aqua would not wish that on anyone. Even worse, she didn't know how to make this right for Sunshine. How to make the pain stop or for her to make her feel better.
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Post by Zuyuri on Jan 25, 2017 17:21:11 GMT
Sunshine looked long and hard at Aqua. Crying over spilled milk was only making both of them feel weak. The separation of her and Terra had been difficult, but only because Aqua loved him. Sunshine's relationship with Shadow...she wasn't sure how to put it. She didn't want him getting hurt. He had been protective of her since day one. There was a balance between them as a Unit. Besides, it wasn't like she loved Shadow....
...or the other way around. Was that it? Shadow was distancing himself because he loved her? That he was in too deep somewhere and didn't want her getting hurt?
"Did he say anything before the Vanitas arrest?" Sunshine asked. Shadow hardly spoke a word to anyone on the force...except for Aqua.
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Post by skyeknight on Jan 25, 2017 20:23:42 GMT
"Before... he had pulled me aside to say that he... thinks Terra is dead. You two found his badge with his blood." Aqua said softly. "And during... we were all so worried about getting the hostages back there wasn't time for conversation."
She wracked her mind for something - anything - that Shadow had said that stood out as important. With as much that had happened in the last few months, things were starting to blur together. She raked a hand through her hair. All of this let a bitter taste in her mouth. By now her food and drink had gone cold but she no longer had the appetite to eat. It just seemed when things were finally going right, everything started falling apart.
"He mentioned his lost memories some time back... What if he remembered something?" she asked. "What about Pitch? Can we ask him?"
For all they knew, Shadow was chasing the ghosts of his past. Maria... The sooner they found out what happened there, the sooner they could get the dark officer back.
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Post by Zuyuri on Jan 26, 2017 2:20:22 GMT
Sunshine did not want to admit it out loud, but in regards to the badge, she had agreed with Shadow on Terra's death. It was the only explanation as to why the search parties went dead, why Aqua was getting no answers despite a thorough search. She remembered the small spat the two had, but she hadn't pressed further. Aqua was a bleeding heart; to pour salt into the flow would make it worse. She nodded sadly that Auqa had nothing useful...
Unless...
Shadow's secret drive had been to discover his past. He had only disclosed it to people he genuinely trusted. If Aqua knew that, she must have been in the loop of the small few he counted on. Her green eyes lit up with the faintest glimmer of hope; something she hadn't felt in a while.
"And if Pitch was tied to the memory or knew about it, it would explain why Shadow got mad..." she murmured. If she were in his position, she'd be mad, too. To have memories lost for ten years only to discover they had been under your nose the whole time. Sure, she didn't have the chaos energy Shadow harnessed, but sunlight could blind - and hurt - several cops. She stood up, her face no longer full of fear, bu rather...confidence.
"Okay. I'll try to talk to him. I don't like it, but then again, I don't like this whole change period."
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Post by skyeknight on Jan 26, 2017 3:08:52 GMT
"You could... Always see if Riku will partner with you while I'm away. I think I'll be gone a week at most, but it might help you set water under the bridge." Aqua said. "He could go with you when you talk to Pitch."
She knew what Sunshine and Shadow thought about Terra. She wanted to hold the hope that he was still alive, that he had just been hurt or Vanitas stole it, but she also knew Terra. If he had still been alive, he would have contacted her by now. In this instance, Terra was Shrodinger's Cat - both alive and not. Until they had definitive proof, they couldn't say for certain. The badge was a good indication of the worst...
"I just... When you find Shadow, tell him I'm sorry?" she requested.
She probably didn't deserve Shadow's forgiveness. She had just been so hurt and so angry with him for digging into something personal that she just snapped. She would have hated herself if the last thing she said to him was how much she wanted to tell him to shove the barrel of his gun up his arse for doing so. She already had to deal with the fact she had told Terra not to come home, all but telling him she hated him. If those were their final moments together...? Aqua shook her head.
"I really hope you find a lead Sunshine." she said. "I'll do what I can to help when I get back."
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Post by Zuyuri on Jan 26, 2017 17:23:02 GMT
Sunshine's face turned bright pink. The thought of working with Riku made her feel like a schoolgirl. What would he say to her in regards to the Harvey incident? She tucked a strand of blonde hair back into her loose ponytail, grinning and probably looking even scrubbier. The good news was she felt flattered that Aqua would consider her a replacement partner.
"You know what's funny? Before...all this, Shadow was struggling to find a way to apologize to you for the digging. I guess what goes around comes around..,"
She stood up, retrying her red apron over her lavender blouse. Well, it was back to work. And she didn't need the Raven, now donning a new year's party hat, to come to life and nag her.
"Oh, and Aqua? Thanks. You take it easy in the courts yourself, okay?"
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Post by skyeknight on Jan 26, 2017 18:31:57 GMT
Aqua sighed. She smoothed a hand through her hair. She was surprised she wasn't pulling it out at this point. Everything got so messed up sometimes. Humans could be so frustrating sometimes, but she supposed the situation was partially her fault too. She was just tired of it all. Maybe a break with other faeries would do her some good. She could finally get to know about what other faeries were like. She never spent any time around them except for her parents and that was years and years ago.
"Guess we both had some apologizing to do." she muttered.
But that was a good sign that he would forgive her. She just had to make sure that she deserved the forgiveness. But Sunshine couldn't stick around forever and help talk Aqua out of her little funk. It was up to Aqua to do that. She had to get over all of this hurt on her own. It's how she did it in the past. She couldn't let this keep her down forever. However, that was easier said than done. Things weren't always that easy.
"Ha. Only if they play nice." Aqua replied.
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