[Anemone nods and leans into him slightly, touching the side of her head to his. She doesn't want to try to speak her understanding of the pain and loss he's feeling, as words alone will never be enough. Instead, she allows her touch, and the unsaid understanding to speak for themselves.
She thinks of her missing father, wherever he was. Her mother, who was home but so far away. Her community of lost people. She hates that they're not here also.]
I'm sorry that it hurts so much.
[She says eventually.]
Especially since you have no way of knowing when it might happen again. How cruel that Space Bridge is.
[Donnie manages not to protest when Leo grabs his wrist, tolerating his brother's inspection while he holds his breath. He gasps a weak laugh at that, a weird facsimile of a smile tugging at his mouth.]
Yeah, I know, right? Funny thing, that's sort of what Princer told me. A magical turtle cyborg, haha...
Kind of a bummer but at least the black's not bad, I guess. And it came in handy when I had to fish you out of that gross water.
[He lets his fingers revert to something less elongated and pointy. How does Soundwave even do anything with those, he has no idea.]
No. The Gauntlets- Solus said they amplify the will and power of its wearer, but that power comes at a cost.
[It's a small enough comfort. Words never really cover enough, and while Donnie's always been possessive about his personal space, Anemone's one of the people who doesn't feel so intruding when she's near. He lets himself lean against her, needing some kind of contact, some sort of support.]
It's really complicated. Whatever's caused it to pull us here...
[He still means to figure it out. He is determined to figure it out.]
It's unpredictable. I can't say I'm mad that I'm here, not when I've been able to meet people like you, but... [His hand tightens around hers. Too many unknowns. Too little data.] ...if I ever go back, I want it to be on my terms.
...And maybe if you leave on your own terms, you can come back too.
[Who knows what the future has in store for them, but Anemone secretly hopes that Donnie and everyone else will be more than just a small part of it. When she thinks about how her friends might just be gone someday, that sends a thrill of dread and sadness through her. She never really got to know Raph very well. Who knows if she ever will.
She looks down at their hands. If Donnie disappeared right then, would she be able to stop it?]
What would our first step need to be to figure this out?
[Donnie nods at that. It goes without saying. Free reign to come and go from here? Not just an uncertain one way trip? That's the most ideal. Now, if only it were so simple.
He sighs.]
I've been working on it with Soundwave, or at least trying to get further study going. He said that the amount of energy generated whenever the space bridge activates on its own is basically impossible to be sourced from the ship or by any known means. Working out that part seems pretty key.
I already put forth the theory that Primes might be involved.
[It's still enough of a shift that Donnie lifts his head, glancing up at her.]
Well...they've got their figurative fingers in everything else, right? I hate to say it, but the power of what basically equates gods would be a convenient source to overcharge the functions of a space bridge that reaches beyond dimensions and time.
[Of course it does. She avoids looking at him by staring down at the flower instead.]
Especially since this is a Cybertronian ship with a large population of Cybertronians from different universes. I just don't see what any of them would get out of it. Were you brought here to restore Cybertron? Defeat Unicron?
As an outsider to this, it really is somewhat unfathomable.
[He frowns faintly at that, his eyes falling upon what he can see of the orbs at her shoulders bearing that particular marking. He's not about to forget where else he'd seen those any time soon.
He makes a face at the mention of Unicron. They stopped him once before, they'll do it again.]
It's always been about Cybertron, I think. Technically I think I'd count as an outsider too. I'm...not really sure how it works, or why we've been brought in but...maybe someone thinks the big guys need all the help they can get.
[Oh right. Somehow forgot that little detail. Easy to forget that they're mostly extinct when you see them everyday.]
Maybe, but I'm happy enough being your sidekick on all these adventures.
[She puts her other hand to his, gently holding it between her hands as she admires the lavender colour of her crystal fingers against the dark stone of his hands. They look good together.]
[Anemone flounders when she sees him looking up at her with an expressive gaze that she's come to love. She wonders, again, if now isn't the right time. Maybe she should wait. Oh no, her courage is failing. Maybe the right time will never actually come.]
[Another retreat. Donnie blinks, still clearly curious, more so given this is the second time she's done this. He pouts just a tiny bit, if briefly.]
Oh, uh. O...kay. Sure.
[He looks at her hands, still holding them. Is this silly too? Well, maybe now it is. He smiles a little awkwardly, loosening his grip just a little, hanging on at the last second as his eyes drift towards the floor.]
[Her hold tightens when she feels his start to loosen, and she holds on, trying to be as firm and reassuring as she can. She hopes he knows that she's not drawing away or rejecting him; she's just awkward.]
I'll be here if you need me.
[And nothing is going to blink her away into the unknown away from him.]
[Donnie lifts his head again to look at her that. They're both pretty awkward and he knows it. But her words are reassuring. It's different when it's someone who's not related to you, saying such things. He smiles up at her, his hands gently curling tighter around hers again.]
Um. ...would it be too weird to ask for a hug?
[He knows he more or less threw himself at her the last time but that was under completely different circumstances!]
[Anemone reaches out and pulls him in before he's even done talking. For as strong as she views Donnie, she's careful to not squish him too much to her metal chest, his soft, organic form feeling so fragile. Still, this is just as much a comfort for her as it is for him, because she reassures herself that he's not going to disappear on her either.]
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