[Center][b][h2]Mockingbird[/h2][/b]
LOCATION:]The Maw - The Depths
WORD COUNT: 1,209
MENTIONS: Blazermate, Sakura
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The large suit turned to look at Blazermate, unsure of what exactly she expected it to do. Had it not explained it good enough? Flesh. Human. Not a diving suit! Her lack of any real reasoning for it to believe otherwise left it raising it's arms to shrug at the huge monster that was now a threat to them all, but mainly the submarine with Junior inside. [b]"Decoys are a no-go,"[/b] It explained, gesturing towards the water as it continued: [b]"Wouldn't go anywhere but straight down. Maybe the glow could be a distraction if that thing came over here, though."[/b] A lack of faith in the idea being of any use lead the Mockingbird to not thinking hard on it, though it did consider seeing if it could bamboozle that thing, since it got the holo-suit back anyhow.

This moment of thought was interrupted by a familiar voice, the Mockingbird glanced downward to see Sakura. The guilt Mirage had felt prior carried over to the suit, and that caused it to try and stay a little lighthearted as to not distress her further than she had been already. [b]"Careful with the 'Mister' stuff, kiddo. You're gonna make me sound old."[/b] It joked, but started taking things more serious as she kept talking. Looking back at the smaller Mirage in the pilot seat, it agreed that things were confusing at the very least. It had no grasp of why there'd be a version of itself with red eyes, but Sakura seemed to want to talk, and considering it's blunders with her before, it decided to hear her out. [b]W-Well, I can't exactly do much to help right now, so I can hear you out."[/b] It didn't particularly know Sakura well, but it had seen her attempt of being kind to Carl, and considering the reaction most of the others had... That said a lot.

Speaking of Carl, she brought him up! [b]"Yeah... I remember."[/b] It answered in a more somber voice, unsure of where she was going with this. Hearing her talk about what Carl was, or at least what they had assumed he was, lead the Mockingbird to nod. [b]"Right. We have technology like that back in the Outlands; Putting humans into machines."[/b] Carl was a lot different from the humanoid constructs back home, but the idea was the same, it thought. It also still didn't understand how it was Sakura's fault. As Sakura's hand met with the Mockingbird's, it was surprised to feel... Nothing, at all. Not the softness of a hand, or the warmth one would expect. The empty, almost numb feeling, really, almost caused the Mockingbird to physically shudder out of fear. It decided to comply and follow after her, it's heavy footsteps easily overshadowing any noise Sakura herself might have made.

Edging closer to the water, it listened closely to what Sakura had to say. It's mind raced, piecing together what she was saying and matching it up with the fact that... Where it had just regained consciousness, it shouldn't have been there. [b]"But, I can see myself. I don't see any suit, Sakura. It doesn't make sense that the last thing I remember before waking up was the headache, but this is still crazy."[/b] Though stubborn, it wasn't going to tell her off for requesting for it to look into the water, even though it had no idea what good that would do.

However, as it did, it went extremely quiet. Where the Mockingbird observed itself as perfectly normal, it found itself stunned as nature's own reflection showed it something entirely different. It swung an arm, as if it make sure it was itself in that reflection. Seeing the suit in the water, but seeing it's own perfectly normal human arm on it's actual body. 

It was difficult to comprehend, though it's own knowledge of Mirage's homeworld didn't mark it as impossible. It never could have imagined how simple it was to see yourself as human, even after something like this. It noted it'd have to give Revenant some pity once it got back home... Though, if it wasn't the original Mirage, were the Outlands really it's home? Regardless of originality, it felt real, and it's mind was on a different track from the original Mirage's. It was still alive, and that was possibly the only thing keeping it from breaking down.

[b]"I see it."[/b] It answered, her apology weighing heavy on a heart that didn't exist. It sighed, unsure of what to possibly do in this situation. Things were wild... It was the same person that came into the Maw with them, yet at the same time, it wasn't. This stuff was confusing. [b]"You're the one that deserves an apology."[/b] It added, kneeling down for a moment to get on more even ground with Sakura for a second. [b]"Carl, earlier... Well, I guess that wasn't me, but it was, that treated it in a kind of off-handed way. I pushed it aside as just being a malfunctioning machine, and then went into that chair and started controlling him after he was gone."[/b] 

One of it's metallic hands scratched against the floor, clenching into a fist. [b]"I'm not, uh, one to usually say how I feel. But it was... Gut-wrenching to realize where I was when the helmet connected me to that BULL. I know the implications, but I wanted to give us any chance we could at getting out of here faster."[/b] Though it had no real face, it was fairly obvious that it was staring directly at Sakura, simply adding: [b]"It might not mean much, but I [i]am[/i] really sorry."[/b]

It pulled itself to it's full height, view shifting between the group and the BULL now in the water. Looking back down at Sakura, it only had a bit more to say. [b]"You'll probably hear this from, well, [i]ME[/i] me later. I guess you can cut him a break, yeah?"[/b] 

With that, it braced itself before bringing itself closer to the edge. With a wide step it managed to drop down onto the BULL, it's weight causing the machine to shift slightly, though nothing severe. [b]"Guess I'll hitch a ride on this thing! What could possibly go wrong, right? Unless a certain someone crashes this thing like the Mirage Voyage!"[/b]

Mirage was glad to see some semblance of peace, but the comment was still irritating. [color=DEBA42]"Hey, Mirage-Two, you technically crashed it too!"[/color]

[b]"No,"[/b] The Mockingbird answered, hands on it's hips. [b]"I'm my own person, weird diving-suit thing or not. Mirage-Two ain't gonna fly!"[/b] It pondered what to call itself, before a sudden stroke of genius caused it to raise a hand, as if a light bulb turned on. [b]"I think I'm gonna go with... Duerage!"[/b]

With the helmet on, nobody could see Mirage roll his eyes at this.

[b]"Eh, tough crowd! Just remember it so you can cheer for me once I come back from saving the day!"[/b]

Despite everything, Sakura's approach in the end had yielded positive results for the Mockingbird-- Duerage. It was still in need of time to cope, but it could deal with things once all of it's friends were safe. So once Junior and the BULL took the dive, it'd be going too. And it'd offer the hammiest salute it could muster while doing it! To Sakura, in particular.