Later, dawg [Open!]

[meat_mooks]

|| Attention, crew. Those who wish to attend the funeral of Matthew O'Connor, please report to the Observation Deck. ||

Another death announcement so soon after the last. It's a sad day.

Once again, the Observation Deck is arranged for the launch. The departed crew member, better known as Punchy in his lifetime, is encased in a central pod. The deck is lit by the starlight pouring in from the open window, a blazing blue star that will soon be Punchy's final resting place.

Another life lost. Time to say farewell once more.

Comments

[thewunderkind]

Lash hadn't said much during the funerals of Howard and Cedric. Even now she was mostly quiet, in her corner, arms behind her back, directly on the ship's floor so she could look at the stars.War is war. She'd been dealing with death most of her life, but it had been honestly one of the rare few times that she had actually cared about it. Sturm's own death had been treated as a oh it happened thing, but Punchy, as a stupid, dumb idiotic idiot he had been, was still a teammate.

She didn't cry. In that moment, she was acting much more like some of Black Hole would have reacted, her thoughts in her mind more as to what they should be doing next before it happened again. Besides, he'd laugh at her if she started to cry about him. Asshole. Lash's caring wasn't as typical as most other's, after all.

But they might have noticed a tear when he had been launched as she gave him a military salute farewell.

[hit_girl_mindy]

Lash. And not crying hysterically or yelling stuff. Good. That kind of shit had a way of making her feel uncomfortable. When her dad died, crying lasted a few minutes, and then the violence took over. Dwelling on death, even with someone she cared about, had its way of paralyzing people, and it wasn't something she needed.

But for Punchy? She was drinking, if only because it seemed natural to do it and remember the guy. Wherever someone like him went, she knew a different kind of celebrating needed to be had.

He reminded her that it was all right to just chill, to live. Anyone like that deserved a send off in her own way.

"Hey Lash! I have a question for you!"

[thewunderkind]

"Hmmm?" Her eyes were still looking up in the sky, and she idly move her hands before tilting her head so she could see the other girl better. Ha ha she was drinking. Lash wasn't too surprised, really, considering everything. no one was yanking that bottle out of her hands either.

"Yeah what do you want?"

[hit_girl_mindy]

Hell, it was hers stuff wasn't it? She knew she wasn't going to get it from any other place, and no way was she feeling up to beer today. The high alcohol content alien drink would have to do.

"Is there anyway you could get a device that can play music? I kinda feel like there should be some stuff playing today, for him."

[thewunderkind]

"Probably. Zetta probably had something in the castle. I don't really bother with music that much," she explained. "But during that crazy shopping spread forever go he really got a lot of stuff. We could go now, if you want. Shouldn't take too long."

[bonnypiperlad]

"Could ye see if it'll play this as well?" asked Jamie, stepping up next to Lash and Hit Girl. He held out the datapad that he had been fiddling with during his eulogy towards them. A label on it read 'Biggie Smalls: Life After Death'.

"He'd been trying to teach me something about the music he liked, and he'd mentioned this name to me. I found it in the Media Library, after I..." He trailed off, not wanting to complete the sentence. After I found out he'd died.

He cleared his throat instead, and said gruffly, "Aye, well, anyway. I thought he'd want to hear something he liked, if he could be here for it."

[hit_girl_mindy]

"Yeah, totally want to go," Hit Girl said, wondering if she could stay around here, with all of the sad and stuff. She looked up when Jamie came by though, and when she saw the selection couldn't help but get a smile on her face.

"I haven't heard this in a few years...was real big a few years back, I kinda grew up hearing these tracks. Yeah, this is exactly what he'd want playing during his funeral. I mean, you can't really go wrong with a guy who's album was called 'Life after Death' who died pretty soon afterward."

She gave Jamie a thumbs up. "If we have to think about him not being here today, think I'd rather do it hearing the kinda stuff that reminds me of him."

[sonicscreamer]

"If you require aid, could help you search, Miss Lash," Victoria offered, as she walked where the three were, holding on to Jaime's arm. The funeral had been...a very sad affair but she was impressed at everyone's reactions. Thankfully her father was...

"I would be interested to hear this music as well. I might not have known Punchy as much, but..." she trailed off. Victoria was not very good at holding in her feelings, and she bit down her lip to stop herself from crying here and then.

[bonnypiperlad]

Jamie's eyes flicked back over to Victoria, concern sparking in his eyes. As grateful as he was for her presence, he knew what something like this must be like for her. With a smooth motion, he shifted the datapad over to his other hand and covered her hand with his free one, interlacing his fingers with hers as best as he could and squeezing gently.

"Aye, if you need it we could both go with ye and help. Although I'll not say as I'm very familiar with the place..." He frowned, just a little. That could be a bit of a problem. "Would it be easier with more people looking, do ye think?"

[thewunderkind]

Lash didn't think she needed her of all people, but let out a sign and shrugged a little. Help was help. As long as she didn't complain too much about all the weapons in the castle.

"Sure she can come." With a motion, he began to walk away from the room. "Make sure you keep up, we'll be back as soon as we find something!"

[hit_girl_mindy]

Complain about weapons in the castle? Hit Girl personally just wanted to get a good look at them all. Who would the opportunity to see where Lash's mind was these days, when it came to artillery?

"Right," she said. "We'll help."

Just enough alcohol not to slur or stumble, but she definitely felt a buzz.

[badassfreakingoverlord]

From behind, a weight pressed into her -- a mostly-flat book, with a ring that kind of bumped her back.

After an awkward silence, the book muttered, "This is the crappiest comfort ever, isn't it."

[thewunderkind]

She grinned despite herself and turned to see him better, unable to teast him despite the situation.

"Crappy? Maybe. Crappiest? Nah. Don't worry 'bout me. It's not like I haven't seen people die before." She shrugged. "Kinda sucks, but I don't think he'd be the type of person to want people to mope about him anyway." She did grin despite herself. "Probably complaining that there wasn't enough good looking girls at his funeral, however..."

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"Hey! YOU'RE here!" the Overlord said, quite clearly taking the idea that lash wasn't 'enough good looking girls' as a personal insult. "Even if you are taken, beggars can't be choosers."

The book sighed as the minion straightened him up again. "I'm not worrying about you. I'm doing that emotional-comfort thing I'm supposed to do. It's not MY fault I don't know how to do it properly! I'm a freaking Overlord! It's not on the list of duties normally!"

[thewunderkind]

She just looked at him for a second before laughing. It felt good to laugh, actually. "I think at this point we can just say The Hell with what Were Supposed to Do. 'Sides, I don't think he would have wanted that anyway."

Lash stood up and dusted off her hands.

"You wanna go fire off some cannons?"

[badassfreakingoverlord]

Zetta wasn't about to fake feeling bad or emotional over this mess, so he was glad Lash was laughing. He could handle that. And even if it wasn't entirely genuine, well, he would make her smile anyway.

"Of COURSE I want to go fire off some cannons," he said. What kind of a question was that?

[thewunderkind]

She was just making sure. You know. Just in case. Maybe just asking the question got her mind off of things.

"Good. I sorta need a distraction after this and think about things." And nothing said distraction firing off large cannonballs into the sky with the guy you liked, right?

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"I'll distract you," the Overlord said with a leer. Really, he was just trying to make her react, and shamelessly perving on her usually did the trick. Break her out of any dark thoughts she might be having, deep down inside. Reassert normalcy. (Such as it was.)

[thewunderkind]

"Huh, yeah..." She gave him a small smile and slowly lead them away from the funeral towards the sensoriums.

At that moment, she would have liked him to be more than a book. Maybe hold his hand. It...would have felt nice.

As she continued to walk in silence, she suddenly asked commented idly.

"Kinda weird having a teammate die. Specially after Cedric and Howard did too."

[badassfreakingoverlord]

He never felt the loss of his body more keenly than he did at this moment.

Which was kind of weird. Losing a body ought to make all sorts of trouble for anyone. But Zetta simply wasn't capable of being brought down by something like that. He was fine being a book. The essence, the core of the Overlord was far stronger and more dominant than his body.

He could've lived as a book for as long as necessary. There were days he forgot he was anything but.

Before Lash.

Now, well... base desires and carnal impulses aside, it would have felt really nice, just to hold her hand right now.

"The missions are starting to suck," he said, as usual completely failing to appear to have any emotional or intellectual depth whatsoever.

[thewunderkind]

Weirdly enough...it made..her laugh? It wasn't something she had expected him to say...and yet it was totally Zetta.

"Yeah. Seriously." She quickened her pace towards the sensoriums. "Whatever happening next, it's gonna be a ride, huh?"

[badassfreakingoverlord]

...no, that can't have been an intentional innuendo.

"Whatever it is, there'll always be exploding Prinnies and weapons and movies and stuff."

That was kind of his way of saying he'd be there for her, except it didn't actually occur to him to say that outright. He still wasn't great at this. Still, the minion picked up her pace, not at all noticing the exertion.

And this one too *flips tables*

[thewunderkind]

"Yeah..." She understood what he meant. It still annoyed her how attached she'd grown to some people. Why she even cared about someone's funeral at all, but here she was, being a bit emotional.

The way there was mostly silent after that.

When they arrived at the door, and she opened it, not even bothering to see if someone else was in there. Good thing there wasn't. The room didn't really change; it was just pure white of an empty mind. Didn't really feel like thinking at that moment, really. Lash sat on the floor and looked at the nothing before her.

[badassfreakingoverlord]

A moment later -- coincidentally, the amount of time it took for Zetta to imagine himself a body -- the Overlord dropped to his knees behind her, reaching around to pull her in against his chest. It wasn't explosions or Prinnies or making out, but some deep, long-suppressed part of Zetta knew it was the Right Thing To Do.

[morphitudinous]

Billy stood still beside her, remembering their silly afternoons. It was hard to have a bad day with Punchy around the office, or at the meeting place, or...anywhere he was, really.

"I'll miss you two ganging up on us," Billy admitted. "I might not have seemed to appreciate it, but...you helped. You really did."