2023-05-08: Things Aren't Okay
- Cast: Banagher Links, Sayla Mass
- Where: The Old Photon Power Labs
- Date: U.C. 0097 05 08
- Summary: In an effort to protect Leina, Banagher goes against her wishes.
<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
Leina's recovered enough to return to the Kobayashi's place.
Or so she insists.
And so, Banagher has returned to the PPL in kind. He's been quiet. Projects sit half-finished, dusty, on his desk. Being away from Leina like this after she was abused so horrifically...
Falling back onto his bed, Banagher stares at the ceiling. Phone in one hand, his thoughts spiral.
Leina said she didn't want to talk to Sayla about this... But something feels so /wrong/. And Leina said, if it had been Sayla going through this instead of her, that she'd want to know.
Banagher pulls his arm up, bonking his phone into his forehead.
Eventually...
>Hey Sayla
>I'm sorry to bother you, but can you please come to the PPL?
>I need to talk something over with you.
>I'm staying in the Old Labs.
---
Banagher and Audrey have claimed a small area of the Old Labs of their own. A kitchen, sitting room, and two bedrooms (though one is certainly more used than the other). Everything in this area has been cleaned spotless, including Banagher himself.
Brown hair shines, brushed and cared for to perfection. Banagher sits in his nicest jeans, a Sheryl Nome t-shirt, and the hoodie Leina gave him for Christmas. Before him is a plate of Koji's pastries, and a kettle of tea resting on a warmer.
Everything is in place for Sayla's visit, but... He's nervous. This feels like a betrayal. Is talking to Sayla really the right thing to do?
Banagher takes a breath. It's too late to turn back now. She should be here any minute now.
<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
The time difference between the PPL and Sayla's office is around eight hours. Sunrise for her is a few hours away yet.
Banagher's phone buzzes seconds after he sends the message.
>Will be there ASAP -Sayla
Sayla is familiar with the old labs, and she makes her way past the cordons easily.
>Entering via elevator.
She's wearing a light blue t-shirt under a pink long-sleeved coat, black pants, and plain black shoes- and plain brown leather gloves. It's not really cold enough for this outfit, but she seems fine.
She moves as she does when she's on the job. Serious. Direct. Her body language is rehearsed, and her makeup is heavier than usual.
"Good afternoon, Banagher." When she speaks, the illusion cracks. Her voice is slightly croaky, and the dark rings around her eyes are obvious.
She takes a seat unbidden and sits across from the boy. She doesn't even register the food yet.
"...What is it?"
<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
Banagher feels Sayla approach, sitting up a bit straighter as she walks into the room. At first, he thinks she looks nice, focusing on the makeup and the coordinated outfit. But as she gets closer...
A little frown crosses his face. Sayla isn't well, either. This isn't surprising -- after hearing how her talk with Leina went, Bangaher has been worried, but unsure if he has a place to reach out.
"Good afternoon," He replies, quietly. "Are you -- holding up okay?"
Sayla asks him what's going on right away, and Banagher shifts in his seat, still nervous about what he's doing. There's a clear moment where he steels himself, then looks Sayla in the eyes.
"It's about Leina." Banagher's voice is serious. "Things aren't -- okay. She's --"
A wave of pure distress radiates from the young pilot, and he hunches in on himself a little. Shoving his hands into his hoodie pockets, Banagher forces himself forward.
"Audrey and I noticed she's lost a lot of weight. It's been going on for a while, now, but it's -- kinda gotten bad. I'm surprised her clothes even fit anymore. Leina told Audrey that it's been getting bad since Tsutsujidai vanished, and she's being treated for depression, but--"
A breath.
"Then Char." That's all he has to say. "And it got bad again. And then, a week ago, she and Audrey were out shopping. They weren't doing anything wrong! Just--!" Banagher's distress slowly turns to anger, and he clenches his hands into fists. "They were just shopping! But the Manhunters arrived and did a sweep, and -- Leina knew Audrey just couldn't get caught--"
It takes Banagher a moment to find his voice again. Annoyingly, tears spring to his eyes, an expression of helpless rage.
"...Leina, she -- got herself caught so Audrey could get away. She had a flash grenade, and the Manhunters -- beat her. Really, really badly. When I came to get her from the hospital, when they released her, she was covered in blood and bruises, her ribs were broken..."
"She didn't want me to tell you any of this, but I can't bear just going back to normal! I can't--" Banagher squeezes his eyes shut, shaking his head.
<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
As Bangher asks the questions, he can feel Sayla's steel in real-time. "...No," she answers honestly. "But you don't need to worry about me right now."
Another easy lie.
She can feel the distress, even through her walls. Even with the gloves she's not prepared to risk trying to comfort him. So she listens.
Sayla seems to blanch a little. "...Has she told you if she's seen Dr Yuiry lately? If it's a side effect of her antidepressants, maybe she can do something."
The fact that it happened during Tsutsujidai's isolation...
'Then Char.'
Sayla feels a pit in her stomach, as she's reminded. that things turned out the way they did, that's her fault. The fact that Char is still living, unpurified... That's on her too. Her hands ball into fists-
"Did it work? Mineva's okay? Her voice is cold, and hard. "Does she know who? Names, faces, anything?" She trusts Leina to lawyer up, to play the game safely, but... If it was all for nothing...
But as Banagher reaches his limit, Sayla looks for words to help. She can't find them, so instead he gets a gloved hand on his shoulder. "...Thank you for telling me." Sayla's voice is pained. They said one month. That was still two weeks away- but she couldn't not interfere. "I'll... call the Kobayashi family. Dr Yuiry and Dr Bidan. Maybe... Maybe they can do something." She bites her lower lip. For all she's trying to make a plan, she very much isn't okay. That hand on Banagher's shoulder might as well be for her as much as it is for him.
<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
Banagher's brow knits in worry as Sayla's walls rise -- a sensation he's familiar with from Leina. "I'm sorry." He murmurs, knowing there's nothing he can do.
"Leina hasn't mentioned Dr. Yuiry." The young pilot says, almost a little desperately. "She doesn't really open up about that kind of stuff, she's so private about it. I don't know about her medication, either. I wrote down the stuff the hospital told me to give her, but nothing else."
Banagher shakes a little. "Yeah, Audrey's safe. She's out with Sayaka today, but she's totally unharmed. I -- know Leina hired her own lawyer, and I think she knows some names. She told me."
"They enjoyed hurting her." Golden eyes squeeze closed, and the first tears fall. "Especially the leader. Leina kept saying it could've been so much worse, but I wanted to just get Judau and the Unicorn and--"
Bangaher doesn't have to explain, the violent, furious emotion roiling off him is clear enough.
Sayla touches Banagher's shoulder, and he opens his eyes, looking up to her. "I'm sorry. I know how painful this has to be for you. I -- thought about this a lot before talking to you, Sayla, and... The more I tried to just get over it, the worse I felt about everything."
"After I picked her up, we stayed in a hotel for a while. Leina was too injured to fly back right away." Banagher says, rubbing a hand across his face. "It was fine for the first few days, but then I got an alert about a Banshee sighting. She told me to go, that she'd wait for me and not do anything, but-- When I got back, it was like she was /worse/. Her wounds had reopened and the bruises were darker."
Banagher looks down, ashamed. "Then she insisted we check out the next day, even though she was clearly in too much pain for the flight back. I was as careful as I could be, but -- it was still agonizing for her. I don't understand -- and I don't know how to help, how to improve anything.."
<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
"...She should be safe with her, at least." Sayaka of all people won't stand idly by in the face of manhunters. She nods. "Do you know what they told it was? Painkillers and such?"
Sayla simply does her best not to intermingle her anger with Banagher's. "I'd be right there with you, in a heartbeat." Her walls reinforce as she says that. She KNOWS how easily Banagher bonds. She's not going to allow that to happen casually.
Sayla bites her lip again. "It sounds like when she was younger..." She curses herself again. For not being there, for causing Leina to push herself.
"...Damnit, Leina. Why? What possible reason..." But can she even interfere? Does she still have that right?
Right or not, it doesn't matter. "...She needs our help. I'll press Spade-2 to see if she's been deployed anywhere. I am sure Rain is looping me out right now, but if I ask the right people..." Something to do. A task. Something that isn't watch time go by. "Can I ask you to keep an eye on her. Maybe talk to Akane too, they talk often."
Sayla takes her hand away. "I'll... finally call Frau." There's an air of exhaustion at the thought. "I can do that much at least." She sighs. It's not enough. Not telling her was the right call, certainly. But now... now she has to deal with the after all. "I think... even if she hates me for it, I can't just wait for a month to be up."
<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
"We're all going to be more careful." Banagher promises. "I know Leina didn't like the idea of it, but -- maybe Audrey should have a bodyguard until this is all over. I don't want her or Leina to have to go through this again."
Banagher pulls his phone from his hoodie pocket, scrolling to a list of medications. Anti-nausea, pain... Everything looks standard as he shows it to Sayla.
"I know you would." Banagher's voice is dark. "And those Manhunters deserve to be taken down. They're monsters, and -- once the Box is found, I want to try and end them as an organization. I'll never forget what they did to Leina."
Golden eyes look down at his hands. "She told me she just fell on the way to the bathroom in the middle of the night. I feel awful, I should've been there! I should've let the 3SA take care of the Banshee."
"I'm sorry to ask you to go against your agreement with Leina. I know that's important, but--" Banagher sighs. "I'm really, really scared for her. I won't leave her side any longer than I have to, Sayla, I promise." A nod. "Akane's a good idea. I know they're really close."
It's hard. Leina's wanted time to herself since her argument with Sayla, and Banagher's trying to respect that. But things feel so wrong and awful -- he feels like he's either got to go against Leina's preferences, or against his own feelings.
"I'll stay in touch with you, too. And please, if there's anything at all I can do for Leina, let me know." Banagher's eyes are red -- he's been crying quite a bit. "She has her walls up all the time lately. I never know what she's really feeling. I want that to change, back to how it was when we first met. When Leina was happy."
<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
"...We can arrange a bodyguard. Our friends in the dea have experience, even. She pauses. "...She used a flashbang, but she didn't activate her distress beacon? I taught her to call for help first, and she's more than capable..." Sayla shakes her head again, sadly. "Or maybe I hurt her trust more than either of know." But it bothers her, right now. It doesn't add up.
She blinks at the list Banagher shows her, the discharge summary. "...Her antidepressants aren't there?" She bites her lip. "That's a problem. That's not like her." She stares at the list again. Is that really all it is?
Stop, it, Sayla. Your paranoia got you into this. You don't want to make it words.
Banagher's words hit differently this time. "Banagher..." She has a small, weak smile. Deep down, he was that stupid kid who got torn into by one of his heroes.
"You're not going to get anywhere wishing what had happened but for a nail." The smile remains, sad and sorry and empathetic. "Thank you. I will too." And then, she moves to hug him. Carefully, just shy of hovering, approaching from the side.
"My wanting things to go back to how they were before may have ruined my relationship with my-... with Leina, and borne rifts that I can't mend with my allies. So please. If you take on lesson from this, hope for things to change in a new, and happy way. Not what they were before."
<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
"Please talk to Audrey first about it, of course, but--" Banagher sighs. "I'd be so grateful. I've been afraid of her leaving the lab ever since. Wait -- Leina has a distress beacon, and she didn't use it? I don't... get that, it would've been the perfect time to use something like that. It might've saved both of them."
Banagher looks at his list again, as if the antidepressants would appear. "That's dangerous, right? Not telling a doctor what medications you're on, even I know better than that."
There's no way Leina would make a mistake like that. "Maybe she was trying to hide them from the Manhunters..? I don't know why she'd do that, though."
Sayla smiles at him, and Banagher blinks. Has she ever done that before? There's a small part of him that leaps in a thrill of joy at Sayla Mass knowing his name, smiling at him.
"You're right. All I can do is move forward, and be better. I--"
Banagher is hugged. He goes still, then trembles, then breaks into tears. An arm reaches up to hug Sayla in return, and he hides his face in her shoulder. Someone who loves Leina as much as he does, someone he can trust to help protect her -- all this time, the young pilot has been trying to be strong, but --
He can trust Sayla. Tears quickly turn into sobs, Banagher's breath coming to him in harsh gasps. "I--I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." He manages, between his sobs. "I'm scared, I -- it's because of me, all of this-- I don't want her to be hurt ever a--again--"
<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
"This isn't your fault." Sayla says, flatly. "This was always going to be a risk with Leina. She's strong-willed and hates injustice. There's a reason I have the lawyers I do on retainer." She smiles again, darkly. "Honestly I am surprised she restrained herself to flashbang. She shakes her head on why. "I have no idea, I'm sorry."
Though now the risk is greater still.
Sayla is caught off guard by Banagher's tears- but this is something she's gotten good at. She places on hand on Banaghers. "The only thing you can do now is rest, and process. Hell, the PPL is the closest thing you've had to a home since.. the start of this, right? Take advantage of that."
The more Banagher releases his emotions, the more Sayla has to reign her own in. "...We can't go back, Banagher. We can't have those moments, those relationships we lost. We can just hope we live to mend them."
Two rivers of deep sad emotion escape her walls, and Sayla wiped her tears away before they and. "Sometimes what comes next is better."
<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
"It was so they didn't have a reason to kill her." Banagher answers, quietly. "Leina told me. And seeing how badly they hurt her from just the flashbang, I think they -- really would have killed her, if she drew her gun."
But why didn't she use her panic button?
Sayla's comfort is a balm to Banagher's grief and distress, and slowly, he cries himself out. As he pulls back, he almost apologizes, but at the last moment, Captain Zinnerman's words come back to him. Crying isn't shameful.
Instead, he smiles, a fragile little thing. "Thank you. I haven't cried like that in -- a really long time. I'm really grateful for the PPL, but it hasn't been... the only place."
Images of an old freighter echo from Banagher. A figure with a long coat and strong shoulders.
"You're right. We have to move forward. It's all we can do." Banagher leans back into Sayla as a tear falls down her face, this time trying to provide comfort. "We move forward and believe in possibility."
Golden eyes shimmer with light, and Banagher squeezes Sayla's hand. "What comes next /will/ be better. I know it. For us, and for her."
Something beneath fear and despair sparks to life in Banagher's soul, warm and radiant. Like a wave of light, it fills the room, driving away the remnants of his tears.