The Return! Private to one Ziggy Stardust. And Ziggy's parents, maybe, why not.

[somekindofspaceuncle]

On borders on Nexus, maybe, whenever that might be, or maybe in some forest, there's suddenly something up in the sky. A giant robot, mostly white. And giant is not an euphemism for slightly big, there, he's really giant, alright? Yeah.

The robot... he lands on the ground, and stops.

Suddenly, at the foot of the robot, an ethereal White Lion appears. Yea, literally. It's not a familiar sight, and he won't feel familiar to anyone who comes by. But he'll feel ancient, to anyone who comes by. Yes, no mind abilities needed for that. He'll just give that impression by his very being.

Ancient one.

And he can be seen. He looks like he's made simply of light, or maybe of something even far more ethereal. He's intensely white-blue and is glowing. Anyone who comes by can see him. He strolls around, seeming to be waiting for something.

After perhaps an hour or three, said something does happen, apparently.

Something shimmers, at the foot of the robot, blue-white light shimmers. Finally, the light forms a silhoutte, at first, of a man, perhaps.

And keeps forming, slowly. It might take a few more moments.

The White Lion meanwhile, now, as this strange probably to any onlookers if there be any, light show commence, jumps swiftly onto the giant robot, and disappears.

All that stays behind is said giant robot, and also, at the foot of it, the slowly forming... person, man, it's apparent now. One with a multitude of feelings. Might feel familiar. Very, very familiar.

Comments

[somekindofspaceuncle]

"But you've told the White Lion that Ziggy's sick! He's told me."

Link.... oh.... he could not have it?

Hiroki concentrates. After a moment, he stops glowing.

"The link is... because I am Atlas."

He points at the robot. Atlas.

"I'm... sort of... his spirit. Atlas's."

"Ziggy was upset about that, Shiro's accidentally told me, not long ago. Why'd Ziggy be upset about it? I don't get it."

[sordiddetails]

"Sit here with me." She instructs him, not at all bothered by the nudity though she knows to get him wrapped in her shawl or something before they go walking anywhere. Aletayria didn't ask about the ship because she has a general idea of what it means.

"Yes." She nods. "Ziggy was beside himself with anger and grief after meeting Shiro. From what I gathered of Ziggy's ranting, Shiro took your body and told him you were dead. He's been upset for weeks about it."

She's not about to say anything about Ziggy's condition until the young man is seated. She's afraid he will hurt himself.

[somekindofspaceuncle]

Hiroki sits down with her. He nods.

"Yes, Shiro is in that body now. So since everything happened, until right now, I didn't have a body."

"I died. Honerva, she... I couldn't resist, I was trying to, it was all so exhausting, I... I didn't kill Keith, that's all that matters... about that whole... fight. I didn't kill Keith."

It's very important to him.

"But... I still don't understand. Shiro told Ziggy about Atlas. I know he has."

Also...

"Why are you saying Shiro took my body? It's true he's there now, but... he didn't take it from me. I had died before... perhaps. Who even knows? You know, you can ask Allura. Perhaps only Allura knows."

And then he looks like he might doze off for a moment. So tired. He begins to glow again, and there might be an impression that...

...right now, he's healing himself. Needs to do a bit more of that.

[sordiddetails]

"I only know what Ziggy told me, and he had a broken finger. I think he hurt himself when he met Shiro."

She hadn't asked what happened but her imagination was good enough to surmise. Her son had a human temper under all that Anthean pacifism.

When he lays down again, She moves and re-adjusts the shawl to cover him. Then she waits. The flowers she had been picking before coming this way, she starts to braid them together to keep her mind busy but her eyes keep drifting up to the robot.

[somekindofspaceuncle]

"Maybe he tried to punch Shiro? It'd be like punching a wall for Ziggy. Quite dangerous. For Ziggy's bones. Shiro wouldn't try to stop Ziggy for fear of accidentally hurting him. So... Ziggy did whatever he wanted."

Because what if Shiro tried to grab Ziggy and accidentally grabbed him too hard? So he wouldn't do that.

There could be other reasons, too.

Somehow, he's pretty sure that if Ziggy had the means and will to try to stab Shiro or something, he could've done that to Shiro with no resistance, too, at that moment. Maybe.

"I'm sorry he's hurt himself... 'cause of me..."

And then he does doze off for a moment. He needs this.

[sordiddetails]

"He has the temper for it." Ziggy was certainly capable of epic emotional outbursts.

"If he injured himself punching someone, he hurt himself because he lost you."

[somekindofspaceuncle]

Sorry, he's quite asleep. Though he might know what she's said after waking up.

And he wakes up soon.

"I never meant to leave."

[sordiddetails]

She's braided a flower crown and has it wrapped up in her hair by the time he wakes up.

She sighs when he comments. "Ziggy has taken your absence hard. He spent days searching for you before he gave up."

[somekindofspaceuncle]

"Can I go see him...? Please?"

"Or. Does he no longer wish to see me...? If seeing me would just upset him, I'll wait."

"It's fine if he never forgives me, for having left him. I just want-"

Sigh.

"I just wanna see him again."

[sordiddetails]

"We can go to him." She stands up and closes her eyes against what she has to tell Hiroki.

"He's in bad shape. About a week after he spoke to Shiro he overdosed. That was the first of three or four times." It's probably hard for the man to hear and she understands. "He hasn't wanted to talk. I'm not sure if he's been trying to drown out the pain, commit suicide, lock himself in his memories, maybe all of them. He's not eaten in weeks either an lost weight."

[somekindofspaceuncle]

"Tell me how I can help. Please. I'll do anything!"

[sordiddetails]

"I should take you to him." She mentions and holds out her hand to him.

She leads him to her, and Tom's, house. They find Tom sitting at the bedside reading in the spare bedroom. Ziggy is in the bed under a silk sheet. His skin is ashen white and there are dark circles under his eyes. The lack of food has sunken his cheeks in some. He looks sickly and weak but sleeping soundly.

"How is he?" Aletayria asks. Tom looks up to answers but he soon scowls when he sees Hiroki. He doesn't want to but it is the gut instinct.

"He's not been awake yet." Tom forces a smile at the young man because he doesn't want to isolate him.

"It's good you're here." He addresses Hiroki before standing. "you should spend some time with him."

Aletayria touches Hiroki's arm and whispers telepathically. "Forgive him. He's the one that found our son when he was unconscious the last time."

[somekindofspaceuncle]

Right now, major Tom could've probably shot Hiroki and the young man wouldn't have noticed. Mentally, he's laser focused on Ziggy.

He kneels at his bedside and looks like he's not planning to move from there, come hell or high water, until Ziggy wakes.

[ziggyplayedguitar]

Aletayria sympathizes with the young man's position. She had imagined, at times, something happening to Tom in space. "If you need anything, let us know."

And then they leave Hiroki with Ziggy. He's unconcious but still aware, like when the mice came. He feels the shift and the arrival of something familiar, however, all he can do is grumble. Though he does appear to be waking up.

[somekindofspaceuncle]

Hiroki's not saying a thing, just waiting with a bated breath. Maybe this is all in his head, maybe he's only imagining that Ziggy's waking up, after all.

He's still naked, but if you asked him, he wouldn't even remember that unimportant detail right now. Well, he might have Aletayria's shawl on himself.

[ziggyplayedguitar]

It takes awhile before Ziggy's eyes open, blinking at Hiroki like he's a mirage. The eyes are not the ones Hiroki is used to seeing. Ziggy is without his contact lens, but the colors are the same, the right bright turquoise and the left a deeper turquoise. Both eyes have slit pupils like his mother.

"Hiroki?" He speaks with disbelief and then nervously reaches out. He's not sure what to make of the dead being here.

[somekindofspaceuncle]

"Ziggy," he says, reaching out, too, with his left arm, his only arm that is, and taking Ziggy's hand gently, staring right at these eyes he's just seeing, "Ziggy. Ziggy. Ziggy."

"I, uhm--- the White Lion made me a body. Pretty spiffy, huh? Er, that's the lingo in your time, isn't it? I read books, I'd know. Hmm, no. I didn't read those books. But I have them read."

Also, speaking of bodies, still naked safe for the shawl.

[ziggyplayedguitar]

Ziggy touches him like he's not real, or might disappear. He just stares at thier hands, fingers intertwined, now he's forgotten to blink. He don't understand.

"He said you were dead." Ziggy is trying to sit up. He's naked under the blankets too. It was merely convenience to heave him that way when he had been vomiting so much after overdosing.

He's feeling weak but clambering to sit up, to be closer. "Hiroki?"


He can't believe it, wants to but it feels so surreal.

[somekindofspaceuncle]

"Because I was. I am? It's complicated. Let's say I was reborn? Thanks to Shiro, and thanks to the White Lion, and thanks to Atlas. And so-- I am... well, I am. Here."

"Ziggy. Ziggy."

He's not moving, just gripping Ziggy's hand a bit harder.

[ziggyplayedguitar]

If he doesn't help Ziggy is going to fall out of the bed as he tries to pull himself into Hiroki's arms.

His mind had been quiet but it's starting to wake up. The paladin will surely feel it. There's fear and uncertainty but it is quickly being replaced with love, excitement, and joy.

"You're not dead?" Ziggy repeats. He's still having a hard time believing it after the weeks of believing he was dead.

[somekindofspaceuncle]

"'m not dead now, Ziggy."

"Hey. Hey, Ziggy. Take it easy. You've worried Mother and Father a lot, you know. That's rude of you."

He leans closer and kisses Ziggy's forehead. Utterly real Hiroki Shirogane here, with all the familiar contents. Though he can also surely feel something about him, some ancient energy, unfamilliar one to Ziggy yet, woven through Hiroki, almost like stitches holding Hiroki together. But all that there, all the inside, apart from that, is truly Hiroki, the one he knows.

[ziggyplayedguitar]

The kiss to his forehead makes him shake and he clings to Hiroki. He gets his arm around Hiroki's neck and won't let go.

"I..." Ziggy starts but he's lost in the feeling of touch. "I..didn't want to be awake anymore when you were gone."

He's not saying it directly because he wasn't actively trying but there's still an undertone of suicide in his words. Ziggy didn't want to die, but he also didn't want to be awake either.

[somekindofspaceuncle]

"That's fine. I'm here now. Okay? So, you have to take care of yourself. Understood? And then I'll always be here. Always."

[ziggyplayedguitar]

If he can manage it, Ziggy is going to crawl right into Hiroki's lap and huddle himself against his chest. He's a mess from thinking Hiroki was dead. It broke something he needs to rebuild.

"I need you here."

[somekindofspaceuncle]

"Okay. Okay. Ziggy. Just promise you'll care for yourself, too. Listen, okay? You've gotta promise me that. You've gotta promise me that you won't overdose, ever again, Ziggy. Promise me."

Hiroki says it quietly, but like an order. It sounds like an order, like an ultimatum, almost. It's just... the thought of Ziggy, doing that... so, he...

Well...

"Ziggy, promise me."