radio⸻

[andnevermore]

I need help.

[ It's not the kind of comment one might normally expect out of Blake; usually so independant, and reluctant to rely on others for help. But there's a barely restrained panic in her voice that she's only mostly keeping under control as she tries to be clinical and informative about what she's facing. ]

My friend, Yang... some of you will know her. Lots of blonde hair, prosthetic, yellow muscle car. Likes to make dumb puns.

She-- she fell asleep and won't wake up again. I think she's turning into a Husk. There's a layer of metal on her skin and hair.

[ A pause as Blake audibly draws breath to compose herself. ]

Do we know anything about how to reverse the process?

Comments

Voice

[guidemyway]

[Ruby is also deeply troubled here, but she can’t help herself.]

Have you tried black sharpie?

[andnevermore]

Ruby.

[ Blake's chide reveals a deep I don't know how to feel about that joke. Half reactive amusement, half scolding. ]

I don't think that'll help, unfortunately. Unless it makes her so mad she just breaks free of the process.

[guidemyway]

Blake.

[Look. She gets it completely. She is just trying to lighten the mood here.]

You're not wrong, but consider this. There is no way in the world she would not have already done it to one of us if we were in this situation.

[And then a pause.]

We'll figure this out. I promise.

[andnevermore]

[ ...Yeah, Yang definitely would be doing the same. But Blake's too deep in her feelings right now to see the humor, unfortunately. ]

What I'm hearing from other people is that we might just have to wait it out. Other people in the convoy have had this happen, but they broke free eventually.

Voice

[definitionofcrazy]

[Yang. Christ, okay. Alright. She takes a few seconds before she replies, just to compose herself.]

Hey, I, uh...

[Well. Mostly compose herself. It's obvious she's still a little strained.]

I think that's happened a few times and it eventually goes away on its own?

[She's heard that, anyway. She has zero confidence that it's universal, but she's telling herself it is anyway.]

[andnevermore]

Really?

[ The hope in Blake's voice is on the verge of painful; a desperate grasping at any reassurance that things might be okay. ]

I-- hadn't heard of it happening to anybody else. Do you know who?

[definitionofcrazy]

I guess that... robot bug guy.

[She manages a half-hearted laugh.]

The super chatty one.

[She was pretty sure she'd only heard the guy say like five intact sentences.]

Got like that for a while, I think. Got better.

[She really only has the one example. Most of the husks they encounter either never come back or explode into crazed monsters. She opts not to think about that.]

[andnevermore]

[ Robot bug guy who's super chatty, yeah, that's a good way to describe SecUnit. And that's the second time now that she's heard that it also almost turned into a Husk. ]

It was telling me the same thing, actually. I hadn't known.

But it does make me feel better. I guess we... just have to wait, and hope that it doesn't take Yang too long to break out.

text.

[phantomshow]

[Someone says they need help? Ren’s on it.]

I don’t know for sure if it will work, but I can try to help. Where are you?

[andnevermore]

I'm at my campervan; it's where I'm keeping Yang for now. It's black and purple, near the back of the convoy.

[ She won't mention the, uh, breasty mural on the side that Yang painted. Her description is good enough without it. ]

It's the safest place I could think of.

text } action

[phantomshow]

The one with the art on the side? [He’s a teen boy and he has eyes OK!] I’ll be right there.

[And just be a little extra reassuring, he adds:]

You made a good call.

[Sure enough, it’s only a few minutes later when Ren shows up at the van, announcing his arrival with a knock on the side.]

Hello?

[He’s never spoken with Yang or Blake before and doesn’t even know who he’s looking for, but that mural is unmistakeable.]

voice;

[faceguy]

Yang!?

[Noooo, he likes Yang! She thinks his puns are good!

Unfortunately he doesn’t know how to fix it, but it sounds like some other people might be helping on that front. In the meantime…]

I can’t help with that, but… how about you, Blake? Need anything? Just some company?

[andnevermore]

[ Blake makes a little noise, almost a laugh. ]

Some company might be nice, actually. Even if it's just to sit next to my van and defend it from monsters. I... don't know if Yang's state will attract more monsters than usual, but I'm not taking any chances.

[faceguy]

Well, I can help with both of those things!

[There’s a sound like something whooshing over the radio.]

Just gimme a sec to find you.

Voice

[solitarysoul]

You just have to wait. When it happened to...um, w-well last time I saw it they just broke out after awhile. I don't know if anything caused it. You should probably put it in a safe place until she does.

[andnevermore]

For now, I've got her stashed in the back of my van. It's easily defendable, so, the safest place I could think of.

You've seen it happen to someone, and they broke out on their own? How long did it take?

[solitarysoul]

That's probably good.

I didn't see them turn into a husk but I helped them after they broke out of it. I'm not sure how long it took, a couple weeks, maybe a month.

[audio]

[serialmurderbot]

No.

[Murderbot you asshole. But it doesn't let the pause draw on too long, because it knows that's a shitty thing to hear. And Levi already alluded to it, so - it might as well tell the truth about this, as uncomfortable as it is.]

It happened to me. There's a probability she'll break out of it on her own without imitating the husks we usually deal with.

[andnevermore]

[ Huh. Why doesn't she know that it happened to SecUnit? Blake feels kind of guilty, now, that she didn't know. It keeps to itself so much, though, that it probably just didn't tell most people. ]

How long did it take you to break out, do you know?

[serialmurderbot]

[It's still not sure how anyone found out, and how it didn't end up abandoned on the side of the road when the others decided not to risk a Husk in their space. But talking about that is uncomfortable for a whole lot of reasons.

More importantly, Blake has understandable questions - and at least this it can answer. It heard the way she started that. It doesn't have a read on her heart rate to know for sure, but between its work and its shows it has a comparative sample of humans people trying to keep it together, and her tone matches up in the 96% range.]

Approximately two weeks local time. I wasn't aware until after. It was like being in shutdown. [It pauses, then amends,] Being asleep, I guess.

[undyingcrow]

[That's... concerning. Deeply concerning. Akechi quiets, unsure of what to make of this.

He listens to the other replies before speaking. It offers some solace, if nothing else.]

While it seems to be temporary, it still sets a worrying precedent, especially with what little we know about stasis.

[andnevermore]

Yeah. We'd already guessed that stasis led to becoming a Husk, but this is... more proof than I wanted, really.

[ She's at least had several conversations with people where they assured her it was temporary. SecUnit had even had it happen personally, and it had lasted just two weeks.

Blake still worries, though. ]

[undyingcrow]

According to one of the Husk spirits, our transformations were intended to ward off stasis. Our sigils also serve a similar purpose.

[He pauses, humming softly.]

Yang is strong. I doubt she'll succumb so easily.

[qaw]

[ There's no network response from Qrow. But a few minutes after the post goes up, a certain crow swoops over to Blake's van and settles himself on her roof. He doesn't say anything for the moment—maybe she's not feeling company—but he does give her a rattly little croak as if to say Hey. ]

[andnevermore]

[ It hadn't taken long for Blake to set Yang up in the back of her van, laying on the makeshift bed she'd set up months ago. Blake herself is sitting on the edge of the back of the van, doors open to the evening air -- she can't go out in daylight anymore -- and she looks up as a crow appears, relief dawning in her expression.

Admittedly, she hasn't actually seen Qrow like this a lot. But she recognizes him all the same. ]

Hey, Qrow. She's fine-- well, as fine as she can be. I've been told by a bunch of people that this is temporary.

[ However: ]

I'd like to set up shifts to guard her while she's like this. I don't know if other monsters will be drawn in to the Husk process? I can take the night shift, but, um. I can't do daylight anymore.