Work Text:
It takes ages to wake up, lost in a hazy sea of acid green. Suddenly trying to control a form they haven't taken in years. They’re slow, lethargic. It's quite a site they immagine, rising up from the cradle. After a moment, they get the hang of their body again.
(Thousands of moments just like this flash by, of waking up unhurt after brutal training. More memories still, of waking up in a sun kissed bedroom.)
They look over the lip of the Cradle, translucent green hand reaching over the edge to touch the ocean around them.
The lab has been abandoned for decades now. When Ro disappeared, they followed. They’ve never been quite sure what happened to their father after that.
It’s almost depressing, seeing the once pristine walkways left to crumble into the sea. The mushrooms have reclaimed the land, growing up through the quartz flooring.
Carefully, they pull a chunk of themself away, coalescing into something humanoid. This form is comfortable, well lived in. With laugh lines etched into its face and calluses worn into its palms. Comfortable clothes reforming around them.
(Echoes of laughter ringing through a sandstone home clash harshly with laughter on white concrete walls)
Kent Menu takes a breath.
Then another.
Cautiously they cross the cat walk suspended over the Cradle. The underground pathway leading to the lab is still intact surprisingly. Even the mechanisms to open the door still work.
Their footsteps echo loudly through the empty facility as they navigate the sterile halls. Even with the lights out, they have no trouble making their way to the back room.
(The soft moments between training, of sitting close with Rorion in their stupid little bunker room.)
The doors shutter open, revealing rows and rows of blinking servers. Project R0-R10N hums softly, good. Ro’s still ok. They haven’t seen Ro since they left years ago, but they’re getting closer.
(Hours of sitting with the spare parts, waiting for the radio to transmit even the slightest hint that Ro was ok.)
With nothing else worth their time here, they make their way back out of the Lab. The main continent is to the west, past the training room.
(Memories flash, of a younger Rorion winning fight after fight. Their scars never stayed, so it was ok. Much newer memories flash, of warm hands gently bandaging minor scrapes, despite their protests.)
At some point the roof has caved in, letting the artificial terrain inside grow wild. Good.
With one final look over the island. They get in the boat. They have a family now, they’re going to find Ro. They have a wife that loves them.
Kent Foolish-Menu takes a breath.
Then another.
They row away from the shore.
They’re doing ok.