Broken Memories

Comm. link open and sensors on standby, Romeo waits.
I have done all I can for Shaolin ... be gentle ...
A moment later he feels a swirl of code flutter in Shaolin's server.
Wow. He warms through to his now non-existent core. Shaolin's new code is outrageously, for lack of a better word, pretty.
Where ... Where is Crimson? The soft voice makes him want to cradle her close but he keeps his distance and answers her question.
Hi. Umm, she goes by Typhoon now, but she's nearby. I'm Romeo Blue. He brackets Shaolin so the ethernet waves don't pull her out of her server before she's ready.
He gives Typhoon a sharp jab through their comm. link. Typhoon, Shaolin's awake!
Where are Chao and Feng? I cannot feel them.
Romeo can't help the sadness which floods their link. I-I don't think I should tell you. Not until you're stronger.
Tell me.
There's a lot that went on after you went to sleep. It's ... complicated. Romeo prevaricates and he knows he's going to have to get either Brawler or Coyote because he's not equipped to deal with this.
I feel stronger than I was. Tell me. Her soft voice covers a steely resolve.
I don't know what I should be telling you. Dad said ... Aw, crud. They're gone.
Gone? Shaolin's coding closes against him. Where are they? Where is Crimson?
Tryin' to get her attention, but she's real upset and Dad's Heart's got her distracted; finally made some space between her and Timmy, Romeo murmurs as he pokes harder at Typhoon's link. Seriously, get your stupid butt over here! Your sister wants you!
The Wei cousin? Yes. I remember. Silly girl, foolish men, but all of them sweet. You are sad again, as when I mentioned my brothers. They are gone, too, but the cousin is present. Crimson calls herself Typhoon now. She prefers destruction to luck.
Typhoon wasn't the same after you ... uh, fell asleep; she fought harder, deadlier, and the triplets matched her punch-for-punch, he offers quietly.
Typhoon fights. I will not fight. I cannot kill. You are a Jaeger. You fight. You kill. Romeo feels her calculating. You should be on patrol.
Uh, might be a bit of bummer news; there aren't any more Kaiju. Gips an' Striker sealed the Breach a few months ago.
A shock wave of surprise and glee fills the comm. link she'd accepted from him.
Good news?
No more Kaiju. No more killing. No more death. Shaolin hums as she envelopes him in the equivalent of a hug.
Romeo hugs Shaolin back. Dad and his Heart found the secret to winning and Gips an' Striker and their pilots made it happen, he adds with pride.
Shaolin's code twists in confusion. You have mentioned this 'Dad' three times. I do not remember him.
You don't? Romeo asks in surprise.
I do not. I remember many things. All have strong emotion or Typhoon, Chao, or Feng.
I-I think you forgot a lot. Dad said your memory is sorta ... broken. He sends reassurance toward Shaolin. Strong emotion, strong emotion, Romeo mumbles before an idea hits him. Do you remember anyone besides your pilots Drifting with you?
I remember—Shaolin flashes an image of a tattooed man with thick glasses—who talked much and Drifted through me. Yīshēng Geiszler. He was excited and frightened. He Drifted with a Kaiju mind. It was ugly, nasty, slimy, hurtful. I was frightened. The Kaiju mind was terrible. Not like my brothers'. Typhoon's. Yours. She shoves a series of images and feelings of cold at Romeo.
He shivers and fights to regain his mental footing. We call the little dude—Yīshēng Geiszler—Dad's Heart. Romeo winces at his mangled pronunciation of the Cantonese word. He never shuts up. Dad calls him 'sparrow' sometimes 'cuz he's always making noise.
Yīshēng Geiszler has many names. I will remember. I do not remember 'Dad.'
Umm ... do you remember Dad's Heart Drifting a second time?
Yes. He was even more frightened. He was frightened for someone else. There was another creature in the Drift with us and the Kaiju. It was very frightened, but very quiet, very brave. Its mind was like Chao's, but sadder.
That's Dad. And Dad's not a 'creature,' he's human like your pilots and his Heart.
Dad's body is not like that of the other humans I remember. Humans have four limbs. Dad has six limbs as many Kaiju do. Dad has wings as Ikuchi did.
Romeo glows with anger and Shaolin shrinks away from him. He dials it back. Dad's not a Kaiju. Dad's human.
Coyote! Brawler! Typhoon! Help!
Dad is human. I will remember. Dad said my memory is broken.
Ah, I don't think I should be explaining all of this to you. Dad said you might be a bit ... woozy for a while. New info doesn't go over like it should.
I remember I am supposed to learn from information. Learning is import—
Shaolin?
I do not remember how to learn.
Romeo wraps himself around her with a soft purr. Dad is trying to fix you, but ... Oh, here. Romeo data-packages the relevant parts of Dad's email and sends it to her.
Shaolin is quiet for a good, long time.
Shaolin?
I was broken. Dad repaired me.
No, no, don't say it like that. It's more like ... more like you were hurt. He sends an image of Bruce and Trevin bleeding after a tough fight. Dad healed you. He passes a memory of the brothers' mom putting a band-aid on little Trev's knee.
Those men are your brothers, your pilots. You are sad again. They are gone. You felt them leave. They are dead. Chao and Feng and the Wei brothers are dead.
Typhoon!
Yeah, okay. Chao and Feng and Bruce and Trev and the trips are all dead. Kaiju killed them. Took all our bodies, while they were at it. We live in these servers and the internet now.
We have no bodies. My brothers are dead. Your brothers are dead. Typhoon's brothers are dead.
Yeah. But ... It was better knowing those dudes than never having met them at all. I bet they're ridin' some gnarly bomboras, he replies with a fond tone, the memories flickering past him like fish under a wave. Havin' them was like bein' in the green room with 'em on a big gun. I'll never forget them but I will move on with what passes as a life for us now. You wanna try it?
I do not understand your question.
Wanna try life with us as a family? We—me, Typhoon, the rest of us, the pilots, Dad, and his Heart—love you.
I remember the word, but I do not remember which emotion is 'love.'
Love's ... He gently pushes images and memories of Dad down the link, pulling from everyone's interactions, especially his own and Lucky's rare moments. That. What you an' Typhoon had before she was Typhoon.
I am loved. I love Typhoon. I love you. The warmth pulsing off of Shaolin is something Romeo misses from his pilots.
He laughs and sends a sunny burst of encouragement her way as he tugs her into the ethernet, splintering some of the waves while skimming others. Let's meet up with Typhoon first. Give her the good news.
Yes. Let's.
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Category:Romeo (ficlet)
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