milliways_bar | (no subject)

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He isn't going to keep carrying around Baby's inert mobile forever. That'd just be morbid.

But he tried keeping it in his room upstairs, and that's worse somehow. It looks like a toy, sitting there. Like nothing that was ever really important.

So he's bringing it downstairs to try to find somewhere better to keep it. Maybe a shrine over the bar, like the memorial for Bernard and Tonks, if Bar herself wouldn't find that too painful. Or maybe in the Security office, in a storage closet there or something, so that if Baby ever -- if she ever does come back --

Right now Andrew's sitting by the fireplace, watching the fish swim in and out of the flames, with a mug of Irish coffee in his hand and a little metallic arachnoid in his lap.

Botherable.

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His attention snaps back to the taller man. "Huh what?"

"Damnedest thing," Epimetheus mutters.

"She's definitely alive, she's just -- not here. Very weird"

Ava glances to Andrew, sharply this time.

If this guy is pulling their legs, and she ends up having to mop up Andrew's tears and hug him or some shit, she's eviscerating him and his guitar.

He's gone pale.

"Not here? Not here like how?"

"She's somewhere else."

Epimetheus glances over at Andrew, frowning; his expression softens a little when he sees Andrew's face.

"Sorry, man, I can't really tell you more than that. It's like -- the lights are on and nobody's home, but the screen door is still swinging."

Beat.

"So, like ..." Doubtfully. "Like someone just left?"

"... So she really is in a coma," Ava says.

"Only there's no ... IV drips, or nurses, or ..."

She pauses.

"Hey, I hate to be the jerk here, but ... can I ask what your credentials are, to be making the call like this?"

"Oh." Epimetheus waves a hand. "I'm a Titan. I made animals. You probably haven't heard of me."

His eyes widen.

"Epimetheus," he says, with a tolerable attempt at Greek pronunciation.

Ava glances to Andrew, blinking despairingly.

"You know everything."

"--Oh, hey, you've heard of me."

Epimetheus is slightly unnerved!

He shakes his head, dismissing that. "So that's what you meant when you said you understand different forms of life? Because you've created some?"

"Yup."

:D?

She kind of wants to poke him.

Or say prove it.

Instead, Ava just nods, slowly.

"... Mind a pop quiz?"

Oh hey, she did say 'prove it.'

. . . Epimetheus looks perplexed, now.

"Okay?"

She gestures between herself and Andrew.

"Are we alive?"

He shoots her a swift glance, and then quickly looks back at Epimetheus.

It's a fair question.

"Είστε ζωντανοί; Όχι. Αυτόν; Ναι."

Just in case Bar's translation spell kicks in, that's Are y'all alive? No. Him? Yes.

At first, Ava experiences an irritated-slash-panicked worry that she won't be able to understand him at all, and a lot of good that does them.

Then--

She smiles, faintly.

"Ah."

A nod.

"Okay."

He nods slowly.

"Okay." He doesn't want to say well played.

(This isn't a game.)

"So ... you can tell she's still alive. For some value of life."

"Baby? Yeah. Yeah, definitely."

"But not here, like -- like her soul isn't here?"

He's not even sure Baby has a soul, but --

Epimetheus considers, hands in his pockets.

"Yeah," finally. "But it's definitely somewhere. I just can't quite tell where."

Oh, that's interesting.

Robot jailor spidercells have souls now?

At least this guy knows something about life-and-death statuses, after all.

He swallows.

The words come out smaller than he means them to: "Do you have any idea how to bring her back?"