Part 2 : The Futility of Diplomacy

((WARNING: The Heor story arc contains extreme violence and language. If you are easily offended, please refrain from reading on.))

As the car came to a halt, Jad opened the door and stepped out. There was a locked gate before them and a large, Tudor type, red house a little further behind it. Two soldiers stood at the gate.

Ada scooched out the door Jad had opened and then closed the door to the vehicle behind her. The shotgun didn't go over her shoulder this time, though, as she didn't want to be perceived as a threat to any possible allies. "This is Danar's place?"

?It is.? He nodded as he approached the gate.

A soldier stopped them. "Name and business, please."

Jad glanced back at Ada for a moment. ?Lieutenant Colonel Tyler Jad. My friend and I were instructed to come here and wait for Councilman Danar.?

The soldier looked over his clipboard and nodded. "Go ahead."

She actually sort of gave the two guarding soldier's a bit of a salute and then shouldered her shotgun. Of course, she had no intention of using it yet, but Ada didn't feel right about letting it out of her sight, or leaving it at any checkpoints. The guards didn't seem too concerned about the gun, though, and they stepped away as the gate opened. "And we have to wait how long?" Ada directed the question at Jad.

Jad began moving forward toward the house. ?Two hours from when I called, and the ride here was about an hour. Mrs. Danar is probably waiting.? He commented idly.

"Hm. We'll have a cuppa..." Really, she was trying very hard not to be a total as*, but it felt like time was ticking away and the last thing she wanted was to show up too late. The house looked really nice, though, so she at least appreciated it as they approached.

?Do your best not to insult either of them, please. They aren't at fault. Save it for the deserving.? Jad was usually fairly friendly with Ada and Ghent these days, even though they only seemed to find each other when something was wrong, so it might have seemed a little odd that he was all business then. He opened the door and stepped inside. He didn't bother removing his boots, but he did wipe his feet.

They were good words, and Ada definitely needed the reminder. She followed Jad's example and wiped her feet as well. In fact, she even felt a bit ashamed and placed the shotgun in the umbrella holder next to the door -- as far as she knew, the Danars were civilians and hardly needed a shotgun looming in their presence. "Sorry, you're right. Thanks."

?It's all right. I'm not very happy myself.? He tried to smile a little at Ada.

Mrs. Danar was soon approaching the large entrance area from the living room. "Tyler, how good to see you. Come in, please. Who's your friend there? My husband should be here shortly. He caught a ride on a helicopter rather than drive."

Ada tipped her head to Mrs. Danar and offered her hand. "I'm an... associate of Lieutenant Colonel Jad's." She wasn't sure whether she wanted to tip her hand about having any relation to Ghent at all, simply because there was no telling who could use that information against Ghent. As far as she knew, there weren't a lot of people who knew about them that Ghent didn't outright trust.

"How nice. Pleased to meet you." Mrs Danar smiled and shook Ada's hand. "Please, come this way. We can at least sit comfortably while we wait for my husband." She turned off to the right and into a room with numerous luxurious looking chairs and couches.

Jad followed behind the woman and took a seat in one of the chairs close to the entry way.

Taking a seat as close to Jad's as possible, Ada then folded her hands onto her lap and waited for a moment. Although, the thought stuck her and she looked at Mrs. Danar, clearing her throat. "Can I bother you for a glass of water, ma'am?"

"Oh, certainly, my dear! Where are my manners today?" She tsked herself before disappearing into another room. No sounds could be heard after a moment or two, so the kitchen must have been a decent distance from this sitting room.

Jad immediately looked at Ada. ?I take it you needed to talk to me.? It was a statement, like he knew it to be true.

A grin sort of creeped onto her lips as she turned her attention to Jad. "I can see why you and Ghent seem to get along..." She didn't think a lot of people would have understood so quickly. Leaning in some, Ada rested her elbows on her knees. "How much military cooperation can we expect? Obviously this council's split, so if majority vote is against Ghent, will the military be able to act at all?" She assumed the Heor Armed Forces answered to the council.

Jad smiled for a moment at her comment. ?It depends. We have Danar on our side, I assume. If Danar was unaware this occurred, it'll be much easier. Covert actions can have the Head Council removed. If Danar knew and they had to vote on it, this'll be more complicated.?

"Do you think diplomacy is going to get us anywhere?" It was a valid question, though she didn't act like she was going to just throw diplomacy out the door. A glance around confirmed that they were still alone, before she lowered her voice to talk to Jad some more. "If not, then we're going to have to consider our next move."

?I've already made some arrangements. Let's see what the councilman has to say before we do anything.? He agreed with her though, so he nodded.

-------------------

Danar was just then taking a seat, his eyes going between Jad and Ada. He looked slightly confused. ?Tyler, it's good to see you. Your father said this was rather urgent. Why do you have Ghent's young lady with you? I apologize for not catching your name before, miss." He smiled a bit at Ada.

Jad's expression didn't change. ?Were you aware of this?? Jad was pretty sure Ada still had the letter. He nodded to her.

Ada had forgotten, at least for a moment, that she had the letter. Standing up, she pulled it out of her back pocket that didn't have her ID, and offered it over to Councilman Danar. She didn't say anything yet -- just returned to sit by Jad, waiting for an answer.

Danar seemed further puzzled when Jad stepped around the pleasantries and when Ada didn't speak. He peered at the letter for a moment, reading through his circular framed glasses. "What?!" He roared the question.

Well, that settled it, didn't it? Ada took a deep breath and ran a hand through her hair. She looked like she wanted to talk, but she wasn't quite sure how to even start. So, she said the first thing that came to mind. "We have to get to him. We need to know if there are any... diplomatic options." There was some hesitation in there, as she didn't want to be diplomatic at all.

Danar was on his feet quickly. He handed the letter back to Ada. "There will be no diplomacy, young lady. I am invoking an emergency procedure. Excuse me one moment." He disappeared out of the room and back toward the kitchen. Yelling and swearing could be heard shortly afterward.

Jad looked at Ada with his dull blue eyes, but said nothing.

Ada raised an eyebrow and glanced to Jad, who seemed like he expected as much. "This is ridiculous..." There were more words, too, but she refrained from using them in polite company. Instead, she tried to listen to what Danar was saying, hoping for a clue of some kind.

?Ridiculous or not, you are not a citizen of Heor, Adalia. It's best we do things this way. Ghent would pretty pissed off if he knew I allowed you to get into trouble.?

When the yelling died down, not much could be heard from Danar. Any words that did float out wouldn't be enough to piece his conversation together.

"This seems like folly, Jad, but I know that you'd know better than I would." She also knew she wasn't thinking as clearly as if it had been someone other than Ghent. "To the best of my knowledge and experience, getting bureaucracy involved does nothing but slow things down and make them too convoluted to work around." Ada wasn't arguing, but she still held up her hands like she was done speaking her mind.

?Then I suspect you're about to understand why Ghent and Danar are friends.? Jad wasn't trying to be cold, but even though Ghent was his friend, he knew better than to lose control. It would prove Ghent the better soldier, for one, which Jad wasn't willing to admit.

Boy, Jad was so coolheaded and calm it was almost infuriating to Ada. But, she nodded and sat back down, figuring she had little choice but to put up with it. Maybe she'd join the military and learn to be calm. "I'm just worried." Not that it needed to be said...

Jad's expression softened for a moment when Ada spoke. ?I know you are. The best thing you can do for Ghent is to stay calm. We'll find him, okay?? Footsteps could be heard coming back toward them.

"Right." Ada glanced back over her shoulder to see who the footsteps belonged to. She had to assume that Ghent was all right, and therefore had to assume that every step needed to be an extremely careful one. She certainly didn't want to piss off the wrong people.

Jad nodded a little and watched as Danar came back in the room. He handed two large pieces of paper to Ada. "I'll need you to sign those, miss. And fill in your name in the blank space at the top. It's a temporary citizenship to Heor. The second document is a temporary permission of rank in our army -- Captain, to be specific. Tyler, Omega Squad will be here in thirty minutes. They will be under your command and Omar is aware of that."

Boy does that get Ada's attention! She takes the two pieces of paper from Danar and just sort of stands there, mouth agape. Even if she wasn't dreaming all this up (and she thought for sure she was, at this point,) she had to admit that the councilman seemed to be able to pull strings. "A-are you certain?" Ada had to make sure this man was serious and not just joking around or making rash decisions.

"Of course I am. Ghent is yours, is he not? Those papers will protect you from prosecution when this is all over if you sign them."

When Danar finished speaking, Jad looked at Ada. It was up to her, he wouldn't begrudge her either way. ?I assume we're to leave immediately.?

Danar nodded. His face grew grim for a long moment. "Tyler, this mission is being listed as a code black. You know what that means: No survivors. Anyone you encounter is with Zenne, or whoever is pulling his strings. Ghent is being held in Madenar Prison, which is about fifty miles north of here. I don't know what his status is, but the prison was recently said to have electrical problems today and the other prisoners were transferred out. You need to hurry."

Ada was busy looking for a pen, patting her pockets down. "I need a pen..." She hadn't come very well prepared for anything, aside from shotgunning people in the face and smashing them in with a robot arm. "What does that mean? 'Electrical problems?' Would they have transferred Ghent out?" She figured they hadn't since that seemed to be their destination.

"It's a ruse. They want something from him they don't want anyone to witness." For a politician, Danar likely seemed pretty sharp.

Jad's jaw tightened. Danar had to be right. Electrical failure was a weak excuse. He pulled a pen from his pocket and handed it over to Ada, whom he spoke to. ?When Omega gets here, we're leaving.?

She took the pen and quickly signed both pieces of paper, before offering the pen back to Jad and the papers back to Danar. "I'm ready to go." She had questions, but she was sure that they could wait until everyone was on the move. "Councilman, thank you. If there's ever anything you need of me..."

"No thanks are necessary..." He glanced at the papers a moment. "...Miss Dodd, Ghent is a good soldier and a better man. He's done too much for this country for me to allow this to happen to him." He nodded a little to Ada.

Jad was already off his chair and moving toward the door. ?They'll be here soon.?

"We'll be sure to get him back." Ada gave a firm nod before she turned and headed after Jad. She just needed her shotgun, at this point. "Do I need to know anything? Or? *not* do anything?" Aside from what she had learned from Ghent, she had no real idea about anything when it came to military.

?Normally you'd need to follow orders from your commanding officer. That would be me. We need to move as a group, do what we need to do and get out. I'll give you some slack, though.? Jad smiled a little. He had sounded rather serious, most likely, until the end. ?Just stay safe and try to follow my lead.?

"Aye, aye, sir." It was close enough for her. Ada shook her head and grabbed up her shotgun from the umbrella rack in the main hallway. "I understand the citizenship part, I think, but why rank? And why Captain? If it only mattered that I was in the military, then wouldn't some lesser rank be sufficient?" She felt a little bad, considering she hadn't really earned the citizenship or the military status.

?It's in case I get killed, of course. Someone has to lead the mission -- someone that knows Ghent.? Jad seemed confident of that. He could hear a squealing of brakes outside. ?I believe they're here early.?

She nodded and opened the door for Jad, the shotgun in its natural state of rest on her shoulder. "So I don't embarrass you in front of the men, or anything, um... thanks for helping. You know, everywhere." Ada gave a nervous smile, hoping he didn't think she was being silly.

?Someone has to watch over the two of you.? He didn't smile, but the tone likely would have revealed his jest. He headed outside, where five men dressed in assault gear were waiting.

((This is adapted and edited from the play of February 17th/18th, 2008, with permission. For more information, please PM Adalia Dodd.))

Part 4 : Madenar Prison Rescue

((WARNING: The Heor story arc contains extreme violence and language. If you are easily offended, please refrain from reading on.))

Ada really wasn't sure what to do, aside from keep her guard up, but the more time she spent with Omega, the more she felt like she could be part of the operation. They seemed to exude a confidence that she did well soaking in. At this point, the Colt was actually, factually tucked in the waistband of her jeans, in the back so that it could be hidden -- she'd seen it in a movie before. The shotgun was held at ready with the flashlight off for the moment.

There was nothing out of the ordinary for the advance. The squad spread out a bit in case of enemy fire, but by the time they made it through the gate and to the large double door entrance, nothing had happened. No alerts, no signs of other troops.

It really seemed to unsettle Ada, who glanced around like she was expecting a sneak attack. Of course there wouldn't be an alarms or searchlights or anything with the power out, but there would at least be guards, or something. She felt like reminding everyone to be cautious, but it would be a given, considering. At the double door, she leaned in, trying to listen for movement on the other side.

Jad and Omar were listening as well. The rest of the squad was examining their surroundings for threats. Merriweather's voice came in. "Outside's clear. Nothing but you guys on my night vision scope."

Jad nodded a little but didn't respond to their lookout.

Voices could be heard on the other side of the door a moment afterward, though they were hushed. "When the door opens, turn right and follow the perimeter. They should be here soon." Jad motioned everyone to him, since he was on the left if someone came out the door. He also flattened his hand and pushed down, to tell everyone to crouch. Omega followed his orders immediately.

Ada dropped down too, though it was belated compared to the high trained squad. Her hand reached forward to flip the safety off on the shotgun, and then she waited for the command to move. Something in the back of her head was trying to convince her they were close.

The doors swung open. About a dozen men emerged from the prison. They didn't see the group apparently, even after glancing their way.

?Open fire!? Jad yelled the order. His desert eagle was the first gun to break the silence of the night. Omega spread out again and starting firing with their M-16s. All but three of the men dropped immediately. The survivors scrambled to find some cover, though there really wasn't any.

Until she was certain that no one else was coming out the door, Ada let Omega deal with the men who had already tried to leave. She had little doubt that any of them would get away, considering. And, since they no longer had to worry about stealth, she flipped on the flashlight on the shotgun and pointed it into the dark building, trying to see what was ahead.

The trio of men didn't make it. They were gunned down fairly easily. When the main entrance was lit, there was nothing abnormal. Metal detectors were in front of the actual entrance, but the barred door leading into the facility was open, likely because it would lock and no one would be able to get out because of the power outage.

?Come on, we have to hurry. Jones brothers, you're with me. We're going to check the cell blocks. Omar, Adalia, and Stevens I want you three to check the security stations in this block and the basement. Go.? Jad was already on the move.

"If you find him..." Ada didn't say anything more, though, as she knew Jad would understand what she meant. Without really knowing where to go, she sort of kept with Omar and Stevens. Her breathing was even and her senses seemed so sharp compared to the silence of the prison -- she could hear every careful step the three of them made.

Jad only nodded before he and the brothers were out of sight.

Omar took a rather serious tone, even though he was leading. "Where are we checking first, Captain?" Stevens seemed to be waiting for Ada's answer as well.

"Basement first, and then we'll work our back here." It seemed logical enough to her. Of course, while she was talking, she was shining her light at nearly everything it would reach -- they couldn't afford to overlook anything.

"Yes, ma'am." Omar was similarly looking around. The place was obviously aged. Paint was chipped along the walls. There were no signs pointing to where the basement was, but someone might have spotted some stairs leading down off to their right with the flashlights.

Down was a start, for sure. Ada moved towards the stairs, shining the light as far down as it would go without putting herself directly out in plain view. Hey, at least the flashlight provided a way to blind the enemy that was accustomed to the dark. Of course, it also screamed out, 'look at me, I'm right here!'

Omar and Stevens followed Ada. There were actually three flights of stairs, so it was probable that they led to the basement. Omar was listening intently, trying to pick out any voices or other noises.

The farther down they went, the more apprehension Ada was feeling. There were so many things that could go wrong, and the fact that they were going down meant they would have to go back up; it was always harder going uphill, and it something happened, they'd be at a major disadvantage. Still, she pressed on, hoping to find nothing but a safe Ghent.

Towards the bottom of the stairs, yelling was audible -- the basement had probably been drowning the sound out before then. "He is one man! What the hell is the matter with you?! Get him and the little girl, now!" The sounds of a struggle could be heard after that. Omar didn't wait for an order before he started running.

Ada wasn't far behind Omar. As far as she was concerned, there wouldn't be any voices at all if Ghent wasn't down there. Still, she was careful to try and assess the situation as they pressed on. Already, she was running over the words she'd heard, trying to decipher exactly what they meant.

Omar didn't pause at the scene before him. It looked like eight men, not counting the one in back near the wall. The one at the wall had dull red hair and was recognizable as Ghent, but he was beat up pretty badly. His right arm was hanging limply at his side. His left eye was swollen shut and much of his face was bruised otherwise. There were tears in his clothing where it looked like he'd been cut with something. He was standing his ground, though. His usable arm was in position and two men (not part of the eight others) were on the ground groaning. A small female was clinging to Ghent's leg, on the verge of tears. "Mr. Ghent..." The little girl sniffled.

"Hey!" Ada yelled out, hoping to get their attention turned away from Ghent and the little girl. The shotgun came up and she trained it on the closest of the men, moving more to the left so that she wouldn't hit the two they were trying to save. She didn't doubt that Omar and Stevens were close by, either.

Ghent couldn't see too well, the sweat and the blood did a good job of obscuring the vision in his good eye. ?C'mon, Jessica?? He scooped the little girl up with his usable arm and started to move away from the commotion.

The enemy soldiers turned to look at Ada and her shotgun. They realized they had M-16s pointed at them as well, and all hands went up, as if to signal surrender. "Code black, Captain." Omar felt he should remind Ada, just in case.

Ada nodded at Omar's words and advanced a few steps before pulling the trigger on the shotgun. There would be at least a few seconds where she'd have to regain her ground and stance, though, since it was still a very powerful weapon in a rather small woman's hands.

The spread on the shotgun made a pair of men go down rather than just one. Others began to reach for their handguns when they realized they were likely going to die. Omar had come near Ada. He fired a pair of shots to put another man down.

At that point, she was ready for another shot, though it felt strange to deal with things from behind a gun. Still, it was an opportunity that would be idiotic to pass on, since so many people seemed to have guns of their own. Her next target was already on the move, and she peppered the man and part of the wall as he tried to get away. Ada felt like an action hero -- like she should have some kind of line she would spew out at times like this.

Ghent's vision was starting to come back. He could make out Omar easily. With Ada's hair under the helmet he didn't recognize her, but she seemed a friendly. Stevens was watching the group's back. After Ada had taken out the man who tried to run, Omar stepped forward and slammed another man's head into the concrete wall. It was pretty easy to see he was dead afterward.

Another man tried to jump on Omar's back, but a knife sailed through the air and into his back instead -- Ghent was the source. He had picked up a knife from the floor that they had used on him earlier. His strength was gone after that. His head would have crashed onto the floor if the little girl hadn't caught it when he fell.

Ada saw Ghent crumple to the floor, but couldn't take her eyes off the action for too long. "Stevens, get them out!" She really didn't care how it was done, but she wasn't going to risk any sort of stupid errors that would cause Ghent or the little girl to be hurt any more. It was only then that she remembered the radio, and talked into the microphone in the helmet. "Jad, we've got the Major, plus one. Omar and I are clearing out the basement. Copy." Things seemed to be flowing a little more easily all of a sudden.

"Yes, ma'am!" They were definitely highly trained. Stevens hefted Ghent onto his back and looked at the little girl. "Come on, let's go!" The three of them started up the stairs quickly.

Jad responded over his radio. "Roger that, Captain. We've cleared out the top and are en route. Over."

((This is adapted and edited from the play of February 18th, 2008, with permission. For more information, please PM Adalia Dodd.))

Vignette | Part 1

Several days later, after some much needed rest...

Whether it was obvious or not, Ada had been cooking at some point. The hamburgers were probably long-since cold, but she hadn't wanted to disturb Ghent. Instead, she had gotten out some cheap watercolor paints that she had requested from Emma, and had taken over the kitchen table. Time had passed, though, and she had sort of gotten lost in thought with her brush to the paper -- long since drifted away from the painting at hand.

Ghent was wandering out of his room. Even though he felt all right, it just seemed like his body wouldn't allow him to stay conscious for any extended period of time. He was quiet as he moved along, but that was partly because of his slightly slow speed. He got to the kitchen and was a little surprised that Ada was sitting there. He just watched her a moment.

And she just stared for the moment. It didn't seem like she was looking at anything in particular, but there might have been a flicker or recognition that Ghent was there. An eyebrow twitched, the corner of her mouth rose slightly, then fell again. Other than the small things, and the automatic things, she just seemed to be somewhere else.

He wouldn't disturb her, especially considering how much she'd been doing for him. Ghent came close enough to kiss Ada on the cheek and then went to pull a glass from the cupboard. He was fairly thirsty.

The kiss was barely noticed, and there was no sound aside from Ghent getting his water. At least, for a moment it was that way. Ada's hand came down hard on the table like she was smashing a bug, and her head turned to look at whatever she had slapped. The paint palette was underneath her hand, with the brush wedged down against the raised paint wells.

That certainly got Ghent to turn his head. ?Ada, are you all right?? It had startled Ghent enough that he had forgotten to turn the water off.

She didn't answer him. Instead, her head dipped down as her fingers curled around the brush and the palette, like she was looking to see what she'd managed to catch. A moment later, she was biting on her bottom lip and narrowing her eyes. "Gotcha..."

He was a little concerned when she didn't seem to hear him. He put the glass down and shut off the water before coming close to her again. He rested his left hand on Ada's shoulder and leaned down a bit. ?Ada??

The shoulder rolled, like she was trying to brush something off, and she leaned her face down closer to the artistic tools she was holding rather tightly in her robot hand. Her voice was a practical whisper as she talked towards her hand -- not right at it, but close enough. "You won't. Not again..." It was almost a menacing tone at the end.

Ghent frowned a little. He didn't understand what she had said, but she really seemed distracted. Ghent shook her shoulder a bit, but not forcefully. He was just trying to see if she could focus elsewhere.

Ada tried to roll her shoulder out of Ghent's grip, but then let out a frustrated sound and almost forcefully let everything go, sending the brush and palette skidding across the paintings she'd strewn around the table. "Fine." She didn't seem happy about the resolution, but then a moment later, as she turned to look at whatever was touching her shoulder, there was a blink and twitch and she smiled. "Hi, honey! Up and about, I see." Like none of it had happened at all.

Ghent froze for a moment. He almost stepped backward, too, but he controlled himself enough to avoid that. The confusion on his face would be something he couldn't hide, though. ?Yeah...? Ghent smiled a little bit, but it likely looked pathetic.

She raised an eyebrow at him, and his strange, unfamiliar smile. "What's wrong? Oh! I'll bet it's the hamburgers. I covered them with a dishtowel so that they wouldn't get cold." Ada stood and smiled at the close proximity to Ghent, giving him a kiss on the cheek and then looking at her watch. "Oh..." A frown followed. "They'll be cold by now."

Ghent realized something very unnatural had just happened. He glanced down at the paintings that were on the table, wondering if there was something there to clue him in. In the meantime, he did his best to act like nothing had happened, though Ada might have noticed his behavior anyway. ?That's all right. I'm not feeling very hungry.?

"Really? Hm. Well, I'll put them away for tomorrow, then." She didn't seem disappointed or anything, though there might have been some worry because she'd never known Ghent to turn down a hamburger. As for the paintings, most were just awash with color, like she was mixing colors to see what she could get. There was at least one picture that could have been the living room at guest house, and another that was a partially gray structure, but was mostly hidden by the other pieces of paper.

Ghent started to move them around a little bit. He ignored the ones that didn't seem to represent anything, but he was trying to get a better look at the two he noticed that seemed to be paintings of something. He was trying not to be completely obvious about it and thought he might have a moment if Ada was putting the food away. It wasn't done nearly as quickly as usual with one hand, though.

He certainly had enough time to look as she searched for something other than a dishtowel to cover the burgers. The two paintings were nothing spectacular -- hardly much more impressive than a teenager could do. The living room at the guest house had a fire blazing away, and what was very obviously a young Ada down in front, sitting on the floor. Two adult-sized figures stood by, but there was only a silhouette to them and no detail. On the other picture, the gray structure appeared to be walls and strange corners, but there was still the same girl sitting on the floor, and the same figures standing by. At the counter, Ada made a sound. "Huh... I've got some red on me." She meant the paint, of course.

Ghent examined both of the paintings for as long as he dared to do it. Either way, he knew he couldn't just brush off what had happened. Ghent lifted his hand away from the paintings and went over to Ada. He put his hand on her waist. ?Honey... Do you remember me coming into the room a minute ago??

Ada was just wrapping the plate on hamburgers in wax paper when he stepped up. She nodded. "You surprised me, but I didn't startle like sometimes. You might have ended up with paint all over you if I had."

?Maybe.? He nodded a little. ?You didn't seem to really notice, though. You tried to shrug me off too, I think, when I touched your shoulder.? Ghent was worried, which is why he decided to just tell her what had happened.

"What?" Ada laughed a little and glanced over her shoulder at him for a second, then turned her attention back to the hamburgers. "No... what, really? Maybe you did startle me a little." She shook her head and tucked the wax paper around as neatly as possible. "I'm sorry, sweetie -- it wasn't intentional." Ada couldn't figure she'd ever do that to Ghent intentionally.

?I didn't think it was.? That, at least, was quite sincere. Ghent let go of Ada and turned to look at the table for a moment. He didn't like it. Not one damn bit.

The burgers were moved over to the fridge, and then Ada moved to wash the paint off of her hands. There seemed to be more than she remembered getting on her, but she figured she'd just been careless. "I'll get that picked up here in a second."

?It's not that.? Ghent's tone was probably odd sounding. He frowned a little, as he looked at the table. Ada didn't seem to remember any of what happened before she greeted him. Ghent didn't know what to think.

To Ada, Ghent seemed to be the one acting strangely, so she stepped over to the table and looked him over as she used her jeans to dry her hands. "Are you all right?"

He shook his head a little. The frown was still in place on his bruised face. ?You don't remember, do you?? His tone was neutral, not accusing, nor frightened.

"Remember what?" Now she was really starting to get worried, simply because his questions were all ones she couldn't really answer. She started to think that maybe she'd forgotten his birthday, or something.

?Ada, you were talking to yourself when I came in here. You didn't seem to notice anything other than the paintings. Then you tried to shake me off and knocked all the painting materials over there.? He gestured to where objects had come to rest. ?Then you said hello to me like you usually would. Like nothing happened.?

She seemed very utterly confused by what he was saying. Granted, she had been aware of times where she'd sort of blinked out of awareness, but talking to herself? Ada shook her head and started gathering up the papers. "Are you -- did I -- I was talking to myself?" She didn't know what to think at the moment.

?A little bit.? Ghent nodded. He hadn't really heard what she had been saying, but it almost seemed moot to him at that point. He stepped backwards to get out of Ada's way. He was starting to get his senses back, now that she seemed okay.

"That doesn't seem like..." Her eyebrows drew together as she finally saw the two similar pictures with different background. They were separated each into a hand and she looked back and forth between the two of them. "...me." The word was so far detached from the rest of the statement, it hardly seemed to fit at all.

((This is adapted and edited from the play of February 21st, 2008, with permission. For more information, please PM Adalia Dodd.))