Scene #8744: Rose And Welfare

Owner	Pose
Angela	Rose has been off duty--and out of school--for a long while since they Corroded in a battle against the Ekanamsha S2. Whatever the Ekanamsha did while Rose was Corroded seemed to intensify what happened to her. She'd been off for 'medical' purposes since but has been cleared again for Duty--though she hasn't returned to the school yet--but Hod has sent a message to Hibiki indicating that she's ok to see visitors, and even offers to guide her to Welfare so she can pay her a visit! The portal to L Corp remains in Control which means they'll need to take an elevator down but Hod is right there when Hibiki arrives, her antenna wiggling excitedly from side to side. "H-hey Bikki! It's...still me! Hod! You remember right? I thought I'd escort you to Welfare? I can then...scram!...if you want..." The Sephirah smell as bad as they ever do but... Hod does seem a bit more chipper than prior to her Meltdown.
Hibiki Tachibana	It's been hard for her to show it, but Hibiki /has/ been worried about Rose - once she stopped obsessing over her own issues (as much), the guilt on not checking on her sooner and assuming she'd be back and okay sooner than she has been... hit hard. Thanks, Meika. So, despite some slightly messy ups and downs when it comes to things with herself and Angela, or that she has some mixed feelings stepping into Lobotomy Corporation again... she certainly isn't going to say no to the chance to pay a visit and check up on her friend, after the secretary gave the okay. And especially not when Hod is the one ready to greet her - despite the Sephirah messaging her and everything, Hibiki still looks somewhat surprised to see her as the elevator opens - before her face shifts towards a small, subdued smile. Those haven't come very easily lately. "I'd never forget, don't be silly. And the message you sent me, with all the cute little emotes? I still look back at it sometimes, y'know." As she has before, she brings a hand forward to lightly rest on top of Hod's frame. Pat. Pat. Right below the antenna. "...Sorry, Hod. For not finding the time to talk with you, or if I worried you. You look like you're doing a bit better since you got all of that out of you. ...I'm really glad." And one more pat just for good measure, before the hand goes back to her pocket. If the smell of brain-in-a-can bothers her, she must be doing her best to not show it. "'Course I'm not gonna tell you to leave or anything, either. ...How's Rose been doing? Angela mentioned a little bit, but..."
Angela	Angela would love it if Hibiki and Petra made up but until Hibiki and Lilian make up that's basically impossible and it might be impossible for Lilian and Hibiki to make up and so Angela isn't inclined to throw herself on that spike. She already has one impossible job, accepting a second is beyond her means. "Bikki!" She repeats, clearly enjoying the term 'Bikki'. She doesn'r rush forward because physical affection for a Sephirah is a bit awkward due to being horrible cyborgs the functionality of which seems dubious and the maintenance of which seems worse than dubious. "Oh that's so nice of you to say..." Hod says. "I know you have so much on your hands but I thought 'Rose is probably'--Ah..." She is interrupted by headpats, right below the antenna. She is physically incapable of blushing but she does stammer and mumble as Bikki reveals she remembers her last message. "I...I've been doing a lot better... Thank you, Bikki... I'm glad too! It's good to get stuff off your chest sometime. And I'm rooting for you too, of course!" That doesn't seem to have changed. How's Rose been doing? Well-- "She's uh... been struggling. We've found some treatment for her eyes that helps a bit but her mental corruption was so high that we can't really risk her using Wrath's EGO for the time being." SHE still uses Wrath-- "It might be easier to show you." And so she leads Hibiki to the elevator. The mood in the facility seems...more upbeat than Hibiki's first visitations, but the difference is muted. Welfare is a tall area with a roof shining bioluminescent light down from above but otherwise comes across like a dark cavern--but that's only the main area, there's some offshoot halls and rooms one of which is a pretty dull and basic medical facility. Fox, an orange haired freckled man is sitting by a bed. Rose is sitting down on it, working with some handweights. She still has that vicious scar across her mouth but now she has a cloth wrapped around her eyes. Green fluid is lightly soaking through the cloth and dripping down her face. "Hhnn..." Rose hisses before spotting Bikki. "Oh--hey Pardner. Sorry ... doesn't seem like I'm making it back to class anytime soon."
Hibiki Tachibana	"Haha... if you're rooting for me, I gotta keep doing my best, huh?" Although, as news of Rose's condition is given, her small smile turns into a noticable frown, and her eyes drop down to the floor between the two of them. Using 'Wrath' over 'Courage' doesn't really bother her-- not in the same way it bothers the Kirenai sisters. It's only a name. But I still got so hung up over the 'magical girl' thing, didn't I? "...The mental corruption... right." Hibiki murmurs, leaving all the questions on her mind unsaid for the moment as she follows behind Hod. Back during the S2's attack, she was blind to helping Petra, blind to what Rose was going through-- because she couldn't keep herself in check. The more she thinks about it, the worse she feels, although she balls it all up deep in the pit of her stomach so it doesn't leak out to the ever-so-slightly improved atmosphere in Lobotomy Corporation. Stepping into Welfare, Hibiki spots who she came here for... and who she can only assume must either be another friend or someone watching over her. When Rose greets her, Hibiki can't seem to decide if she's more or less tense than she was coming in-- but settles on relaxing her shoulders a little and slowly stepping closer. "Hey yourself, partner." She says as casually as she can, and it's still just a little stiff with concern and worry, her focus on the stained bandages so similar to a certain Abnormality's. "Guess that means both of us have to deal with a mountain of work to catch up on." Hibiki /still/ hasn't cleared all the work she skipped over during her weeks of running off on her own. After the awkward attempt at breaking the ice, Hibiki lingers in place for a second, then stands against the wall beside Rose's bed. Her voice drops a bit. "I, um... ...sorry. That I didn't come check on you sooner. I was so self-absorbed in everything going on with me, I didn't think enough about someone I care about. Running theme, right? ...Hah..." Silence hangs for a short time before she tries to clear up the dour note on the air that probably leaves. "...How're you feeling? You pushed it really hard, didn't you? Is the leftover corruption, like... does it hurt, or...?" The fact she doesn't know the ins-and-outs of EGO corrosion is clear, and this unfortunately isn't the kind of thing she can just help her through with handholding and some encouraging words. Fox also gets a questioning look-- maybe to see if he has any answers to that, or maybe just out of curiosity to who he is.
Angela	"...You don't gotta do it alone, you've got friends right?" Hod asks. "Someone in the Watch maybe..?" Hod remembers what happened the last time Hibiki helped her friends in the Watch. "...Or maybe...Outside the Watch?" She doesn't want Hibiki to get yelled at for other people's murders again. Hod has the power of being empathic to other people's needs and she seems...to only get more worried about Hibiki. The interior cameras on the facility watch the two as they walk. "I worry a lot, sometimes unneccessarily I admit..." They get into the facility. Fox is playing around with a revolver. He looks up to Hibiki, points the gun at her--but doesn't fire--and then starts twirling the gun around his finger again. "I keep telling you, Fox, if you keep pointing that thing at people we're gonna have to take it away!" Hod huffs before looking to Hibiki. "D-don't mind him. He's always been like that. Um." Rose sets aside the weights. "Wasn't gonna say anything like that. You're too hard on yourself. You went through it too. But I appreciate the apology anyway. Not in the spirit you meant it, since you're talking youself down in the doin' of it, but I appreciate the letter of it. Maybe it's on me for not greetin' you with a smile." Rose exhales. "It's been rough, not gonna lie, Bikki." She still uses Bikki and pardner at least. "It hurt a lot at first, doesn't hurt anymore. But it'll stick around long term, maybe forever." Rose is quiet for a moment. "...But maybe I should ... just stay here. I thought I could get out but way I am now, can't really get along in polite society now can I?"
Hibiki Tachibana	Hod really and truly is too good to her. Even though her memory goes back to the same incident Hod is thinking of, the fact she's this worried about her lightens up some of the heavy air hanging around. Just enough that she can walk with her back a little bit straighter. "...I do have plenty of friends. Both ways." Sometimes she forgets that. Fox having the quick draw actually does catch her by surprise too-- with enough speed that she hasn't even reacted before the revolver is back to twirling away. "...Always? I'm starting to wonder how you guys pick your agents here... uh, hey." A hand comes up in an only slightly awkward wave to Fox. The next time there's trouble, she sure knows one person she'd like watching her back... ... "Maybe forever...?" Hibiki repeats in the brief interim where Rose is silent, her expression scrunching up some. It doesn't take much to imagine exactly how she feels about that possibility. It rolls around in her head, all the way until the other girl says that, and she goes from vaguely looking down at the floor to snapping her head back up at her. If she didn't like the sound of 'maybe forever', hearing that might be even worse, in a different way. "Huh? Wait, you can't just go and give up on what you want like that...!" She pushes off the wall back to a proper stand too, the downcast look she was wearing shifting towards disbelief-- and worry, almost on reflex. "You didn't think things would go well the first time you came to my world either, right? But there wasn't anything to worry about!" "So there's no reason to just-- just write off the possibility like that...! If you're not gonna let me talk myself down, I'm not gonna let you either, Rose. That isn't /actually/ how you want things to go, is it?" Obviously, from the much less unsure tone that's seeped into her voice, Hibiki herself certainly doesn't think so. All the same, she's looking at Rose with wide, expectant eyes.
Angela	Hod says, "You shouldn't focus on the friends you don't have, focus on the friends you do!" Encouragingly. "Though I mean ... It hurts and, I don't like giving up hope either." Hod wrings her hands. It's not exactly a closed secret. "Oh um, Angela said you had some sort of--own situation at the time too? Do you need medical assistance?" ''I'm starting to wonder how you guysp ick your agents here...'' "They pick people desperate enough to work at a place like this. Or true believers. Or chumps." Fox spins that revolver around carelessly but he does add, "Don't worry, it's EGO gear. It won't misfire that easy." He waves a hand to Hibiki, but seems to be a fellah with a rough bedside manner. "I'm from Welfare, that's why I'm here. Checking up on Rose's ''welfare''." Rose looks back down, not looking back up at Hibiki as she rolls in on her like that. "...Yeah, but..." Rose manages. "Everyone's real sweet over there. I don't want folks pretending... just to ease my feelings, you know? More of my face is not my face than is my face lately." She looks back up eventually. "...I don't know. Living a normal life seems ... It seemed hard before, but now..." It's not how she wants things to go. "...Yeah but..."
Hibiki Tachibana	"Then not wanting things to be different is all you need to not give up on it...!" Hibiki says, as if it was self-evident. There's no hesitation in her words, but after the fact, she seems to have a moment of realization and reins it in a little; her shoulders stop squaring up and she momentarily glances away, and then back to Rose again afterwards. "...Sorry. I know it's not actually as simple as that, even if I wish it could be." Pulling up something to sit on, she takes a second to rub at her eyes, then gives a bracing exhale and inhale. "Just... none of it is pity. People care about you. /I/ care about you. And I'll do whatever I can to make sure you can live the life you wanna. ...'Cause you're my friend." After a brief bit of eye contact she turns her head to the side once again. "No matter how you look or what happens... I won't give up on it just like that..." What Hod mentioned finally clicks to her while she's murmuring to herself, getting Hibiki to turn her focus to the Sephirah for a moment. "Oh. I, um-- ...it's basically my own 'mental corruption', I guess," she explains with an obvious discomfort, although not really finding a way to word it in any terms more familiar to them. There's some shuffling where she's sat herself. "I can't really do much about it..." "...I'm okay now though," she's quick to add on. "It's not... anything serious. Nowhere close to what Rose has gone through..." Pursing her lips, she turns her attention to Fox. "...Thank you. For looking over her all this time." Rough bedside manner or no, he's still been doing it. And then back towards Rose. "Even if--" Hibiki seems to struggle finding the right words. After floundering with them, and then floundering some more, she opens up one of the fists tightly wound up at her side to lean in and lay her palm over one of Rose's hands. "You were there to help me before, and warn me against doing something I'd regret. So I wanna be there for you too. ...That's all."
Angela	Hod says, "O-oh, well, I uh. I'm glad you recovered. It's...kind of sad that stuff happens on the Outside too." She is obviously understating. "The multiverse is ... kind of horrifying isn't it? You'd think with infinite space, infinite places to be--there wouldn't be all this conflict and horror..." She considers maybe this isn't the most healthy way to think about it and adds, "W-well I'm glad you're okay at least!" She places both accentuator arms where her cheeks would be. Fox raises both eyebrows at being thanked. And then he laughs, "Guess you're used to this sorta thing. Yeah, thanks for checking on her." Her stops playing with is gun for a moment, easing back in the chair. "Don't worry about what the robot says. She lets Agents die she could save for energy gen so she's got no room to criticize." Hod squeaks nervously but the cameras don't seem focused on the room here right now. Rose is reassured that people care about her. That Hibiki cares about her. Rose doesn't think they don't it's just ... She worries they'll gasp, they'll whisper anxiously, they'll worry...And yeah, maybe even pity. She exhales slowly, "You talk a good game, Bikki." Rose says. "I beleve you're the kind of person who can keep these sorts of promises. Glad you're okay." She hesitates again, "...Arright, I won't give up on it. Just ... give me some time to get used to moving around like this and I'll be back soon. Tell the girls I will be, arright?"
Hibiki Tachibana	Talking a good game is all I can do half the time... ...the hell am I doing second-guessing myself now? I gotta, for her. "...Take all the time you need, alright? There's not any rush. As long as you don't give up on it, that's plenty enough." A brief moment slides by, and then Hibiki eases back into the seat she took up. Her expression isn't entirely relieved. There's no one way she can feel about all of this. "'Course I'll let everyone know you'll be back. Knowing most of 'em, I bet you'll get welcome-back gifts and everything. Can show you how we celebrate New Years over there too-- although it's a little late now..." That comes out a little bittersweet, but they're things to look forward to nonetheless. Hopefully. Maybe. "And if there's anything I can do to help you get better, I'll do it. There's no way there's nothing, with a whole Multiverse out there." That might be hope for herself just as much, but she means it. Rose doesn't deserve something like this to screw up her chance to have the life she wants. Not when she owes her for being there for her. What can she do, though...? She's not sure just yet... "...Huh?" What Fox said finally clicks, and Hibiki looks back up towards both him and Hod. Her mouth opens up to reflexively play it off and defend Hod-- but she knows Hod's not perfect. The opposite. It's easy to forget that Lobotomy Corporation isn't just what they see when Meltdowns are happening. And... unless she's reading too much into it... Fox sounds like he's talking about that and his distaste for the Sephirah a little /too/ casually... Maybe she is. "Hod..." She shifts her attention to the squeaking little box, and holds it for a second. It's hard to tell what she's thinking. "...You're... gonna keep trying to do your best to be a good person. Aren't you?"
Angela	Hod seems confused fot a moment. "H...Huh?" She asks. It takes her a moment to look at Fox--then back to Hibiki. She spins her body from side to side visibly. "O...oh. Um .... Bikki... He wasn't talking about me... Ah!! But don't worry, I still intend to do my best!!" Fox sniggers, flipping his revolver around his finger again. His eyes slant up to the cameras. Still not focused on him. And he speaks low. And now he doesn't say anything else. He knows better than to clarify with a name just in case. Rose almost says it out of spite but instead she manages one of her horrible smiles. "Yer too good to me, Bikki. Alright. I'm sold." She pushes off to give Hibiki a hug. "I trust ya and yer heart. I'll be back soon." She does seem...better? It's hard to read hee face, now more than ever, but if her tone can be trusted it speaks volunes, lighter than it was when Hibiki first arrived by miles.