1579/Catch You When You Fall

Catch You When You Fall
Date of Scene:	24 May 2024
Location:	Plot Room 4
Synopsis:	Rashmi and Usagi visit Molly in hospital, giving her both some company and a desperately needed lift in spirits.
Cast of Characters:	Molly Skyline, Rashmi Terios, Usagi Tsukino

---

Molly Skyline has posed:
Molly has been to the burn ward before.

This is her first time being here as a patient.

The purple-haired girl is in bed, in a room by herself. She's surrounded by all sorts of machines, one of which is constantly beeping as it monitors her heartrate, since you never know when a burn will result in a nasty infection. She's also surrounded by stuffies (mostly teddy bears but there's an elephant, a unicorn, and a pair of skunks in the mix) and two bunches of flowers that both proclaim "From Mom".

Molly herself looks like she's... shrunk, somehow. The normally vibrant girl is laying on her back, propped up just a bit, with a glass of water sitting untouched beside her. Her glasses are there as well, with their broken lenses.

She's not asleep; her eyes are open, and she's staring straight ahead, at the wall. Not at the TV in the room that's playing some sort of exciting looking anime with lots of mechs, just... the wall, beside it.

Who knew hospitals could be so bone-crushingly sterile.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
A soft knock sounds at the door to Molly's room, moments before the door opens. "Hiiii, Molly-chan," comes Rashmi's quiet, if-not-cheerful-then-making-the-attempt greeting, and apparently the redhead came over straight from school; she's still wearing the uniform. Carefully approaching the bed, Rashmi looks over what of Molly isn't under covers, and with no surprise at all, the purplenette's thousand-yard stare.

This is a look that has, unhappily, become a common one among the recent residents of this part of the hospital.

"I told your moms I'd be by, did they tell you? And Mami has something for you, I'll come back tonight after I go home to get it."

No small amount of trepidation is visible on Rashmi's face; will she still feel the way she did last night, when the redhead found her?

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Behind Rashmi is another girl, not particularly familiar to Molly - they had met, once, at a picnic Usagi threw to get over particularly bad feelings, but aside from that, their paths haven't crossed.

Now, Molly is struggling with something - something very similar to what Usagi's beloved is suffering from, and since Kazuo has dibs on visit time for now, she's come with Rashmi to visit...

"We brought you some non-hospital snacks," she says gently, "And if you don't want unfamiliar company, I'll go away. But the same thing happened to my boyfriend, and I think the hospital food doesn't help the stay."

Molly Skyline has posed:
Molly looks up at the sound of people coming in. For a moment, she just lays there, looking in the general direction of the voices talking to her. She sucks in a breath, almost like she's doing her best to gather her strength, to do something monumental.

"Hi," she mumbles, which apparently was the monumental task, but getting the first word out might've been enough to get a ball rolling somewhat. Maybe just a bit.

"I... can't see you, really," she adds. "Thank you for coming, Rashmi-chan. And... it's Usagi-chan, right? Please, come in, I... I don't want to be alone."

Molly's arms, at least, aren't badly burnt; nothing beyond first degree on either, so far as one can tell. She lifts one with great effort, and fumbles for her glasses, almost knocking them on the floor but not quite. She lets them perch on her nose, and looks back up towards her visitors again. "I'm sorry your boyfriend's hurt, too, I... I wish I'd been stronger, maybe I could've stopped her, I... I just..."

She couldn't possibly have stopped her. Sunbreaker, or Sunset or Sora, was always going to be exponentially stronger than her, at this point. And she knows that, and a tear wells up in the corner of each eye along with the realization.

"And yeah, they said you'd be visiting," she mumbles, letting her hand drop back down on the bed. "Thank you for coming. I don't want to be alone."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Oh, hey," Rashmi says, scooting a chair next to the bed and resting a hand, palm up, on the railing. It's Molly's choice if she wants to take it, because even minor burns are still burns and tend to get screamy when touched. "I know you want to kick yourself for not being good enough, but... we went through that when I was in your place, remember? I was wrong then, and you told me so."

Looking up and beckoning Usagi over with a smile, Rashmi goes on. "That's Usagi-chan, yeah. Usa-chan, Molly's moms are the ones who own the ramen place, on that rooftop? Molly-chan..."

A quick peek around the blonde to make sure the door is closed, and a smile. "That's Sailor Moon. And don't worry... I'll fix up Starcrash, and when you get better it's double training for all of us."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
There are some sights that just inspire a feeling of protective concern that can only be described as oh honey. Usagi hurries over to the other side of the bed, so as not to crowd Rashmi, and doesn't touch, but her hand's on the railing, and she's shaking her head.

"Molly-chan, there's no way you could have handled her. She cheats, and she's stealing people's power, so she's stronger than she should be anyway."

The door is closed, and she doesn't mind having her identity outed, not when she's obviously here because she knows. "I'm serious, she's really strong because she cheats. That's what Dark Energy is. It's not your fault she was able to get the drop on you. I'm pretty sure we're going to have to get like, a posse together and run her down."

She took some of those words from a movie, but there's a lot of sincerity in here.

Molly Skyline has posed:
"I'm sorry I won't be able to help."

Molly takes Rashmi's hand; at least, her hands aren't burnt. She's not covered head to foot. But her torso and legs definitely got the brunt of Sunset's assault. It's only thanks to Rashmi's immediate efforts to stabilize her that the injuries aren't life-threatening. (Of course, the hospital staff still think they are, judging by the amount of machines and charts in the room.)

"I just... feel like... I could'a... I should've... I don't know, I should've waited before fighting that Youma, I should've..." She trails off, and closes her eyes, finally squeezing out the two tears that now roll down her cheeks.

Wait, that's Sailor Moon? Her eyes open again, and she looks up at Usagi with renewed awe. And, ordinatily, she might be demanding an autograph or something, but she can't seem to summon up that energy.

"She said she'd... hurt me worse if I resisted," she whispers. "So of... of course I did, and of course she did, but I couldn't just... let her hurt anyone. I had to try to fight her. But she beat me like... like I was nothing."

And, they're getting together a posse to fight her. She's going to have to be taken down the hard way. And it's probably going to get really messy. Molly breaths out, and closes her eyes again.

"Please don't hurt her any worse than you have to. We still need to be the good guys, right?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Of course you feel like you should have," Rashmi says, squeezing Molly's hand. "Because you're just as much a fighter as we all are. Something horrible happened, and the first thing you think of is how you could have made it not happen."

Her breath catches at Molly's story of the attack. Partly because in some ways it's a horribly familiar story, partly because in others it's so much worse. And when Molly asks for clemency, Rashmi nods... but it's not a nod of confirmation, it's the kind of thing one does when they're looking for the right words and stalling for time.

"Molly-chan... She stole your power. And... I don't mean she drained your Linker Core, you'd be out of bed in a week if it was just that. I mean it's still there... but everything that was in it, all your magic, it's *hers* now. It's just like what she did with the others; she's taking your magic to make herself stronger. So... for one, you weren't fighting Sunbreaker, you were fighting like four Sunbreakers in one, *and* they got the drop on you."

Trailing off for a moment, she looks up at Usagi, and there's no indecision in the redhead's eyes. The truth she tells is going to be an uncomfortable one. "So... if we want you and Mamoru and whoever else she's attacked already... if we want to get you out of here whole and ready to go again... We're gonna have to take all that power back and put it where it belongs. And she's not gonna want to let it go. So... we're gonna have to beat her until she can't stop us. What happens after everything's back... That's on her."

Is it cheating, to echo Usagi's own statement from less than an hour ago? Maybe. But it's also the truth, and it's a truth Rashmi will have to come to terms with.

Whether or not Hinoiri survives the battle will rest entirely on her ability to wake up and look at what she did.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I mean, if you waited before fighting the youma, someone might have gotten hurt," Usagi says, honestly, "So I think you made the right choice. If no one ever fought a youma for fear someone worse might show up, we probably wouldn't like, fight the youma, you know? Rashmi-chan is right. You're thinking about everything that could have happened - and it happened. And you survived."

And they can't take that for granted, because Sunbreaker left Mamoru burned and unconscious on the floor with a subway station full of other people, open burns exposed to the ground, and no magic to help. He could have died. She'd done nothing to prevent that... and Molly could have died, if she wasn't found... and it sounds like it was Rashmi who found her.

For Molly to still be worried about her... she's a good person.

"No one's going in planning to kill her," Usagi says, because someone should use the k word, and because it's true, "But we have to stop her. Because you deserve to have your power back. Because Mamochan needs to have his power back. And we're really, really hoping that she's going to back off - and if not, that we can beat her enough to take that power back and make her apologize."

And if not...

None of them want to think about that.

Molly Skyline has posed:
Molly closes her eyes, and nods her head once. "Okay," she murmurs. "I know you'll... you'll do the best you can."

The purplenette's brow furrows. "I don't know why I feel so tired," she continues. "I get that I'm burnt and my magic is drained, but it's... it's like I'm too tired even to sleep. I'm thirsty but getting the water is too much effort." She pauses, and opens her eyes to look up in Rashmi's direction, then Usagi's. "And the fact that my glasses are toast doesn't help either," she adds, with a definite air of grief in her voice. "I'm useless without them, I can't see *anything*. Mom's getting new ones made up but they'll take a couple days."

And no, a spare pair isn't an option. Rashmi would likely remember that she's on the spare pair already, after 'the incident' walking from math class to science class the other day.

It's a good thing Molly is an artillery mage, meant to keep her distance, 'cause she sure is clumsy sometimes.

"Just... make sure she doesn't... do this to either of you. Okay?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"You've been thrown out of whack by a really, really big injury," Rashmi says gently, taking the cup and plucking a long bendy straw out of Nicomachea. Straw, in, water, offered.

"And you're too busy kicking yourself for getting hurt to let yourself sleep. I wish I could do something about your glasses, but... I can at least help some with the pain. Also being in constant pain is *exhausting,* Molly-chan," she says with a half-smile, remembering her own days on the bed. "They'll give you the good painkillers when they change your bandages, but... That's its own whole other thing."

Looking across the bed at Usagi, the redhead actually manages a genuine smile. It means a lot to her, it seems, to have *Sailor Moon* tell Molly what a good job she did. "It's true, also... sometimes surviving means you won too. And before that you took down a youma by yourself, remember... *I* try not to have to do that whenever I have a choice."

And when Molly asks that the two of them avoid this fate, a little bit of the anger comes back into Rashmi's face. Not at Molly, but at *what did this to Molly.* "Don't worry, Molly-chan," she says gently. "We're not gonna let that happen. Even if it means running, we're not gonna face her without two dozen friends each."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"It takes a lot of energy to recover," Usagi says earnestly, "And also, if Mamochan's any indication, they've probably been putting you on like, a lot of morphine, and like Rashmi-chan says, that's a lot, too."

Just yesterday, Tuxedo Kuma had been giving Mamochan a lot of judging looks. She can imagine what all of these stuffies are doing, when Molly-chan is loopy.

"I don't have glasses, but I've got two left feet even with good vision," Usagi says honestly, "So I think, maybe instead of calling yourself useless, you could say you just need a little help right now? I get the feeling you're like, really hard on yourself, but you don't have to be. That's what Sunbreaker is for."

Why do her job for her?

"We're all going to do everything we can. We're trying to tell as many people as we can, so they know that she's dangerous - and... hopefully, we'll finish this soon."

Molly Skyline has posed:
"I would've run," Molly replies while closing her eyes, "But I couldn't. I didn't have energy left for flight and I don't *run* that fast. So I just had to fight... and..." She trails off, and shakes her head slowly.

After a moment, she opens her eyes again, and lifts one hand to take the water and have a sip. "Thanks," she murmurs. "I was getting really thirsty." She sighs softly, and has another sip. "Thank you both for coming," she adds. "Both of you. It's really good to... to just... I just don't want to be alone."

Because she's scared.

What if Sunbreaker comes back to finish the job?

She has another sip, and looks up at Usagi. "Okay. But, I think I need a lot of help right now, I got hurt real bad and in ways the doctors can't help with. ...A few months ago I didn't... know any of this was even possible."

Because it wasn't possible.

"She's very strong. Please, please get a big group, and be careful."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"We will," Rashmi says sincerely. "We will, I promise. And hey... Molly-chan. You'll come back from this. You know I did, and you're getting the same training I am. It's gonna be horrible for right now, but you watch; Before long you and Starcrash'll be taking potshots at Chrono and me. And then it'll be your turn to catch me when I fall too hard again, cos that's what friends are for, right?"

If she was really thinking about it, she'd've probably said something slightly different. But her attention is almost entirely on keeping her friend up out of the dark hours of hospital recovery, as long as possible. If she'd've been thinking about it, she would have said something that didn't call back *too* much to the discussion the redhead and the blonde had in the Shed.

    'Would you be her friend, if you can?'

    'Friends catch each other when they fall.'

"If I have to," Rashmi says, "I'll leave my phone with you, okay? I don't want you to be alone either, but people are getting hurt, and there's not many of us who can even help that a little. But if it'll help, I don't mind, and Nicomachea's linked to it so you can literally call me whenever and I'll just be a thought away."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi nods along with Rashmi's words, but she has something else to add, too.

"Honestly, I practically live in the hospital these days, on account of Mamochan, so I promise, I'll visit you too, okay? The hospital can be a scary place, but it's better with friends."

And she pauses, and then adds, "Mamochan's friends spend a lot of time here too. And a lot of us are hanging around, just in case. So I'll ask them to stop by too, even if it's just so you know people are here, people who know."

At the implication that Molly is new to all of this - that it's only been a few months - she frowns, looking worried as much as she does upset, because this is a lot, for so early in her whole... Mahou career...

"We're here for you. And I'm going to give you my phone number too, okay? So if you get scared, or if something happens, you can call me."

Molly Skyline has posed:
"Thank you," Molly breathes, and tears form in the corners of her eyes once again, eventually breaking free and rolling down her cheeks. "Thank you, both of you, that means a lot to me. I don't think I've ever been in hospital before, other than the odd trip for a scrape or something, except..." she stops, trailing off, and looking up at Rashmi.

"Except to visit you, but it wasn't... it was different. I was just worried about *you* then, and I wanted to do anything I could to make you feel better."

The purplenette tilts her gaze to look down the bed, focusing more or less on where the blanket is draped over her toes. "I'm gonna look forward to more training," she mumbles. "With you and Chrono. And..." she looks up at Ussagi, "And you, if you're into that. Next time someone incredibly strong comes along... I don't want to get caught like I did this time. I don't want to be stuck in a hospital bed while my friends had to go out and face something scary."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Of course, Molly-chan! I've never been in the hospital for injuries, either. Before this, the last time I was at the hospital was because my mama was having my baby brother," Usagi admits, "But that's what us friends are for. To help make your day better."

A good thing about hospitals is the availability of useful things - like Kleenex, when someone's crying. Usagi offers the tissues to Molly immediately, then... nods, seriously.

"Kyouka Inai teaches a self-defense class on campus. The first part is a normal class, for everyone - but if you come back right after it ends, it's magic self defense training. You'll get to meet a lot of other magical people at school, and you can practice under a barrier - I mean, I guess you can always put one up, but, it's nice to be able to work with a bunch of people without worrying about breaking things. I go basically every week."

It's a little hard to mention if you don't know who's magic, but once you know? It's critical to let people know!

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Rashmi sighs, squeezing Molly's hand again. "Yeah... it was different then. I was a mess in my head and heart, and you wanted to help me get better. But the only thing that *is* different is who's feeling what, y'know? So trust me... once this is over, and you've got out... you're gonna get *way* better, cos before it was kinda... surreal, right? Like part of it was still a game? But... now you know what you're training to stop."

Looking up at Usagi, the redhead grins broadly. "Yeah, I completely forgot about that, but that's also a thing! So it won't be just dodging Chrono's utter lack of chill, you'll see a whole *bunch* of different styles and figure out where you can fit in. And hey! If Starcrash'll let me, I'll even give him Barrier math for himself-- He doesn't have that spell Usa-chan, and unfortunately it's not as easy as downloading an app." This last, a hurried explanation to avoid chancing embarrassment.

"Also I'll make sure Amy-chan and Setsuchan know you're here, so they can visit too. Don't worry, you'll hardly ever be alone, and between all of us there's no place safer than the hospital right now."

Molly Skyline has posed:
"I feel like I definitely need that course," Molly replies. She pauses, her breath catching, as she looks back up at Rashmi. "How... how is Starcrash?" Her brow knits with deep concern. "I haven't... been without him, like at all, since I found him. And, I think... I think Sunbreaker *broke* him, real bad. His crystal turned grey." She tilts her gaze to Usagi, "It's always been blue, before," she explains.

"And, yeah, he has a lot of missing memory cores, so I think stuff he was supposed to know, like... how to do defensive spells, is all missing." And, she wants to add, she really wants to help him out to get all that back. Not for her sake, but for his.

Well, maybe a little for her sake.

"Actually..." Molly adds, "Just, knowing you two are on it and you're going to stop other people getting hurt, helps me feel better on its own. Just, I might call you at weird times. I hope that's okay."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"He's a little shook up," Rashmi says, "but he's better off than Nicomachea was when I was in the bed. He just... She took all your mana out through him, and that put stress on things that shouldn't be stressed, so he's gonna need some time in self-repair mode and you're not gonna be able to *use* him until you're back to normal."

She starts to go on in this vein, but pauses, and a pained look crawls over her face at what she was just about to say. "Something something clever analogy about car batteries and negative charge, I don't know cars well enough to explain it right. But I'll talk to Hannah-chan about getting some new memory cores installed, okay?"

It's with a smile that she offers Molly another drink. Starcrash is at least a problem that can be addressed *now,* with regular updates. "Don't worry, Molly-chan. We got you. *All of us* got you, and you'll be out soon."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"It'll be good to see you in training! It was kind of scary when I first started, just because fighting, brrr, but it's really fun, now. Everyone's just trying to help each other improve, you know?"

So her Device was damaged...

"Once you have your power back, you should be able to use him like normal," she agrees, "And Hannah-chan's like, really good with Devices, so I think you'll be in good hands! And until then, we've got your back. We're not going to just - let this keep happening. She'll be done before you know it, and you'll have your power back."

And so will Mamoru, and then he'll be out of the hospital, and then he'll be able to get everyone else out, too.

All they have to do is take Hinoiri-chan down, first

Molly Skyline has posed:
"I'll tell my Moms to give you both free lunch," Molly offers. "They said they'd look after my friends who came to visit, so... Rashmi knows the place," she adds, gazing up at Usagi. "My Mom makes the *best* Ramen." She nods to Rashmi, "And yeah, I know car batteries, so I get it. And... I'd love to find some of Starcrash's missing memory banks, but I... I dunno how to go looking. And neither does he. He'd need his memory banks for that."

Molly has another sip of the water, before carefully putting it back on the table beside the bed. She struggles for a moment, and then just can't help it, as a big yawn escapes her that she can't quite get her hand up to cover.

"Sorry," she mumbles, and rubs at her forehead. "I... I might actually fall asleep."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"We might have to just install fresh ones," Rashmi says gently. "I'll see what we can do."

And as Molly starts to fade, Rashmi actually breathes a sigh of relief. "Go ahead and rest, Molly-chan," she says quietly. "We got you. You're gonna be okay."

Nevermind that the question of her okayness rests on several *distinctly* unproven variables... Make the encouragement now, try like hell to live up to the promise later.

But then a thought occurs to her, and when Molly falls asleep properly, and Rashmi caaaarefully removes the cracked glasses, she looks up at Usagi... And there's *actual humor* on her face.

...Humor of the :3 variety, even.

"...Hey Usa-chan, d'you know if Sailor Moon has bootleg merch?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I've been there! A lot, actually," she giggles, "The ramen is great. And while I'll never, ever turn down free food, you don't have to get me free food for coming over. We're friends, Molly-chan."

They sure are. Just like that, just like this, they've become friends, and Usagi will hear nothing else about it.

"I'll stick around, until you fall asleep, okay? So don't worry."

They wait, and Usagi is pondering which of the Shitennou she'll tell to come by Molly's room sometimes - not Zoisite - when Rashmi speaks up, and she stares, blank, "Bootleg merch? Why would Sailor Moon have -"

She considers the Sailor V game. She considers the Sailor V dolls. Sailor V stickers. Sailor V -

"Oh my god, do I have merch?!"