[Mushverse: For everyone in the hospital visiting Joe]

[halfboiledjoker]

Half the wall is missing. The window is shattered, lying in shards and pieces on the floor. It seems like the fancy hospital equipment all survived, judging by the humming and beeping I can peripherally hear as I stare out of the building.

Less than twenty-four hours ago I found Joe, bruised and barely breathing, discarded on the side of the road like garbage. Before I'd even gotten to the hospital I'd decided I'd make sure he was safe, and healthy, and be someone he could depend on. Then I met his brother, found out how important Joe really is to this world of ours. And I came in here, hoping to help him in any way I could.

And then he hopped on the back of a shapeshifting monster from another world, the two of them running away together.

At some point I must have fallen to my knees. I'm still trying to find words, figure out what to do next, but all I can think of is that somebody must have heard that wall break. And nobody is going to believe what I have to tell them.

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[yellowlion]

I'm whistling as I run up the stairs to Joe's room. He's hurt, he's terribly hurt, but he's safe now, he'll be fine, and we'll-

...I reach the top of the stairs and belt along the corridor. I know it's coming from Joe's room. Of course it is.

[halfboiledjoker]

Nobody's come yet, and eventually the pain in my knees makes me realize I must have knelt on some of the broken glass. I climb to my feet shakily, reaching out to prop myself up with the nearby chair.

There are footsteps in the hallway now - fast ones - and I know that somebody's finally noticed.

I want to be calm. Collected. Everything a real man should be in this situation. But as the newcomer enters the room, it's all I can do to just not fall down again.

[yellowlion]

.......the wall's gone.

The fucking wall is gone.

...and so is Joe. Of course he is. I swear under my breath, but the detective guy is here and he looks like utter shit. "Hey, hey, take it easy," I say, instantly getting an arm around him. I ease him over to the most intact of the chairs.

[halfboiledjoker]

"I'm sorry." The words leave my mouth as he lowers me onto a chair. There isn't much more I can think of at the moment. "I tried to stop them, I-"

Then a wave of nausea nearly topples me over, and I fall back heavily against the chair, letting it keep me up. "I shouldn't have waited. I shouldn't have trusted that asshole. It's my fault. I'm sorry."

Shit. I'm babbling. That's embarrassing.

[yellowlion]

I want to shake him, get information out of him, but I can see through the fucking hole in the wall-

I can see through the hole in the wall. Whoever took Joe isn't here, they're long gone, and yelling at this poor kid will do exactly fucking nothing for me.

I crouch in front of him, a hand on his knee, peering up worriedly into his face. "Take it easy. Shotarou, right? Who's the asshole? Tell me what happened, so I can get you help then I can go after them."

[halfboiledjoker]

The nausea passes, thankfully, and I'm able to sit mostly straight and look at the man properly. He's...familiar, somehow, but I can't place him. For a moment I pause, wondering if I should tell him everything.

But my gut is telling me that I should trust him.

"Basco," I finally say, the name sounding odd on my lips. "The man, the monster...whatever it is. He took-"

I stop myself. I want to say he took Joe, but I know full well that's not the case.

I sigh and hang my head in shame. "...he and Joe. They left together."

[yellowlion]

The kid- the detective, really, looks at me measuringly, then says a name.

I blink at him for an instant, then erupt, springing to my feet, a hand going to the back of my head. "Basco? He left with Basco?"

My head snaps around and I force myself to calm down a little, to actually think about what he said. I stare at Shotarou.

My voice is relatively gentle. "Joe left with him willingly?"

I'm still worried. Will still have to let Megumi-tachi know, will still have to go after him, because he's only barely recovering from whatever happened to him, poor kid.

...but maybe Joe can reach Basco. And if that's what he's trying to do, then hell if I'm not going to support that.

I feel the corners of my mouth lift, just a little. There's hope.

There's always hope.

[halfboiledjoker]

"He did, but..."

This guy doesn't seem as worried as he should be, and I can't help but be a bit uneasy about that. "Basco...wasn't all there. I think something...broke, inside of him. They were talking about a past love and how Basco isn't apparently from this world?"

So much of that conversation had gone over my head, but I'd tried to listen in anyway. I'm sure what I'm saying doesn't make sense, but at this point, I just need someone else to be as scared and as worried as I am.

"Basco...changed. Turned to monster, then back human, then back to monster again. Was going to go by himself, but Joe insisted on going with him - I tried to stop him, I really did, but he wouldn't listen."

[yellowlion]

I nod as I listen to this kid. It's... it's not good, I know there's pain, I know Joe could still have some major difficulty; it's just that I'm more optimistic than I was when I first jolted into the room.

Time for action. "All right. Tell me what you need, then I'll head off. Did Joe take anything with him?"

I'm not even sure if he has his Mobirates. Has to be something I can do to find him.

[halfboiledjoker]

He asks me what I need, and I bite back a bitter laugh. What I need is to rewind time, to not have listened to Joe or Basco, to have transformed and kicked the bastard out of the room.

Instead I let my head hang.

"No, I don't think so," I answer, closing my eyes and trying to remember them leaving. It was just minutes ago and it should all be fresh and easy to remember, but all I can really recall is the sound of a breaking wall, the rush of air as they jumped. A kid and a monster, out for a joyride.

[yellowlion]

I nod, then take another look at him, gripping him gently by the shoulders. "Shotarou. Don't beat yourself up over this. Come with me if you're up for it, otherwise stay here, but kicking yourself because you think you're at fault can come later. You have any idea how valuable it is that you were here and you're able to tell me what happened?"

Obviously I wish Joe could be sitting in the damn bed right now, safe, recuperating. Being with Basco isn't high on my list of ten things I want my PTSD-y, injured son to be experiencing right now.

But our lives have never been safe, there could be some good out of this, and it's not this Shotarou's fault.

[halfboiledjoker]

His words hit me and I blink once, twice, then look up at him. "You're going after them," I say, almost deadpan. But I'm not sure who this guy is - although I'm sure I should know at this point - and he certainly knows me.

I shake my head. "If you're going, I'm going," I say as my head clears. Finding my resolve can do that. "We need to bring him back safe."

That's why I'm here in the first place, isn't it?

[yellowlion]

I nod. "Joe's my son. I trust him, I trust his abilities. But he's been hurt, and he's my son. I won't leave him without help."

...that's the spirit. Good for you, kid. "Thank you."

[halfboiledjoker]

Joe's his...

Of course. This is Joe's adopted dad, suddenly a lot more makes sense. Granted, it doesn't make sense why his father is not more upset with the fact that his son just burst out the side of a building with a spiny red monster, but we can just take things one step at a time. "You can thank me when he's home safe," I say as I climb to my feet.

We've wasted enough time because of my weakness. I straighten my hat on my head and give him a nod. "Let's go."