No More Heroes

[Espi]

((Kaya Robinson continued from Someone Who Needs Me))

Kaya sat cross-legged on the far side of the deck, rifle resting in her lap. Arms crossed, teeth gritted, breathing hard, eyes red. She'd been sitting there for a little while, seething.

Occasionally she drank from the mostly-empty bottle of water next to her, rubbing her throat. She rubbed her eyes. Once or twice she looked up, as though to speak, but then the light in her eyes died out and she settled back down again.

Resting her chin on her fist and her elbow on her knee, she waited.

[Espi]

The announcements came and went. Kaya didn't move from her spot.

She frowned as Stokes was announced as dead. She furrowed her brow at Sofia's mention. She briefly raised an eyebrow as Nadine's death was described.

Kaya also nodded absently at them mention of the Buccaneers. But she didn't stand up or move around.

Finally, Kaya sighed and slouched her shoulders as the announcements finished. She crossed her arms.

"Anyone there? Stephanie? Whoever else is mentoring now? Dunno how that works. I need advice about, uh, well, this." Kaya gestured vaguely. "I don't know what to do now."

[Wham Yubeesling]

"Still me.

"And I'm... a bit less than sure, myself. Stay here. Wait for Bethan to rejoin. Try and... figure out what exactly to do in the case that she doesn't."

[Espi]

"Well, yeah," Kaya replied

Her expression role a little bit, a bit of bite crossing through her eyes. "I mean with what happened with us. Like..."

She shook her head. "I fucked up, right? I kinda...you know. I didn't do it right. What I wanted to do. Like, she's pissed at me, I'm sure, and she should be, right? I lied. A lot. About important stuff."

Kaya stared off in the direction of the door across the deck. "I dunno what I thought was going to happen. I guess I figured I'd tell her when we got home. Dunno."

[Wham Yubeesling]

"The... the best way we could've done this is make it clear from the start. That way... she wouldn't have taken it well either way, but... at least then she would've just had to deal with the fact that this is real. She wouldn't have had to find out about how everybody around her lied about it.

"And, um, I mean it when I say 'everyone.' I should've said something too. I just... had been busy with other stuff the first time she mentioned it, didn't even know myself until it was too late to feasibly correct course.

"What I'm trying to say is that you're not the only one who messed this up. I, um...

"I should say sorry to her. When I can."

[Wham Yubeesling]

"No wait, hold on, let me actually say what I meant to say: it's not all your fault. You did what you thought was the better choice, given the... strange circumstance. It might have not been the correct one, but...

"Sorry. Can't... think of what to say next. Just try not to put all the blame on yourself, kay?"

[Espi]

Kaya shrugged.

"I suppose," she replied quietly, her gaze drooping to the floor. "Thanks. It does help."

Uncrossing her legs, Kaya sighed. "I guess just...find her, have her come back, whatever, then try to win. I guess it's the two of us and then two more people, so maybe hook up with them. Then just, you know, go home.

"But yeah, I appreciate it. I'll figure--"

Clank.

Kaya lifted her head as a distant sound reached her. She narrowed her eyes and before springing up to her feet and clutching the edges of her coat.

[Pippi]

Clank.

((Bethan Gayle continued from Don't Shake))

It was a good thing she hadn’t been attempting to be stealthy in any way, because the combination of her boots and the cruise ship’s metal staircases really made that whole endeavour impossible.

She knew that she really should be trying to be much more inconspicuous, or as incognito as one could be in the outfit she was wearing, now that she was fully aware of the gravity of her surroundings. And she would be, going forwards. This was a brand-new, fresh start for her. She was at square one of the game, and she would have to play it extra smart and extra vigilant, cause everybody else was on, like, square fifty-four by now.

But right now, she wanted someone to find her; one specific person, to be more accurate.

And hey. Lo and behold. There she was. Not too far away from where she’d been abandoned, either.

“A… Ahoy there, c-cap’n…”

She gave a very shaky salute, and an even shakier smile, standing a few feet away from Kaya.

“I’m back…”

[Espi]

The sigh of relief was audible from across the deck as Kaya dropped her hands from the trenchcoat and more or less ran across the deck towards Bethan, stopping just short of the other girl.

"You don't..." Kaya paused, her smile faltering. "You don't have to call me that, you know."

Kaya took a breath and looked around. "Right, so technically the plan hasn't changed all that much, if that helps. We--and whoever else is left on our team--can just make it to the end and go home from there. So we'll just...do that I guess."

Her gaze drifted out towards the sea, away from Bethan.

"I am really sorry, though."

[Pippi]

“Hey, hey, it’s… it’s all fine now. I forgive you. I promise. And… and a Buccaneer can’t break her promise!”

She tried to inject her last few words with the familiar, buoyant enthusiasm she’d been showcasing for the past couple of days, but she could tell that it rang hollow as soon as they left her mouth. She really didn’t need to do it just yet, she was just forcing the act while she and Kaya were still hurting and while they both knew they were still hurting. They just needed a bit more time, now that all the truth had finally come to light.

So Bethan did some quick mental mathematics instead, and figured out the best way to hold her spear for what she wanted to do, and adjusted her bandana a little, and made sure her gun wouldn’t clatter out of her pocket, and then she stepped forwards and wrapped her arms tightly around Kaya, pressing her face into their neck, gently trembling.

“I’m… Oh, Kaya, I’m so sorry, I got so overwhelmed by, by everything, and I just panicked and I just needed to run and I think I made everything worse before I made it better and I’m sorry but I’m back now and… and I’m not gonna run again. I promise. I’ll be… I’ll be First Mate Bethan, until the end.”

She smiled at that, and let out a genuine, soft giggle, earnest and warm but undeniably melancholy underneath.

“I know… I know I don’t need to do this any more, but… um…”

She felt her fingers tighten into Kaya’s jacket as she clung to them, holding them close in her embrace.

“What else… do we have left, other than The Buccaneers?”

[Espi]

Kaya nodded slowly, tentatively, only to nearly start backwards when Bethan embraced her.

After a moment, she let out a single, relieved laugh and returned the hug, letting her arms wrap themselves around the other girl

"It's okay. I...well, you know." she said after a little while. Finally, when the two stepped apart, she left her hands on Bethan's shoulders. "I don't know. I mean, about the other stuff. Not--" She cut herself off. "We've got each other, and that's all we need to make it out of here."

Her fingers drifted down to Bethan's hand. "We'll just stay positive--like, normal positive--and it'll be fine. We've made it this far, right?"

[Slam]

Unbelievable.

((Amy Barrows-Shaw continued from The Connections We Make and Lose))

She thought when she returned to the deck she’d find some bags she missed, and maybe have a chance to pay her proper respects to RJ. She hadn’t expected to find Kaya and Bethan still up here, alive and well, and mid-hug, not after their encounter with Seo.

She wasn’t sure why really, but it made her angry. Almost as if she’d been betrayed by allies she’d never managed to keep. It didn’t show in her face, as these things so rarely did, but her fingers squeezed around the grip of the gun that almost never left her hand now.

She thought of how she could approach the two from the doorway she stood in. Did she want to approach the two? She was still outnumbered, and they were still buccaneers. Bethan in particular had made it clear she was embracing that role.

But neither of them had attacked her before hand, and she wanted to know what had happened with Seo. Actually, she needed to know, for her own safety.

So she thought she’d take the gamble. She even kept the gun low, though in plain sight. Stay sharp Amy: they’re still the enemy, and you’re still outnumbered.

“Hey.” she called out, barely over a mutter. She had to try again to project her voice, as she usually did when faced with nerves. “Hey.” she repeated. It was louder than before, but not by much.

[Pippi]

“Yeah… yeah, you’re right…”

Her hand found it’s way into Kaya’s as she spoke, their fingers enlacing together, that welcome, familiar feeling of warmth and safety washing over her once again, just like it had when they’d been wandering the jetties with Emmett and Amanda. It wasn’t all the same, of course. Especially now that she knew Emmett was dead, and not just scowling away on some boat leased out to the production company. And, oh it seemed so obvious now, that had been why Kaya had dragged her away from the rest of the crew in the first place, so that they didn’t give the game away instantly. This feeling of safety did not guarantee safety. That was the main thing, the most important thing, that she had taken onboard since last time.

But it made her feel like hope was still out there, just brushing against her fingertips. That this sensation of sanctuary was achievable, that they could reach it, just so long as they stayed safe, and that they stayed smart.

And that they stayed together.

“I’m good at that. Um, thinking positively I mean, you, uh, probably know that already, aha.”

She gave a little sigh after her little laugh. Her words were spoken in a hushed tone meant only for Kaya, not that the tiny camera looped around her neck would care in the slightest about her intentions.

“I know that this… um, that everything could end in tears. I know. I know that now. But… but it doesn’t have to, does it? We’ve gotten this far. We can go further. We can… can go to the end. Nothing says we can’t. We’re… We’re the Buccaneers, right? Show no fear in the face of danger!

… Even when we’re quaking in our boots.”

Bethan smiled, and then she squeezed Kaya’s hands, and then she heard someone calling to them. Although, ‘calling’ was a little bit of a misnomer; the voice was louder than hers had been just now, but if the breeze had picked up even a fraction, then it might have been totally lost. She turned, knuckles whitening against the haft of her pike, hoping with every fibre of her being that she wasn’t about to face Seo-yun with a change of heart, or Anthony, or Fisk, or…

It wasn’t any of them. It was Amy, once again. Bethan had… well, she hadn’t forgotten about her, not in the slightest, she would have felt even more awful if she’d just totally misremembered her friend. But her whereabouts, after the Seo-yun incident, hadn’t been anywhere close to the front of her mind. Her absence hadn’t even registered when she’d returned back to the top deck; Bethan guessed that meant she’d also fled the scene when she’d heard that Seo-yun was downstairs.

And now, here she was. A friendly face. Back once more.

“Oh! Um, hi Amy!”

Bethan called out to her friend. She didn’t wave this time. She gave a smile, and a greeting, but she tried her best to keep the peppiness on a simmer, for the moment at least.

“Are you… are you alright? Everything, um… shipshape?”

[Espi]

Kaya clutched Bethan's hand firmly and nodded. Her smile no longer reached her eyes, which darted past Bethan's head.

"It doesn't, no," she said, tone still light. "We can make it."

Her gaze settled on Amy as she called out and approached. "Hey. You missed the excitement." Kaya gave a lopsided grin. "Well, no not really, Seo-yun just kind of left after you did."

[Slam]

“Oh.”

Amy’s response was simple and flat. Seo had just left without killing either of them. It was almost anti-climatic. Had she overreacted?

She remembered Nura and Virginia. She remembered the shotgun pointed at her face. No, she hadn’t.

Bethan and Kaya looked so unchanged to Amy, as if she hadn’t even left. It made her uncomfortable, because she’d been so sure that they had been reduced to bloodstains on the floor. She knew she wasn’t good at reading people, but she didn’t like that she’d misjudged the situation so much. It was dangerous in a world like SOTF-TV.

She wasn’t sure what to do next. They were just kind of stood there, waiting for something to happen. There was that feeling that she should be saying something.

“Sorry,” she defaulted to. “for leaving, I mean. I wasn’t sure what to do.”

Accurate, but not sincere.