[Open][Post Evil Baby] Regeneration

[gorobo]

[CW: death, robotic gore]

Despair, the last thing he feels before death claims him. Falcon thought he could do it- seal away the evil he'd seen in this tape, it's what he was made for, after all.

But in the end, he was too weak. He was overwhelmed- destroyed in one single attack. 

All that is left is some pieces of burnt scrap metal near the top level of Mementos, unrecognizable for what they once were.

------

Not long after the chaos of the memory tapes, a glow appears in the Velvet Room. At first, it doesn't look like much- it's hard to even tell what it is. Slowly but surely, however, wires, circuits, and other mechanical parts become discernible, though it still takes a long time before anything truly recognizable becomes apparent. Falcon's naked circuitry renders him barely identifiable, almost Terminator-like, a rather gruesome image without his mesh to hide all the machinery underneath. 

At his desk, Igor's grinning, as always, although next to him is a frowning Margaret. She looks concerned as she watches the slowly regenerating body, her arms crossed, her spine straight.

"... This cannot continue," she says, "we still don't know how he got in. We gave him a chance, but..."

Igor hums, closing his buldging eyes.

"It seems we will need to take other measures." His eyes open again. "Margaret, if you please."

"Of course," she says, and turns around to leave.

Igor stays in his seat, watching as Falcon slowly regenerates from nothing.

Comments

After confronting Ken

[seekerofjustice]

As Dove returns to the Velvet Room to check on Falcon, he steps in just in time to see Falcon jolt awake. Dove's eyes widen slightly, holding his shoulder as he closes the Tokyo door once more, slowly stepping into the Velvet Room with a rather pensive look.

"Falcon-san... I'm glad you're awake. Are you feeling well? Is there anything I can do for you?"

He steps closer, still nursing his broken arm...

[fogboundcrow]

The moment Falcon wakes up, Raven barrels past Dove and right over to him to cling. "You're alive!" Yes, those are tears. Yes, you are being hugged. Sorry, Dove. This child has been waiting the entire time.

[pancakeboy]

And, while Magpie remains seated, some of the tension fades from his face as he meets Falcon's eye. But only some. Funny, how sentimental he's become in a year.

"Welcome back," is all he says. Falcon has quite enough to field.

[rosemaudite]

Haru doesn't rush over either, but she does make sure to make eye contact with Falcon. She's around if he needs support, and of course she stuck around while he was regenerating.

(She's not beating the accusations of kindness any time soon, at this rate.)

[gorobo]

"I..."

And suddenly Raven's hugging him, crying, and a horrible, horrible feeling crops up in Falcon's chest. The supernatural dread and despair is only slowly ebbing away, and he... doesn't quite flinch away from Rose's or Magpie's eye contact, but somehow he feels- like he can't meet their eyes. Memories of the sensation of being pulled apart tug at his mind, phantom fear through Loki and Robin, and restless anxiety makes him want to bolt, though tries his damndest not to show it.

Instead of giving in to the lingering emotions, he puts a far too steady hand on Raven's back- not quite a hug in return, but- something. He feels trapped, but Raven is crying and-

"How long was I out? Where is- where's Amad- no- that evil creature?" he says, before his mind catches up with looking at Dove- his head is in so many places at once-

"What happened to your arm?"

[seekerofjustice]

Dove doesn't flinch as Raven passes by him in a rush. It seems the kid has been waiting at Falcon's side, worrying the whole time. It makes sense that he would want to see him as soon as he wakes up.

Dove tries his best to wear a smile, to seem like nothing is wrong. And yet, the look of defeat clearly reflects on his face.

"Ah, this... When I saw you here, and realized what had happened, I attempted to face Amada-san."

The smile just stays, stock still, and he closes his eyes, unable to meet Falcon's eyes. Not after he failed. When he was deemed far too weak to be even worth the time.

"I'm glad you're alive, Falcon-san."

[gorobo]

"You tried to-?"

God- fuck, he doesn't know what to say to that. What the hell was Dove thinking? He's gotten stronger, yes, but Falcon couldn't do it, and-

"Dove- I'm- made for this," he says, voice far more unsteady than he'd like, "and I failed, why-"

He failed. He failed.

"I failed," he says, dread rising again without his input, and his head snaps up, looking around at the others for an answer. "Where is he- what else did he do while I was out- I-"

What kind of weapon is he if he can't do what he was made to do?

[pancakeboy]

"He hasn't confronted anyone else. So far," he clarifies. "He made a post to the network, throwing around some third-rate philosophy, and he had that run-in with Dove. But so far, that was all.

"It looks as if his power is considerable." It's no shame to you that he defeated you. He would have defeated any of us.

[fogboundcrow]

Raven's crying steadies before long, and as the surrounding conversation grounds him, a scowl takes hold. "...We'll make him pay for what he did to you."

[herewardbound]

"You quit that shit. Based on what we were able to learn from Ken, not one person here would've been able to solo the little shit. But... I'm glad you're back with us."

[butterflyaffect]

"He is not as strong as he thinks he is. Even the master he serves has been beaten before. If he cannot be convinced to turn aside from his chosen course, then we will be ready for him."

[lilcomputer]

She nodded. She wanted to be by Falcon's side, but was afraid of letting her anger show too much. They were going to make that Ken pay. She would for certain. No one touched her family. "I just want you here for now."

[gorobo]

He notices the way Futaba tries to suppress her emotions, the tears still clinging to her cheeks, and even in the lingering dread, his heart breaks a little. That's the last thing he ever wanted- to hurt her. He reaches out, his hand still too steady for how shit he feels, and (tried to) gently squeeze her shoulder. Then, he turns his attention to the others again, trying to quiet down his fans.

"I see. Ok," he says, still not quite back to normal, but not as unsteady anymore. "I'm going to have to take a look at that, and- whatever you do, I want in on it. After... that, I'm even more certain he needs to be stopped."

He says it all with a scowl, trying channel his fury, drown out the impending sense of doom, of inadequacy for his failure.

[herewardbound]

"I think we'll need everyone we can get, honestly. But for now... just take a minute. This shit is never pleasant or easy, just... remember that you're here now, and you're physically fine."

[vessel_ken_amada]

Naturally, Ken has been observing Falcon come back to life, and despite their prior disagreements, he can't help but be a little relieved. Unfortunately, he has a bad feeling...

"Dove-san," Ken interrupts while approaching. "Would you allow me to inspect your arm? I sense something very bad coming from it."

[seekerofjustice]

Dove turns when he hears Ken, looking over to him with a mildly perplexed expression.

"Hmm? Ah, yes. Please, feel free. It's rather strange, Akira and I expected it to heal when we left Mementos, but it remained the same..."

[vessel_ken_amada]

Ken gently touches Dove's arm and focuses.

"That's what I feared. Death has seeped into your arm which will make it hard for anyone to magically heal it. The easiest solution would be to cut your arm off and ask Igor to regenerate it... although if that's too unpleasant, you can come see me later and I can try to do something. I can't guarantee the results, though."