universal_charm | Reboot Complete

[ Taking your first conscious lungful of air after what seems forever is an entirely all to painful experience. Not surreal. Not relieving. Painful. His brain felt like it had been jolted by a car battery and his throat couldn’t decide if it wanted to close up or open so he could exhale and take in another breath.

Finally, that primal part of his brain, the part that worked to keep him alive when he wasn't paying attention, said stop being stupid and he took his second breath. Third. Fourth. Fifth. They kept coming, the pain easing at the same time that his vision went from blurry blobs to fuzzy shapes and finally to something resembling… trees?

Trees? He was in the woods?

He was dead and all he got was being shoved into some forest - albeit one for dead people? He was a hero! He seriously needed to go haunt somebody and let them know that dying sucked, there were no pearly gates, and he demanded an immediate refund.

That was when the rest of his body decided it needed to make its immediate aches and pains fully noted. Everything hurt, aching in a bone deep way that said he needed to both move and that he needed to sleep for another week. He couldn’t particularly decide which, so instead he chose to lay there, debating if the pain meant he was not, in fact, dead.

But… he had to be, didn’t he? The radiation he had absorbed when he kicked the reactor back into place should have killed him, and he had… Spock had been there, and he had…

He gulped, pushing the memory away, shifting to try and get his arm under him, his wings fluttering lightly as if -

Wait. Wings? WINGS?!

His head jerked around, for a moment making him see white stars and he stared in absolute horror at the canary yellow and black edged wings that peeked from behind his back, disturbingly bright on a dead man. Well, he thought he was dead… But he had only ever been to one place where he had sported wings, and angel wings were white (right?). So... was this... was this Luceti? Was he being punished by being sent to the hell version of Luceti, the place he thought he had somehow managed to escape (but never find again despite his efforts - and, in fairness, he had been a bit distracted). Or worse- this was real. He was alive, and he was back in Luceti.

And in a hospital gown. Awesome.

To weak to move himself much more, he collapsed back down, sweating for his effort and he wondered if he would stink of radiation now… did radiation have a scent? He guessed he’d find out. His eyes drifted, coming back from the pain induced haze they’d glazed through, dropping on the journal. Of course it was right beside him, like a faithful dog that didn’t know when it wasn’t wanted.

Well, this time he actually needed it. He reached out, bringing it closer, that effort alone making his head spin as he worked it open to speak - ]

Hey everyone. You miss me?

[ Of course, that's base on the idea there's anyone he knows still here to miss him. Did they remember him, a year and more later? ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

No, I prefer getting frost bite on my soft bits.

_{[ The sarcasm is strong yet in this one, but he doesn't really have the energy to give Gaara a look of any sort. He's just tired and weak and it shows as he pauses, breathing in deep. ]}

[Sarcasm really isn't a safe game to play with Gaara. He's used to fear or respect, not...that. So, he'll just assume the poison is making him say ridiculous things right now. Which leaves little question about being able to move on his own.

So without further warning, sand starts billowing out of the large gourd on his back and slipping its way under Kirk's body before it starts rising off the ground. Like a levitating sand-made gurney, convenient right?]

_{[ Kirk would have been jerking and demanding things when that sand
came out, but he was still disoriented and trying to filter what his brain
and other senses were telling him was real. At the least, he had been
around magic enough here that he didn't directly question it either. ]}

Does this thing come with seat warmers?

_{[ Sarcasm again, sorry Gaara. But it was a safe place for him, that
sarcasm, and he clung to it as he tried to make sense of his current
reality. ]}

[The remark only gets a confused expression.] I could cover you in the sand, but that tends to make people nervous.

[But he'll give him a sand blanket all the same.]

There's still a lot I'm not familiar with yet here. Is there anywhere specific you'd like me to take you?

_{[ The blanket makes him itch. He's not sure how to feel about it, but
he figured it Gaara wanted to kill him he would have done it. And even if
he wanted to fight, he wasn't sure he could. So he let himself be wrapped
up, and admittedly, it was a bit warmer. ]}

Is... is Spock here? Did he come back too?

[Despite the non-reaction, Gaara watches closely. The last thing he wanted to do was make someone he was attempting to help even worse with meant-to-be good deeds.]

I don't know who that is. I've only been here for a week or so, I've not a chance to learn all the residents yet.

Um... tall guy. Dark hair. Bowl cut. Pointy ears. Probably makes you want to punch him after one sentence.

_{[ He gulped, shifting, but not much, just trying to be comfortable,
which wasn't as easy as he thought it was given his whole body felt like
shit. ]}

I doubt that. [Luckily it takes a lot to piss Gaara off these days.]

I can search for him with the Third Eye if its a critical matter that you find him now.

[And there's a glance of concern.] You said you died once, are you at risk of doing it a second time?

I will let you know if I go critical.

And yeah, if you could look for him and just tell him to come to wherever you're taking me?

My eye can search, it can't exactly speak.

[Oh, right. Gaara pauses for a moment, arms crossed over his chest as he considers.] Is there a particular place you'd like me to take you? Though I've been the recipient of a resurrection after death, I've not the ability to give it to someone else.

The clinic is fine. Seems the place for a not-dead guy that thought he was dead, right?

It does.

[So they'll move in that direction now.]

...You're not sure you died?

Well, I was pretty sure I was dying, and then I woke up. And last I checked, dead people don't wake up?

That depends entirely on circumstance. I was resurrected. But I'm quite certain I died...it is a difficult memory to forget.

Uh... someone I feel less special.

That you were brought back from the dead, if that is indeed what happened, should only prove how special you were. It means...that your existence mattered, still matters.

What more can someone want to achieve with their life than that?

_{[ He... hadn't thought about it like that. He blinked, letting that
sink in, something churning in his chest and gut. ]}

Heh... you may have a point there, Gaara.

[Gaara's eyes darted thoughtfully to the man on his sand bed and he nodded.]

Second chances are rare.

Tell me about it.

Reboot Complete

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