[ in the distance, she can hear josh's voice over the roar of the flames. the shouting voices ( this way this way come on faster ), and it's what guides her eyes to the thrashing figures - to josh, on his back and struggling. losing his fight, because he hasn't the stomach for hurting people. in a single moment, she both hates and loves him for it. her hand swipes through the blue blood, trickling down from her temple and smears it from her eye. can't risk miscalculating her approach, the way her shoulder drops low and her spine aligns as she sprints, low and purposeful, and shoves the full weight of her steel frame into the soldier that has josh pinned to the pavement.
she runs through him, and knows it's akin to being hit by a motorcycle. the android figure was plastic over steel, and she has been solidifying herself since the day they began taking on wounded, printing replacement parts with their stolen machines. little by little, making herself into something that was more than what humans had thought she should be. when she hits the soldier, his armor cracks and he lets out a woof of pain so dense that she knows she's broken his collarbone and his ribs. as she digs her heels in to stop her momentum, it parks her directly over josh. ]
Don't you remember what I said! "What do you do when they get you on your back?"
[ she'd drilled it, one day. standing over a handful of deviant androids who hadn't believed in sitting around, idle. they'd wanted to better themselves, they'd wanted to be able to fight back and fight back well. hadn't wanted to take whatever treatment they had received sitting down, ever again. the question: what do you do when they get you on your back?.
the answer: don't let them get you on your back!
north reaches down and gathers josh's hand into hers, hooks herself under him and shoves, drags, hauls him up and onto his feet, even as she's taking stock of his condition. lean on me, she calls silently, her mind drifting into his as she shoulders his weight and takes it off of his wounded leg. across the field, she bellows for the trucks to leave. proceed on, don't stop for anything, they'll catch up - she promises. she promises them, because she can't leave josh behind. she won't, he'll die and she will not ever allow any of them to die.
they sent markus away, asked simon to shoulder that particular burden, because they were determined not to let any of it die. it would die, if he did. they'd lost the momentum necessary to spread their people's belief beyond their leader. it fell to her and josh now, to keep whatever was left safe. to defend it. to fight back. ]
Move, Josh! [ she snaps it, and hauls forward like an ox on a yolk, shoving her weight to counterbalance his as she half-drags him across the yard towards the smoking wreckage of the truck they had driven straight into the detainment camp, bulletfire splattering across the ground around them. she can feel the bite of something rip through her side, and bares her teeth against the warning display that splinters her vision. it's distracting, she'll be fine. ] We're going for the alley, there's a secondary route.
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she runs through him, and knows it's akin to being hit by a motorcycle. the android figure was plastic over steel, and she has been solidifying herself since the day they began taking on wounded, printing replacement parts with their stolen machines. little by little, making herself into something that was more than what humans had thought she should be. when she hits the soldier, his armor cracks and he lets out a woof of pain so dense that she knows she's broken his collarbone and his ribs. as she digs her heels in to stop her momentum, it parks her directly over josh. ]
Don't you remember what I said! "What do you do when they get you on your back?"
[ she'd drilled it, one day. standing over a handful of deviant androids who hadn't believed in sitting around, idle. they'd wanted to better themselves, they'd wanted to be able to fight back and fight back well. hadn't wanted to take whatever treatment they had received sitting down, ever again. the question: what do you do when they get you on your back?.
the answer: don't let them get you on your back!
north reaches down and gathers josh's hand into hers, hooks herself under him and shoves, drags, hauls him up and onto his feet, even as she's taking stock of his condition. lean on me, she calls silently, her mind drifting into his as she shoulders his weight and takes it off of his wounded leg. across the field, she bellows for the trucks to leave. proceed on, don't stop for anything, they'll catch up - she promises. she promises them, because she can't leave josh behind. she won't, he'll die and she will not ever allow any of them to die.
they sent markus away, asked simon to shoulder that particular burden, because they were determined not to let any of it die. it would die, if he did. they'd lost the momentum necessary to spread their people's belief beyond their leader. it fell to her and josh now, to keep whatever was left safe. to defend it. to fight back. ]
Move, Josh! [ she snaps it, and hauls forward like an ox on a yolk, shoving her weight to counterbalance his as she half-drags him across the yard towards the smoking wreckage of the truck they had driven straight into the detainment camp, bulletfire splattering across the ground around them. she can feel the bite of something rip through her side, and bares her teeth against the warning display that splinters her vision. it's distracting, she'll be fine. ] We're going for the alley, there's a secondary route.