Glitched.

007. Pathfinder

007.

//In which Liria meets their new car mates and nobody dies.//

Liria rebounds at an alarming speed, but that's mostly out of sheer happiness Outsider is alive. They have one of their constants back, a voice at night eager to snipe back when they insult Coco cola versus Root bear or just a friend to talk to.

They want to say that the meeting was tearful and happy and there was snot and gross stuff everywhere and hugging.

They want to hear Outsider tell them it's okay, that everything will be fine like last time.

They really want to say it's rainbows and sunsets.

They want to tell Outsider it's okay, because Mr. Cool Suave Guy is back and now all they need to do is find Lil and everything will be complete again and Liria can move on with their life.

But then Outsider flinched when Liria walked up to them, a full body shudder. Outsider flinched, and they pulled back, like a terrified minnow in a pool of predatory fish.

Liria watches as they pull in on themselves, eyes panicked, and they shy away, as if expecting to get hit, and something in them perks its head in interest like a sick, sick animal as Liria grounds to a halt, stomach feeling like lead.

Something in them swells with a terrible rage as they realize the extent of how much happened while they were gone.

Outsider...

Changed.

A quick cursory glance allowed them to see that the mauling on their wing broke tendons and bone, making it impossible to fly. And their arm is beyond hecked, and while Liria did not see the wounds beneath their legs and arm, they can smell the rot of dead tissue and the metallic scent of blood.

Apparently, Outsider did keep their promise of coming back to pick Liria up.

And apparently, something happened while Liria was holed up eating beans.

Liria took two deep breaths, and let the guilt drop from their shoulders because right now, self hate is the worse thing a person can do wile trying to survive in the apocalypse.

But why did Outsider leave now? It's not safe; the plan was to stay hidden and regroup after people stop killing each other. Their place is far far away from the cities where the strange, diseased Useres were born. It doesn't make sense.

Unless...

Unless it meant people aren't stopping.

That the Jolly not so nice Grinches from Nightmares aren't going away anytime soon.

Liria licked their lips, their stomach going on a roller coaster and taking the deep dive back into their intestines.

"...What happened?"

To their surprise, it wasn't Outsider that answered but the green sweater girl, who is already dissembling the green glowing gun until it sat in her hand, a tiny flat disk. It swirled around like green magic, before completely disappearing into green pixelated light, similar to the Glitch's death. Liria gawked, caught entirely unaware of the sudden lightshow.

Liria took note of the icy blue eyes, the pale skin, and the light freckles and coffee brown hair, blinking. Really, they feel like they should know this person. But where there once was a memory is now just a buzz.

"Anon," Outsider said quietly. "Liria probably doesn't know anything. The cover story the government has is vastly different from reality. It came from somewhere."

Liria felt their mouth go dry.