psltheearth | (no subject)

Robyn had decided it was time to hit the streets. Danielle was supposed to come by today and she hadn't shown up. She hadn't called and any attempts Robyn had made to call hadn't gone through. Robyn Lyre was an antsy girl when her normal friends didn't respond to her, there was no way she could sit still while her super powered one was MIA.

What if the mafia had gotten her? What if she didn't think Robyn was cool any more without the abilities she didn't remember? What if she had gotten too much ice cream and was having trouble carrying it back? I mean she knew Danielle was more than strong enough but they could be piled up awkwardly. How are they even going to eat that much ice cream if that's the case. These were all thoughts raced through Robyn's mind as she made her way down the street. She had managed to get herself so worked up in all these worst case scenarios that she didn't realize when she literally bumped into Danielle as she crossed the intersection.

"Wha- Oh I'm so sorry!" She was flustered and didn't immediately realize she had found who she was after. Instead scampered back a few steps to give this person some space.

Danielle had been mostly keeping her head down. A hood was only so good this late with her coloring, so it was better to keep low. Plus hey, she was still on the short side, it'd make it harder for less than savory types to notice her. Not that she couldn't handle them now, she could bench press a car, but it was better to avoid getting noticed.

Unfortunately, that also meant it was easy for easily distracted girls to also not notice her and she jerked back, looking up in surprise. She stared a moment. "Robyn, what are you doing out so late?" She asked. It would be one thing if she still had all her Echoes, but without? It could be dangerous! "I thought I was meeting you at your place?"

It wasn't until she heard Danielle that she took the time to actually see who she had run into. She let out a sign of relief that lasted right up until Danielle started asking her questions.

She took one sheepish step back and rubbed the back of her head.

"I just wanted some air?' She tried to smile but even she wasn't buying that one.

"I didn't hear from you. I just wanted to do a walk around the block to see if you were close." It was then that Robyn took at look at the intersection they were at.

"...Make that like six or seven blocks. I was being thorough, okay?" God her dad was going to kill her. It was way past curfew when she snuck out in the first place.

"I-I was worried!"

Danielle raised an eyebrow at the first lie. Then a look of guilt at the next part, then a grimace as she realized just how far they were from Robyn's place. "I'm sorry. I ran my phone dead and missed my bus. I did think about flying, but that's pretty far and I was kind of worn out," she said, her hand moving up to rub against the back of her neck.

Still though. Robyn had worried. Everytime she heard things like that, it made her feel warm. Knowing she had friends who cared about her enough to worry.

She looked up with a small smile. "We should get back. Really, I'm fine, just tired," she said, taking a step to the side of Robyn and back towards her home.

Robyn felt her heart sink a little when she was Danielle grimace. She wasn't out to guilt her, she just wanted to be sure she was safe.

"Don't worry about it. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't done the same before." She said and tilted her head up. Even without any memories of the network the amount of times she missed the bus, or missed getting on the bus because she was day dreaming was a little absurd.

Still hearing that Danielle was tired got another concerned frown from her. She let it slide though and moved to hook her arm around Danielle's.

"Alright. Let's go home and find something fun to watch on netflix? Sound good?"

"Still. I'll try to be better next time, promise," she said. It's not like Robyn is wrong to be worried. Being Numbered wasn't a safe thing and she did bear a strong resemblance to Cure Phantom. It might be enough for people to put the pieces together and figured out she was a Numbered.

And the mafia did like to be a pain.

At least her strength is still a secret weapon she can use. "I'm fine, really," she said at the concerned frowned. "Can't get sick without organs, right?"

Danielle smiled and let her arm get hooked. "Sounds good to me," she agreed, heading back towards the apartment.

"That's all I can ask for." She said and titled her head as she considered what she had just said.

"Mainly because that's about all I'd be able to promise myself. Big changes are hard."

She giggles at the next comment.

"You know, for no organs you manage to eat just fine. Where do you put it if you don't have a stomach?"

They begin their trip toward the apartment and all is well until Robyn makes a turn down an alley way.

"Cutting through here should get us there a teeny bit fast-" She starts to say when she notices a few people in the alleyway up ahead.

"I'm usually better. I guess it's easier to be relaxed about it when I'm not worried at getting caught outside when I shouldn't be," Danielle said. It was a breath of fresh air, really. She could be late because there were no serious consequences for it.

"Energy conversion," Danielle said. "I mean, all organs are doing is breaking down the food to convert it into energy. There's no reason ecto can't do the same thing and we know ecto has destructive properties. Especially on 'dead' things," she said. "Actually, I wonder if that means I could logically eat anything?" That was something to ponder.

She liked to experiment and her body was so WEIRD, it was worth thinking about. It takes her a few more moments to notice the people and she slowed down. "Maybe we should stick to the road," she said. Maybe the people were fine, but if they weren't-

Of course, as soon as she looked back, it was just to see a few more people. "Oh. Mistakes are definitely being made right now," she said, unhooking her arm from Robyn's, a serious look coming to her face.

"Could be! I might just be rubbing off on you too." She has been told her carefree energy was a contagious. She's not exactly sure how true that was though.

Robyn nods slowly as Danielle ponders. She'd be lying if she said she remembered everything about what ecto could and couldn't do. But it made sure Danielle could eat. So that makes enough sense to her.

"Okay. We're trying this sometime. We'll start with things super food li-" She cut herself off when Danielle slowed down. Now that she had a better look at the people up ahead they didn't seem particularly friendly. Nor did the ones who were behind them. Her eyes darted between Danielle and the thugs. They were definitely thug material.

Don't mind Robyn as she inches toward one of the alleyway walls. She's got a weird case of deja vu and is just going to make herself as small as she can right now.

At least the alley was dark. She bowed her head, hands reaching under the collar of her hoody to pull the mask up over her face. Hopefully they never got a particularly good look at her face already. Fighting them would certainly give plenty though.

The thugs start the usual talk, making comments on how girls shouldn't walk alone at night. Especially so young.

Danielle wants to laugh at how stereotypical it is and she looked at Robyn, offering her a wink and a confident smile. Pulling back the hood.

"Or, you know, we could just make it home unbothered," Danielle said with a shrug. At least giving them a chance. Not that the laughing really fills her with confidence and Danielle sighed. "Hard way, huh," she said, pulling back her hood, letting the white of her hair stand out like a beacon in the dark.

And then vanished from sight entirely. Surprising the thugs, realizing they're dealing with one of the Numbered freaks and trying to spot her. But one has the misfortune of looking Robyn's way.

Which is when Danielle appears in sight again, dropping down from above, and driving her knees into his shoulders and forcing him into the ground. "You guys are gonna learn why you don't pick on defenseless girls," she jeered and so began the actual fight as she turned to the next guy.

Robyn was nervous. She had been in a scrape like this once before (Though she remembered it a little differently thanks to her lack numbers) and it hadn't gone over particularly well. Danielle's confidence made all that worry dissolve in an instant. Her friend was amazing and she was about to show these goons just why that was.

Danielle disappears and Robyn let's out a cheer. "Show them who's boss, Daring Phantasm!"

The thugs are definitely thrown off by Danielle's abilities and scramble to get their act together. Except for one who does immediately make a run for it. The rest aren't organized like mafia goons but they know they have numbers and try to use that to their advantage. Moving in and trying to overwhelm Danielle with sheer numbers.

Robyn sees this and goes to call out a warning. It's cut short a hand suddenly reaches for her rest and pulls her away from the wall. Her eyes go wide and as looks back to see that two of the thugs had decided she made an easier target than Danielle. She opens her mouth to scream but a hand clamps right over that.

...Why was her luck so terrible??

Danielle has been training, but while she's got power, she's lacking in experience. Especially in fighting a group of people. Really, she thinks the rush is a dangerous move on their part because it puts them in easy range of her and she has the strength to take on a group of normal guys. Pretty handedly, it just takes times.

Time for her to miss what's happening at first.

She punches down one guy and sees Robyn in another thugs hold. Her eyes widened. "Hey, let her go!" She shouted and throw forward a hand, grateful that Robyn is fairly short as she throws an ecto blast to hit the guy in the head. It's not deadly, more a concussive, forceful punch on a normal human.

But as soon as she does, her knees buckle under her and she falls forward with a surprised yelp.

Robyn was in a panic. She squirmed and let out a muffled shout into the thugs hand. She for one definitely did not have the strength to break free on her own. She clenches her eyes closed when Danielle calls out, an instant later she feels the thugs grip on loosen as he sinks to the ground.

Her eyes open and she quickly pulls away from the thug. She doesn't have a chance to cheer for Danielle though as she quickly realizes her friend has toppled over.

The thugs have some renewed confidence once Danielle hits the ground. One approaches her from behind to give her a kick to the back to make sure she's down. While the remaining four move to take hold of her legs and arms, one to each limb.

"No-no! Leave her alone!" Robyn shouts out and tries to pull one of them off Danielle. She's met with a blow to her gut and stumbles back into the wall unfortunately.

It was like her legs just gave out. It's a feeling Danielle is very familiar with, the weakness and exhaustion of being sick most of her life. She doesn't know why, why would they give out, her body should be fine-

She's too slow to get to her feet as she's grabbed and she cries out as she's kicked. But she fell, she's not weak and humans....well, even four guys don't match the weight of a car. And when she hears Robyn getting hit, feels the pain, she gets mad-

"Leave us ALONE!" She shouts and pulls up into the air hard and jerking her limbs together, pulling the guys off their feet. One more directly than others, pulling the ones on her arms.

The two on her legs just slip because her feet aren't as solid as they were before and there's a splatter of green goo left behind them. Understandably, that's when those two start screaming.

And Danielle starts screaming as she flies back into a wall, staring at her legs and the green clinging to the bottom of her feet.

Robyn's still wheezing from the blow shot to the gut she took. She sinks down to the ground clutching her stomach and doing her best to get her breathing under control.

The pain she's feeling takes a back seat when she hears Danielle shout out and take to the air. She also sees the two slip off and because of a strange green substance.

There's a scream and Danielle crashes into the wall on the opposing building. Her eyes go wide at the sight of the green on Danielle's feet. Then Robyn feels something she hadn't felt in a long time, not that she even remembered feeling it before in the first place. She feels a pulse.

A new image is burned into her mind. A flash of a red haired girl in gold armor falling to her knees after being shot with an arrow. Her other watching as this girl began to glow orange and blow off into the wind as she fell apart into nothing but dust. Robyn remembered tears welling up in her others eyes just as sliding down her own cheeks now.

She shook her head and tried to focus on what was happening right in front of her. There was a lot to process, that memory wasn't the only one she had suddenly received. Pieces of her life that she had forgotten over the last few months had suddenly flooded back into her head.

That wasn't important though. Danielle was in trouble. Heck, The pain in her gut told her she was still in trouble

She scampered up to her feet and made a dash toward Danielle at a much faster pace than she had been able to run a few minutes ago. She'll slide past the freaked out goons and try to get an arm around Danielle's shoulders and under her knees to lift her up.

In her head she's freaking out but she wont say anything right away. She can freak out when they're safe.

Depending on Danielle's level of freaking out right now. She might notice Robyn has silver eyes and a red tinge to her hair again.

Why is her feet like that, that's not blasting, why are her feet numb, why-

Oh god, oh god, no, she saw this, she saw this-

Most everyone is freaking out. It's one thing to have a Numbered. It's another to have TWO Numbered and one is A MELTING LITTLE GIRL, it's no wonder that even a group of thugs have a wavering resolve in the face of that.

Danielle feels arms around her, and her head snaps up, ready to fight, but she sees Robyn's face. Red in her hair, and silver in her eyes- "We need to go," she said, fear in her voice. Because she doesn't know what's wrong and she wants to be away.

And in the end, she's a kid and this is her friend and even if she's stronger, there's a part of her that wants to believe Robyn will make it okay somehow.

If Robyn wasn't already worried enough as is. The tone of Danielle's voice sent that feeling into overdrive.

"Right, I've got you." She confirmed in the most reassuring tone she could muster up. Her eyes dart around in a panic. The thugs were starting to regain their composure on situation and that wasn't good.

But she wasn't going to stick around and let the situation get any worse than it already was. she spied an opening between the group and the road and she took it. A burst of rose petals burst into existence as she made a mad dash for the open street.

Robyn didn't have a chance to curse that her only power literally left a trail in the direction she had run off in. She was far too busy keeping an eye out on what was ahead of them. Lose the thugs and keep Danielle safe.

"I've got you. I've got you. I've got you." She kept repeating those words. Half for Danielle's sake and half for her own. She didn't want this to be like the memory she just had, she was going to keep her friend safe. Her hands moved to pull Danielle in a little tighter as she continued to run.

Danielle tries to be strong. She didn't have much option, but to do so. If she acted weak, if she acted afraid, if she acted any less than the very best she could be, then it's back to the hospital and excessive coddling and being treated like a fragile doll and while that had been unavoidable at times, she had hated it.

But kids are still kids.

She does notice Robyn is moving fast. A lot faster than she should and it clicks with the coloring. Did she....she did get them back?!

She nodded, holding onto Robyn. "Home. Just need to get home," she said, her voice still shaking as she looked down at her feet. She can still see the green and she closes her eyes, focusing. Ecto responds to thought. It morphs.

Keep together keep together keep together-

As least no more green is falling, seeming to stubbornly stick to her feet.

Getting her echoes back was a lot to process. The new memory had frightened her and definitely helped spur her into action. There was a brief stumble in her step as she felt another pulse coming on.

She remembered carrying holding another white haired girl like this. Baguettes, watermelons, and building debris falling all around them.

"Weiss, Weiss. Don't leave me.
Noooooo!" The other her in her memory pleaded.

She nearly tripped with how bizarre this memory was, but just barely managed to stay on her feet. What in the world was other her even doing?

She slowed her pace down to regain her bearings. Which also caused the rose petals stopped generating quite as furiously as they had been. That was good. The last thing they needed was a perfect path of flowers right to where she lived.

"We'll be there soon. I promise." She said trying to hide the worry in her voice. Except she was a terrible liar and her voice cracked part way through.

Still she could the apartment complex from here. They were almost there. She continued on at a jog.

"Can you reach my keys? They should be in my jacket pocket. Don't try if you don't feel up to it."

This is really the worst time for echoes. It really is. So of course it keeps happening. For all Danielle is scared and worried, she has a friend she trusts helping her when she's dying.

On a roof top, talking about flying off dramatically, fighting, getting weaker and asking for help. "He's not gonna touch you, Dani. Come on, I'll protect you." And there's Danny, making her feel safe and freely offering help.

She's jostled out as Robyn trips and Danielle focuses on the present. She looked back over Robyn's shoulder, nervous, looking for the thugs. "Go....go normal speed. I can hide us if they catch up. Don't want a path," she said.

Trying to not think about what invisibility might do to her.

She looked at Robyn's jacket and tugs on it, digging through the pockets until she finds the keys.

"Right." Part of her wanted to say "I'm doing my best." but she knew that wouldn't help. Oddly enough now that she was focused on going slower the petals did stop appearing around them. Huh. Maybe it was her emotional state that triggered them?

Before long they arrive at Robyn's building and it takes a bit of work but she manages to get the building door open without putting Danielle down and finally repeats the process at the door to her apartment.

Once inside she is quick to rush Danielle to her room. Which all of a sudden is much messier than she remembered it being. There's a hooded cloak, a pair of pajamas and an old drawing scattered about on her floor. Not to mention a massive scythe that has managed to get it's blade embedded into her wall once again.

She's not focused on those at the moment though. She's very quick to go and gently lay Danielle down on her bed.

Only then does a look of panic truly appear on her face. She has no idea what to do from here.

"I-I-" She starts to stutter and immediately stops herself. Cool and in control of the situation. That's what you are right now Robyn.

She thinks of how Danielle would handle this situation and moves to check on her friends legs to see how bad the green gooping is at the moment.

Danielle knows and she appreciates Robyn is doing her best, because she's trying to not have a panic attack. Though she is noting that thing with the petals. Okay. Okay, they just need to get back, and even stubborn thugs should back off. Or at least they can call the cops.

It's fine.

They're fine.

She lets herself breathe when they're in the apartment building. A lot of work to get into the building then into the apartment. It's not like they did that much to warrant a lot of anger, right?

Right.

That's right.

She might be shaking.

She does see the scythe and there's some comfort that Robyn might really remember now. She squeaked as she's put on the bed, lifting her legs. She doesn't want to get green goo everywhere, but her legs....

She sits up, looking with Robyn and her legs appear to be solid again. She was fine. She was together.

She let out a broken sound, a mix of relief and frustration. "D-darn it..." She muttered, curling up.

The wave of tension Robyn had been feeling eases when sees that Danielle is back in one piece and not leaking out. She didn't care about her bed, she just cared that her friend was alright.

But with one crisis averted she could focus on the next one. She hadn't seen scared like this. She couldn't blame her what so ever, it was just a shock actually see it.

Robyn sat down on the edge of her bed and raised a hand up to gently place it on Danielle's shoulder. If Danielle would let her she'd slowly pull her into a hug.

"It's okay. I'm here. You're going to be okay."

Danielle doesn't fight the hug. She leans into it because she can see she's together, but now she's putting pieces together again. What she remembered, what she's seen. A clone. She had been a clone. She'd seen other clones.

She'd seen what happened to them.

She holds onto Robyn tightly, burying her face against her shoulder, shaking and trying not to cry.

"I....I don't think I am...."

Robyn felt a pang in her stomach hearing Danielle say that. So scared and unsure. It reminded Robyn of a time when their roles had been reversed. The very least she could do was be there for Danielle now.

So she tightened her grip just a little and let's Danielle get out whatever she needs to. One hand moves to gently stroke her back.

"You are. I promise. No matter what. Echoes or memories, doesn't matter."

"No, no, I don't....I..." She trailed off. She wanted to lie, say she was fine, she was okay, but she wasn't, and as much as she wanted to lie, she also didn't want to be alone with this thought in her head.

Not again, always being sick, always weak, and-

"The other clones melted," Danielle said, her grip tightening on Robyn's clothes. "I remembered. I asked Danny for help because I was melting."

Those words made Robyn stiffen slightly. It was a scary thought. One with a very grim ending.

But she couldn't let that thought frighten her, mostly because she didn't want it to hurt Danielle either. Her hand moves from Danielle's back to her shoulder so she can grip it tightly.

She couldn't give up hope.

"...Can you remember whether he helped or you or not?"

It was the only question she could think to ask, but it was an important one.

Danielle shook her head. "He kept me safe from my creator, but that....that was a different time. I left and came back. Asking for help. He was going to. He was taking me somewhere to see what he could do, but I don't remember being...being fixed," she said.

And then Danny thinks he turned into a supervillain. Oh no. Oh no, what if she contributed to that? What if she died and that was another nail into his sanity?

He had looked so worried for her. He had cared.

Robyn unfortunately remained blissfully unaware ofDanny’s descent into supervillainy. She never asked for details on why he disappeared, just that he never do it again.

She listened to what Danielle said and released the hug for just a second. So that she could pull back and look Danielle in the eye.

“Then we don’t know for sure that you won’t be alright. There’s still a chance.”

She tries her best to smile and look confident. She’s not used to being in this role.

“I want to believe you’ll be okay if there’s a chance you will be.”

Danielle looked up at meet her eyes. Just staring for a few moments because honestly she's not....used to it. There was very little reassurance that she would be okay. Maybe when she was younger, but she's gotten used to numbers and maybes being the common language when offered a new way to help her health.

Just honest desire for her to be okay and wanting to believe is....something she missed.

She sniffled, the tears welling up and she jerks forward, hugging Robyn tightly and...well, okay, NOW she is definitely crying.

Robyn meets that look. She's not sure what else to say from here. She's not really sure there's much else she CAN say. ...Maybe she didn't need any other words right now. It might be more important that she's there for her friend.

She feels her heart tighten up in chest when she sees those tears. But she returns the hug with everything she has. She can feel tears welling up in her eyes too but she'll try and hold them back. She's just going to let Danielle get out everything she has to right now.

Whether or not these tears were just for this incident or more, it's hard to say. Because she is crying an awful lot, hanging on tightly as she sobs.

Because sometimes, it's hard to be strong. Hard to pretend to be okay, and sometimes it gives, and having someone be there makes it harder to be strong, but easier to let herself feel weak. So for a while, she just cries, hanging on tightly as she lets the feelings that have been building in her system. Frustration, fear, helplessness....

It takes a good twenty minutes for it all to peter out in hiccups and sniffles, but finally going quiet.

It doesn't matter what Danielle has to get off her chest. Robyn's there for her. Danielle had been there for her, it was the very least she could do in return.

She could imagine what all Danielle had been holding back. She had to run away from home. She had literally been turning into goop just a few moments ago. There could be any other number of situations Robyn didn't even know about. It didn't matter though. Her friend needed her and she was here.

So she held on tight as Danielle cried. She kept holding on even after Danielle started to quiet down. She waited before she shifted her position, loosening her grip with one hand while the other moved to gently stroke Danielle's hair.

Danielle doesn't speak for a while. Let's her breathing even out, let's herself breathe and calm down. She just...needed a bit. She felt kind of numb, if she's notice. Fuzzy and out of it, letting feelings wash over her and pass.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "I just...I was kind of hoping this was done. I keep thinking echoes mean I'm done being...being like this," she muttered.

Robyn is content to give Danielle all the time she needed. She would be there to comfort and let Danielle get out anything she needed to. It was the very least she could do.

When Danielle finally spoke up she pulled her in a little closer and let her chin rest on her friends shoulder.

“You have nothing to be sorry for.” She said softly, her hand slid down from Danielle’s hair to stroke her cheek.

The next line did confuse her a bit. Danielle’s sickeness had never been a particular focus throughout their friendship.

“You weren’t melting before you became numbered? Were you?” Leave it to Robyn to be a dope.

Danielle looked up and looked away again. She didn't move away from the touch though. She needed it, if she was honest. It made things feel real. When her feet had been going, it'd been.....it'd been so NUMB.

She shook her head. "No. No, I..." She's silent then, uncertain. She didn't like talking about it, admitting it, thankful the news stories were vague, but she also. She also didn't want to lie to Robyn. Not with how much she's done for Danielle.

Then quietly, very audible. "I was terminal though." Her hand goes down to her stomach and Robyn has probably seen the scar that's visible when she's just in the ghost suit.

Robyn was patient. She wasn't about to force Danielle to do anything she didn't want to. Certainly not after what she had just went through.

That little revelation hits her like a cannon ball to the gut. The news articles may have been vague but it's not as though Robyn even took much time to read them. She knew Danielle herself, she didn't need to read or see her friend in the news to get the story. She was starting to feel a little dumb for that kind of logic.

It made sense though. The way Danielle acted when she was back at her home. The one time she was asking about hospitals on the network. The signs had been there. Robyn just didn't follow them.

She felt awful for realizing sooner.

...But she knew that line of thought wasn't what was important here.

Her friend had been through so much, more than Robyn had even known up until a moment ago. She had struggled quietly with all this for so long and was only now opening up about it. Who cares that Robyn didn't know this until now. She knew now, that's what was important.

She's quiet while all these thoughts process in her head, but she eventually speaks up.

"So your echoes helped you get through that? ...And now this?"

She pulls Danielle in a tighter for a moment. Keeping her close before she lets it loosen up to something more gentle.