Road to Recovery - Emerald Town

[Leedzie]

As the haze gradually lifted, and the ninja's bleary eyes slowly blinked, Espio's mind had already raced far ahead of the rest of his body. His memories of the events at Hill Top had remained fresh in his mind despite the loss of consciousness. Though under other circumstances his last experience in a hospital might have made him groan to wake up in another one, in this case the chameleon let out a long sigh of relief. He was alive; that was plenty to be grateful for.

Espio opened his eyes and stared up at the bland ceiling. Despite the fact that he'd survived what was decidedly one of the worst experiences of his life (the only other possibly topping it being the Combi Catcher), he found himself extremely unsettled. The last thing he remembered was Vector showing up; that left him completely in the dark about the conditions of everyone else. Did everyone make it out okay? How was Mighty handling what had happened? Did he even come with them? What about that girl, Midi? And that other guy that was with her? He couldn't even remember seeing Charmy. Had he just not come along with Vector, or did something happen to him? And there was the rest of the mission to consider; he'd never gotten to arm the explosives. Would Harper withhold their payment because he'd failed half the mission? In some ways Espio was relieved that he hadn't done it, but at the same time, his team had been counting on him...

The chameleon groaned and ran a hand across his face; all the questions felt a little overwhelming, and he wasn't exactly feeling up to snuff. Part of him wanted to just roll over and go back to sleep until he could pretend that none of the debacle had ever happened in the first place, but it was outweighed by his desire to see a familiar face -- a rare want for Espio. Sucking in a breath through his teeth, the ninja began to push himself upright so as to press the call button, but a sharp pain in his abdomen quickly put a stop to that. The chameleon recoiled and clenched his eyes. "Ow..."

[Jamie Lee]

Speaking of Midi, the bat actually happened to be sitting beside him at that moment. Her ears twitched before her eyes followed, realizing the chameleon was coming to, and began to stand up. Really, there was no reason for her to have been there, especially since she still felt some twinge of anger at learning what he'd even been in that base for... But by the same token she did owe him for helping her get out of that prison, so... The least she could do was make sure he'd be alright... Besides that, she wasn't sure just how well she could get along without knowing whether or not he'd even survived anyway. Not after what she had witnessed and experienced.

"Hey," she said, awkwardly glancing to the side, "Um. You awake? How're you feeling?"

[Leedzie]

Well, Midnight's face was definitely familiar. But also surprising. So surprising, in fact, that before he had the chance to filter the sentence in his mind, Espio ended up blurting out, "What the hell are YOU doing here??"

He paused, then smacked himself in the face and layed back into his pillows. "...Sorry. I didn't mean to say that. I just didn't expect you of all people to be the one sitting with me." Pulling up the top of his blankets, the ninja glanced down at the many, many bandages wrapped around his midsection. That experience was still so vivid in his mind... Everything had seemed to happen in slow motion. When he really stopped and thought about it, it seemed miraculous that he'd come out of such a fight with his life.

"I'm fine," he finally answered, lowering the blankets. "I'll live, anyway. What about you, and everyone else?"

[Jamie Lee]

The girl's nose wrinkled, "Obviously," she mumbled irritably as she went and sat back down, spitefully neglecting to ask if he needed anything like she was going to. She leaned back in her seat, one leg crossing over the other and her wings draping around her shoulders.

"I'm fine. I just won't be able to get out of bed for a few days when I get home. The others are okay too. Well. Mighty theoretically is anyway."

[Leedzie]

It was hard to tell if that news was good or bad. At least everyone was physically okay... Or seemed to be. Regardless, Espio didn't feel all that pleased with the answer, and let out a heavy breath as he stared dully out the window. The ninja pressed his lips tightly together and eyed the clouds in the sky without really looking at them.

"I'm glad you're okay," he finally said in a low, flat voice, without turning to face her. "You never should've been in that situation. Nobody should have, really. But at least no one got something they didn't deserve."

[Jamie Lee]

She glanced toward the window as well. "Mm, yeah, getting beaten black and blue. I'm sure something in my past life karma'd that one up for me," and then her eyes shifted back toward him, speaking in an exhausted tone despite her word's sharpness. "Are you dense? Like anyone deserves to be disemboweled. Or anyone deserved to have their head screwed around with or whatever the hell was going on."

[Leedzie]

The chameleon didn't answer her. Not with words, anyway; as he continued to stare despondently out the window, his normally purple hide dulled to a gloomy mix of grey and brown.

[Jamie Lee]

The bat hefted a sigh, folding her arms from under her wings and burying her head toward her chest. After a moment she looked up, opened her mouth to say something, closed it and buried her face again. Awkwaaaard~

[Leedzie]

"Midi," Espio said, below his usual speaking voice but still above a whisper, "you're free to go anytime. You don't have to force yourself to sit with me."

[Jamie Lee]

She just shrugged. "I know. Who said I was forcing myself?"

[Leedzie]

"Just guessing," the chameleon mumbled with another listless sigh. Though he remained silent on the outside, internally there was a relentless barrage of self-loathing and disdain.

Though he'd defended his decision when he and Midnight had been trapped in the G.U.N. prison, Espio deeply regretted having ever agreed to take the job from Harper. He'd lost sight of what all of his rigorous training was for, and actually taken a job that probably would've ended up killing people. And even when he'd realized that afterward, he'd chosen to ignore it and bury it, and went through with the mission anyway. Had Midi not called him on it, who knows what he might have done -- in that mission or others to come?

Espio's hide darkened further, his eyes still locked on the clouds drifting past. I have no honor. I've become nothing better than a hired thug. He started to roll onto his side, as if to further escape Midnight's stare, but once again was halted by his still extremely tender wound. "O-ow..."

[Jamie Lee]

Unfortunately, Espio wasn't going to keep that luxury for long, as a moment later the sound of her lifting up from her chair could be heard, followed by her footsteps. Within seconds the bat was in front of the window, also focused on the clouds. For a moment or two she wistfully wished she were up there that moment flitting among them, stirring up their vapor and letting her mind wander. Her wings shivvered in begging to be stretched out, but instead she turned around to face Espio and leaned against the sill. She tilted her head, her eyes piercing through him.

"At least you had good intentions," she finally said after a long moment.

[Leedzie]

Midnight had barely caught his eye before it retreated again to the opposite wall. "Good intentions aren't supposed to end lives," Espio quietly replied. "I was prepared to kill people just to get a paycheck. That's not good intentions; that's cold-hearted greed."

[Jamie Lee]

"Never said it was right," she responded with a cross glare. "But you had the wellbeing of your friends in mind, right? Better than what Eggman or those Dark Legion guys do all the crap they do for."

[Leedzie]

Espio pressed his hands to his face and rubbed firmly, somewhat regretting having woken up. "Midi, what are you doing?" he asked, muffled behind his palms. He let out another melancholy exhale as he lowered his hands, speaking to the bat without looking at her. "You made it clear when we met that you loathed me and what I'd chosen to do. Why are you suddenly trying to defend me?" The chameleon's hide took another plummet in colour; it was nearly black now. "You were right. There's no need to backpeddle."

[Jamie Lee]

Midnight frowned, feeling her bristles raise as she crossed her arms and trailed her eyes to the floor. Her brow furrowed and she remained silent that way for several moments in contemplation. Finally she looked up and shrugged. "I dunno. I guess I owe you or something. I mean, you can't be all bad, right? You didn't have to help me or anything. I'm sure all I did was get in the way," she paused for a moment to let that hang in the air, her tone dulling a bit, "Besides. A really bad person wouldn't feel guilty."

[Leedzie]

Yeah, bad people don't feel guilty... but good ninja don't cause guilt in the first place.

"I'm mad at myself, more than anything..." the chameleon muttered. "I've disgraced myself. This isn't what all of my training was supposed to be for. I wanted to help people, not hurt them. That's why I even joined this stupid detective agency in the first place."

Espio sighed. "I may work as a detective, but that's not what I wanted to do. I've worked really hard for a long time to be a ninja. At first, I wasn't going to join Vector's agency. I didn't want it to interfere with my discipline. But I eventually caved, because I knew I'd be good at it, and that I'd be helping a lot of people. I just told myself to make sure it takes a backseat to my higher goals." His eyes rose to the ceiling in reflection. "I knew I was walking into trouble. I know Vector, and I know Charmy. I knew I'd end up stuck with all the work. But I also told myself that it'd help reinforce my work ethic and keep me from slacking off.

"The truth is, I've gotten so used to the burden always being on me that I've basically resigned myself to always being the one that has to do the dirty work. And apparently I've lost my inhibitions about just how dirty I'll get." The chameleon closed his eyes and shifted slightly under his blankets, lowering his voice to a mumble. "With business so minimal, and the clients we did get barely paying us -- if they did at all -- my training started to be the focus that took the backseat. I started getting desperate to work, because the others were depending on me..."

He could feel her eyes on him. Even though he was aware Midnight would still know where he was, Espio vanished from view, leaving her looking at a transparent indentation in the pillow.

[Jamie Lee]

The bat's expression wrinkled a bit with discomfort as she listened quietly. When he finally finished and vanished from view she rubbed at the back of her neck. "Must be nice being able to disappear like that," she mumbled before falling silent, wondering how to word what was on her mind.

"Umm... but um... I thought... aren't ninjas were supposed to be assassins, all the modern fancy stuff aside? ... And um... were considered dishonorable because it was against bushido...?" she paused in discomfort, than quickly added; "Um, unless that's changed in modern times. Or something." she gave a nervous laugh.

[Leedzie]

"It depends on which school you follow," he replied, his voice a little stronger than before. "That's all true of the origins, but eventually different schools began breaking off. The techniques are all exactly the same; it's the ethics and codes of conduct that vary. My school's principles all stem from three basic rules: Make no mark, respect all life, take only what you need." With a soft groan, Espio pulled the blankets over his invisible head. "I failed at all three."

[Jamie Lee]

Yeah, awkward silence was always a fun thing, though the ninja stuff seemed to interest her. But any curiosities were quickly put to rest as she sat down on the edge of Espio's bed. Even though she knew the chameleon was there, seeing the covers apparently lift on their own was in some way a bit creepy.

"I dunno. I didn't see any giant exploding fireballs."

[Leedzie]

"You would have if I hadn't gotten caught," he groaned lowly. "And furthermore, you'd have been engulfed in it."

[Jamie Lee]

She shrugged "Unless you plan on going back and finishing your point's kinda moot."

She stood up, uncurling her wings to stretch both them on her back, then jerked her head to either side causing a few audible cracks in her neck. Good lord was she ever tired of just sitting around in a hospital. And sore. So very, very sore and exhausted. She hadn't even had the chance to recover from that incident involving that sol emerald before any of this.

. . .

She folded her wings back again, turning to give Espio a half-lidded glare. Quickly she reached out, fingers curling around the chameleon's cover and yanking it off him. "Quit holding that sheet up while you're invisible. It's creepy."

[Leedzie]

"Kyaaugh!!" the chameleon yelped as Midnight startled him. His colours starkly returned to normal as he doubled to one side in pain, as his sudden jerk had deeply aggrivated his abdominal wound. "Y-You could've... just... ASKED... y'know," Espio grunted lowly through gritted teeth.

[Jamie Lee]

The bat yelped and jumped in surprise herself, wings flaring back open and her arms held up in some sloppy parody of a fighter's stance. She hadn't really expected that kind of reaction, and as such it took her a moment to recompose herself. When she did her hand slapped heavily against her chest and she gave him a sideways glare. Her eyebrow involuntarily twitched several times "Cripes, man, what's your problem?!"

[Leedzie]

"My... problem... is that... I've got a large hole in my body," he grumbled lowly. Espio clenched his eyes together firmly, taking long, laboured breaths until he finally persuaded the waves of pain to subside. Letting out one more heavy breath, the chameleon tenderly pushed himself into a partial sitting position and added, "...And excuse me for not predicting you yanking the bedding off of someone who's still basically a stranger."

Espio stretched his stiff muscles as best he could without bothering his wound. Regardless of what I did or didn't do, I can't expend much energy dwelling on it right now... I've got to get better first; I'll deal with that can of worms later. It crossed his mind that he still didn't know where Vector and Charmy were, but as was his habit, on some level he also didn't care. He'd just suffered an extremely life-threatening injury. He'd much rather recover in peace and quiet than with their insufferable nattering.

Not that I'm completely natter-free, the ninja reminded himself, shooting a sterile glance in Midnight's direction. For all of her flippant remarks and bitter attitude, he was impressed that she continued to hang around -- especially when they'd both confirmed the fact that she didn't have to. In a way he saw a lot of himself in the bat. That made her slightly more tolerable, but also made him slightly more irritated with himself.

"What, exactly, was that stance you took before?" he suddenly asked, idly rubbing his bandages. "I didn't even remotely recognize it."

[Jamie Lee]

At first she felt like wanting to yell at him again. Before she could be given a chance the chameleon had cut her off. "Stance?" she asked, canting her head to one side. Now being aware of his involvement in martial arts, it only took her a moment to realize what he must have meant. So, with a near deadpan smirk, she replied; "... Startled Bat Shrieks At Chameleon."

[Leedzie]

"Oh, of course. From the illustrious school of Making Shit Up In The Moment." Espio said with a roll of his eyes. Just then the distinct sound of a hungry tummy filled the air, and the ninja glanced from side to side. "Where's the damn call button?"

[Jamie Lee]

Both of her ears twisted back, and at first she seemed vexed. After a moment's worth of glaring however she snorted, folding her arms and leaning against the wall. "Graduated with top honors."

[Leedzie]

Espio eventually did find the elusive call button, and after a short wait, managed to get a meal from one of the nurses. Despite his hunger, he found most of it relatively unappetizing, but at at least enough to satisfy his hunger.

Chewing idly on an apple, the chameleon slouched into his pillows. Momentarily ignoring his ethical agony, his mind drifted elsewhere -- to an old friend. He's probably taking this pretty hard... Espio thought with a troubled frown. He's always been so insecure about his strength, and so tough on himself. But it wasn't his fault...

Espio looked again at Midnight, the concern clear in his eyes. "...How's Mighty handling this?"

[Jamie Lee]

Mid glanced back up. Apparently when Espio hadn't immediately responded she'd taken to staring with vapid concentration toward a spot on the floor. She glanced up, pupils constricting as they regained focus. She shrugged.

"... Not well. He just sorta took off after he found out you'd be okay."