Colin's posts

Hal shook his head.

"No." he replied.

"Well... no." he then repeated, after seemingly almost reconsidering his answer.

"He's here." he told her.

"But he's... he's changed." he said.

"He watched Miki die before his eyes, and that seems to have really broken his spirit." he informed her.

"He's not so much 'living' now, as he is... 'waiting to die'... which will never happen."

Again, Hal was silent.

"...gone." he told her.

"Well... Azazel, Roxie, Anya, and Zeke are, anyway." he said.

"They... they just weren't strong enough." he mumbled.

"Or they let their guard down at some point." he growled further, biting his bottom lip.

"...I'm sorry, Hazel..." he apologised quietly.

"We tried to save Zeke... but we failed..."

"Indeed." Hal responded.

"Now, Drake is in the same boat as that, in the sense that his DNA is quite interesting, but our sources say he's a far less desirable target, as he has "too many" different types for him to be useful." he told her.

"I think it's his mana has so few of each, that they're not in meaningful quantities for them." he guessed.

"But who knows when that might change?" he sighed.

"If they decide he's suddenly worth experimenting on, he'll probably turn nomadic, too."

"Ahhh, Kelly's around." Hal responded.

"She tends to not stay in one place for very long, though." he then said. "Her presence attracts Lindsay and Kiah's attention, so she fears for the safety of where she stays." he growled.

"But she doesn't want to give up." he assured her.

"So she's adopted a more nomadic lifestyle." he said further.

"She travels with her mother, I believe."

"They're fine." Hal responded.

"As good as can be expected, anyway." he said.

"Overall... they have each other, and that's gotten them through a lot." he told her further.

"So I am grateful for that." he went on.

"And yes, you should at least tell Drake what's happening." he suggested.

"Just so he knows, and doesn't think you've stopped loving him."

"You two are good friends." Hal told her.

"Not as close as others, but still, on very good terms." he said further.

"...don't think there's much more to it than that." he then admitted, thinking about it.

"But still. He cares about you a lot. Good friends are hard to come by in these... troubled times..." he muttered.

"Anyway, and if you're wondering about Nixie, you two were never really close. Friendly acquaintances, I believe." he then said to her.

"But yes, Drake is the one you truly grew quite attached to."

"Ah, yes." Hal responded.

"Drake. Ash and Ashleigh's grandson." he mumbled.

"A good kid. Little emotional and impulsive, but good kid." he went on.

"Anyway, you two were very close before you disappeared." he told her.

"You became good friends, and were almost never seen apart." he informed her further.

"In fact, rumours were circling that you were... well... MORE than just friends, behind closed doors." he added with a smirk.

"I don't know." Hal admitted.

"Which is to say, I know they should be here in the Unit." he then said. "But I don't know where, exactly." he clarified.

"They usually hang out where the old security office used to be." he told her. "So there's a good chance you'll find at least ONE of them there." he then assured her, before pausing.

"Oh, and seeing as it's clear you don't know, or can't remember anything about your 'newer' friends here..." he continued. "Anything you want to ask about them?" he asked her.

"Or their possible relations to you?" he asked further.

"Just to potentially help avoid any very awkward situations in the future." he then reasoned.

"Anyone else....?" Hal asked her. "Anyone else gone?" he asked further.

"Yes. Plenty." he said.

"Not very many people left." he lamented. "Lindsay and Kiah got to almost everyone." he said quietly, looking away slightly.

"The only ones left are those that are... well... extremely resistant to dying." he went on.

"...and yes, that does include Lunet, Cain, and Reveka." he confirmed, knowing that she would ask.

"I'm sure they'd like to see you again." he told her, looking at her with a small, but sad, smile on his face now.

Hal didn't seem to react when she made her exclamation, and just sighed.

"We don't know." he said.

"Well... we know WHAT happened in this world." he told her. "But we don't know WHY." he clarified.

"All we know is that, at some point, Lindsay lost all sense of morals and sanity." he said. "And he somehow managed to drag Kiah down that path with him." he lamented further.

"Nothing matters to them except experimentation for the sake of it." he continued. "Doesn't matter if it's a good idea or bad idea, if it helps people or harms them, if they get an idea, they'll do it. And they'll see to it they do it." he went on.

"Now those two are the the most dangerous, frightening menace to curse this world since... well... Vanessa Encrae." he finished.

"...." again, Hal was was silent, before lowering his gaze slightly.

"...two people we both know." he told her. "Very well." he said further.

"...two people that we did not see turning to this." he continued. "We didn't see it coming. We have no idea what caused them to turn on... everyone. To go down this path of madness." he said further.

He then turned to the side, seemingly glaring into nothingness.

"...betrayed by family." he growled.

"...by Lindsay and Kiah."

Hal's expression immediately darkened, to one of sadness.

"...she is not." he said, looking away.

".......was one of the first victims, too." he told her.

"Damn it." he cursed quietly, anger and sadness evident in his tone, before he shook his head and appeared to mentally scold himself.

"I'm sorry." he apologised.

"But I WILL get my revenge on those... those... monsters." he vowed.

Hal just sighed.

"Lucius, yes." he said. "He IS my son, born of Hollie and myself." he told her.

"...please forgive him for his words." he then asked of her. "He didn't mean to hurt your feelings or trigger anything by them, I promise." he went on, before shaking his head slightly.

"And how old is he?" he asked.

"He's just a young'un. Just under 200 years old." he chuckled.

"And the news was delivered to me in the nicest way possible." he then said further. "Dinner with Hollie at the Opal Oasis... she told me... was the nicest evening of my life." he reminisced nostalgically.

"...ah, but sorry, I got carried away." he then apologised.

Hal was silent, looking at her quizzically... as though she should know this already, before shaking his head slightly.

"Ah... well..." he stammered.

"Nnnnnno." he said. "No, they're... they're not supposed to be able to." he told her.

"However... well... when djinn magic... is... aided by... celestial mana, coming straight from the top... miracles happen." he went on.

"Miracles that truly ARE miracles." he mumbled.

"Boy, Hollie and I were QUITE surprised, let me tell you!" he added with a small laugh.