The Elephant in the Room

[ziggyplayedguitar]

Things were unbelievable. Ziggy was high on life, so much so that even his cocaine use diminished. Reduced to something at a recreation, instead of life sustaining. A mere week and his drinking was all but gone, except whiskey in his coffee, always. 

They'd come to a routine. Ziggy recording, Hiroki training, sharing meals together. They both could cook and that was unexpected, though Ziggy couldn't place why he found it odd. Importantly, Hiroki indulged Ziggy's craving for unending contact. And the sex! When they touched it didn't stop until they were falling asleep, worn out by the desperate need for each other. It was unrestrained as they abandoned themselves to each other. Someone was getting close to satiating his desire for sex and intimacy. It wasn't all day like Ziggy had imagined he would need, daily, perhaps but the idea that it didn't need to be so all consuming to be satisfying was new to the Anthean. 

And he didn't have to hide. Since Hiroki returned, Ziggy hadn't put his contacts back in. He could let the Anthean part of himself be exposed, be safe with it known, and, if he was honest with himself, it seemed that Hiroki treasured him more because of it. There was  perhaps something to be said for acceptance he could never find on Earth. That acceptance went both ways. Ziggy accepted the fact that his lover was a dead clone, but the Anthean had never seen him as just a clone anyway.

Those thoughts brought questions that had Ziggy glancing up at his lover from where they lay on the couch together. They needed to talk about the elephant, or rather giant robot, metaphorically in the room with them. 

"Hiroki?" He asked quietly, not really wanting to disturb him while he read. 

Comments

[ziggyplayedguitar]

"It's you." Ziggy tells the mice that he can feel in his hair. "Are you the ones that chewed up my fingers?"

Ziggy then turns his attention to Allura. "No broken bones."

That was the big worry with his body. "No. There were other things to take care of."

Ziggy sits up but he feels woozy and tired.

Friends! <3 (or so Allura thinks)

[making_sacrifices]

Chulatt mentally assents. The other mice - and all are there - want nothing to do with that. Not them! Only Chulatt was biting!

Allura laughs lightly.

Her hair's in a bun and she's wearing her pink Galaxy Garrison uniform.

"I never knew you were all friends. That's lovely!"

Ziggy and them. All the Altean mice.

"I see. So that's why Atlas wants me to show you around right now. He's pushy, even."

Fond exasperation.

Allura could have a hundred shields up, it's palpable that she could, but she has none up, right now.

[ziggyplayedguitar]

"Sort of friends." Ziggy smiles. "They are persistent."

Ziggy covered his mouth to yawn. "He's why I'm tired, but it's worth it."

Allura could easily feel that the Anthean is exhausted from something but standing anyway. "He made me his pilot, I better learn."

He's ready to go when Allura is.

[making_sacrifices]

"They are. They're my friends. They used to be ordinary Altean mice, but they had spent ten thousand years with me in a pod, and, well, you see. Things happened. Mental connection with me."

Allura stands up and offers Ziggy a hand.

"I thought that's what happened. Hiroki's chosen you. Atlas activated all of a sudden. Yes, it's on now, for the first time since landing in Nexus."

"A year ago, I'd've been a little envious. Once upon a time, I was full of herself, sure that the Red Lion would let me pilot her. Because my Father was the original Red Paladin, I thought Red would let me pilot, too. But Red rejected me, and I - it hurt me, thinking she rejected me. But it wasn't like that. I know now, she knew this wouldn't be for the best. Not for me, nor for others. In others words, I'm not a Red Paladin, as you surely know. I understand why, now. And I'm glad."

"Sorry, that's irrelevant. Let's show you everything and see if you're a quick learner."

The Princess is ready to go now, just checking if Ziggy is, too. He's been through an ordeal, after all, it seems.

[ziggyplayedguitar]

ziggy will definitely pet the mice if they allow it. He does like animals.

He listens to her ans shakes off the idea about piloting. "I'm not sure what good a pacifist is for piloting a war machine." He comments while pausing to take a breath. He's still very woozy. "That's not why I'm tired. I was repairing his ..." he forgot thier word for it ".. his spirit."

He'd sleep probably tonight, maybe the first time Hiroki would see him actually sleep more than a few minutes. He did manage a smile. "My father's an engineer and pilot, and my mother is a medical researcher. After two species' space technology, a third should be easier to learn."

Ziggy's a little cocky but not pushy, more playful about it.

[making_sacrifices]

A hologram of Hiroki suddenly appears. And laughs lightly.

"That's my Ziggy! Of course you'll learn, lightspeed fast."

Allura frowns, and says, "don't encourage him, can't you see he's tired?"

"Sorry, sorry!"

Still smiling.

"Ziggy, as Princess Allura has probably already told you, this is the living quarters. You know, just bedrooms of all the crewmembers. This one is Tavo's," he says.

Princess Allura smiles a little, and says, "No, I haven't managed to tell him a thing yet."

"Oh."

"But you can. Go on."

"Actually, I'm kind of a little busy right now? See you guys later. Love you always! Bye."

And he disappears.

Allura just shakes her head and turns back to Ziggy.

"That's amazing. Your parents, I mean. My Mother was a priestess, and my Father was an alchemist."

[ziggyplayedguitar]

Ziggy nearly turns to hug him before he realizes it's a hologram.

"I'm fine." Ziggy tells Allura.

The disappearance makes Ziggy shudder, even if he knows Hiroki will be back.

"My father is human, but my mother is from another planet. They're both very smart though." He's exhausted but he's ready to be shown around. Besides, if he's going to sleep, a rare thing, he's waiting until Hiroki is back so he can curl up with his lover.

[making_sacrifices]

"If you feel you're fine, let's go."

Why not, let's go. At last, they leave Tavo's room. So now they pass near the rooms of other Alteans from Lotor's Colony. In other words, they pass a few other bedrooms, all of them very well kept. Most of Alteans are no slobs. If Ziggy's very focused, he might feel some miniscule traces of Honerva in those. Like a passing memory.

"Both of my parents are from Altea," Allura continues talking. The mice, meanwhile, ask Ziggy for more pets. "It's a lush, beautiful planet, I'd invite you there sometime. Coran governs Altea now, ever since my passing."

[ziggyplayedguitar]

Ziggy has no problem carrying the mice with him as they walk.

"Maybe when I'm done on Earth." The mention of her death makes Ziggy look down. He knows he has to die, soon probably, for his family to have an Earth to go to, for both species to live.

[making_sacrifices]

They're in the hall now. Ziggy might distantly feel the hum of the Atlas. Not a sound, a feeling. Calling Allura and Ziggy.

"When you're done on Earth, certainly!" the Princess says.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" she asks.

Don't you tell her it's nothing, young man.

[ziggyplayedguitar]

"It's nothing." Ziggy shakes her off and smiles.

"I'm just tired. My people don't sleep and it feels strange." It's not exactly a lie, just avoiding the topic.

[making_sacrifices]

So tired and still so eager?

"You really love Hiroki Shiro."

"What do you want to see first? The bridge?"

[ziggyplayedguitar]

"I'm sure Hiroki would tell you all about my lack of patience and discipline."

Ziggy just grins, teasing about the concept.

"Our ships aren't built like this. I don't think it matters. Eventually, I should see all of it."

[making_sacrifices]

"I'm sure. Otherwise, well --"

"I was surprised he didn't push you away. Now I understand. You won't be pushed away, huh? Good."

Alright, then, follow her to the bridge of IGF-Atlas. She has her own place here, too, because she's the one who can open wormholes.

Fine, Atlas can open them, too, but it takes a lot of energy from him.

"Here we are! The bridge. You've already been here, actually, but you were unconscious at the time. Now you can see everything."

Ta-dah!

[ziggyplayedguitar]

"He tried. I think he still tries sometimes, but I don't listen to anyone usually." It was true and Ziggy smiled proudly.

He goes on to the bridge, touching the consoles and looking around. "This is nothing like our ship controls. If you pilot it with your minds, why are there all of these buttons?"

[making_sacrifices]

"What?" she asks, surprised.

"No, we pilot with our minds, and bodies, and quintessences. In unison."

"My friends, human Paladins didn't quite get it for months, though they do it, did it since they met Lions, anyway. It weirded me out at first. How can you do something with no understanding?"

[ziggyplayedguitar]

"He's still worried sometimes that he dangerous to me." Ziggy shrugs.

"We pilot with out mind and spirits mostly. It's intuition I guess. Part of the development of our mental powers lets us piot them naturally." Ziggy smiles. "My mother has a ship here. I could show you."

[making_sacrifices]

"Honerva did awful things to his very Quintessence. Because of that, he's afraid. Afraid that it'll hurt those closest to him."

"When he saw me, when I came back to Nexus, he looked as if he wanted to run away to another reality. All while I could feel that we're still friends."

"Intuition? That makes sense."

"I could see it? Aletayria wouldn't mind??" Allura asks, hopeful now.

[ziggyplayedguitar]

"Honerva should pray I never meet her in person." Ziggy might be a pacifist but he had a hot human temper too.

"Maybe we should wait for Hiroki to come back? He wanted to see it too."

[making_sacrifices]

"I'm not quite sure if Hiroki can enter Atlas bodily now? I mean-"

Allura takes a deep breath.

"Because he's intrinsically a part of Atlas, it's possible he'd just lose his form upon entering. I think that's why he, let me check"

Hm.

"Yes, he's waiting outside."

He is, now. Has a body again. And Ziggy can surely feel that, too.

[ziggyplayedguitar]

Ziggy wants to rush outside but then realizes he doesn't know his way around. Instinctively, he reaches out to the ship for directions.

"He suspected that would be true." But now Ziggy knows how to find him in the spiritual part of the Atlas so that is less frightening.

[making_sacrifices]

"I see. I'm not sure anything can be done about that."

Ziggy's a pilot now, so, indeed, he can get directions from Atlas. Instantly gets them. Not words, of course, but images, feelings, sense of orientation, so he can easily get around.

And since Ziggy's met Hiroki and the White Lion, he can probably feel that Atlas is somehow both, together. With some energy of Shiro, too.

And indeed, Ziggy can always find Hiroki in the spiritual space of Atlas.

[ziggyplayedguitar]

"I might be able to." Ziggy is barely talking. His eyes are unfocused and staring off at the ceiling of the room. He's listening; to the Atlas, the lion, Hiroki... just feeling the flux of energy.

Allura will see it though, the bright golden glow from his forehead as he communes with the energy. He's wandering off and following the threads of energy in whichever way it is leading.

1/2

[making_sacrifices]

Allura can see and looks at it closely, intrigued but not worried, as, as she's quickly checked, there's nothing negative in this energy... this Quintessence? At least right now.

She smiles. If Atlas himself wants to this new pilot's tour guide, then her job here is done.

2/2

[somekindofspaceuncle]

Atlas, meanwhile, first nudges Ziggy Stardust towards the controls.

Come. Bond with him. This is the sole reason You're here.