Colonel was alone.

Not in the metaphorical sense. Nobody was with him. It didn't phase the massive Reploid, but being the only one of his kind in town WAS a downer. The rain ran down his face, and he plodded over to the river to refresh the stock of clean water he shared with Nova, but hesitated, the colour not right. The Reploid knelt, softly sweeping up a handful and tasting, before jerking up rapidly.

Reploids...? Blood?

The Repliforce soldier glanced in the direction the water came from, and began running. The man himself was not a medic, but he could help.

He reached the source a while later. A muddy, half-beaten body was laying on the banks; whomever it was, they were alone. Enough evidence for the Repliforcer to consider it a potential homicide before kneeling down and wiping the face with a handkercheif.

And he froze, for one moment.

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

Pain. Whatever the Maverick had used to disable her sure worked, and all she felt was a wracking pain, trying to fly away. But she couldn't, and the chains at her feet tightened as she fought. She refused to die. Not again...

Nova rolled the warm, damp towel up and glanced at Colonel, tossing it in aside. The mud was of, but being homeless didn't help this case. Atleast she was clean... Even if she had Nova's hair. Colonel sat down, examining her vitals. System status was fine. But she was cute up, and a chassis puncture wound was never good. The massive Reploid pulled the much smaller one up on his lap, and held her steady. Nova looked over.

"I take it you know who that is, o lord of paranoia?" Nova said. Instead of chiding her sarcastic tone, Colonel nodded.

"...Yes. Very well."

An arm shift, and he was holding her closer. Nova snickered, saying nothing at the dirty look given her, before shaking her head.

"Well, she'd better pull her weight, or atleast have cash for a house."

Another glare, and Nova fled, leaving Colonel to his attention.

Still wandering. Still walking. Still--Oooh, this was new. A wave of heat took over and the Reploid murmured a bit, snuggling into it. Warm was good. This was very nice. Wait, where the heck was she now? There was a quick pressure on her arm, and she snapped back to the situation. That was right... That bloody Maverick had shot her with that dart item. She flinched, something was messing around with it and it was bugging out a bit before hit with a feeling of nausea. Oh sh-, this meant...

A hmph and she was irritated. The little soandso had used poison!...No wonder her surroundings looked like a bad anime. The Reploid tried to move and get up, and felt pinned. If there was pressure, there was someone there, which meant....

And she immediately snapped her hand up, trying to regain some form of control, instead of waiting to shut down.

Colonel finished tying the tourniquet and scratched his chin. The wound was treated with the antitoxin he had on hand for emergencies, and it was closed, now it was a matter of--FWAP!

Colonel was taken by surprise when she smacked him in her sleep. Oh HO. It worked faster than he thought. But instead of moving her hand back to her side, it stayed out, wiggling inquisitively. It took him a minute tops to figure it out. She was still unconscious, but she was fighting it now. That was good. The Reploid reached over, grabbing her hand.

"No, no, right here. I'm right here."

He tugged her hand and put it to his face. The hasnd immediately began to feel out his features before pulling away. Rinse, lather repeat.

She had a face now. Whoever it was, seemed friendly, though as she felt out the face, her body began to tense in confusion. Was it? No freaking way. He was dead. He was gone. He'd be cleaved in two peices, it was practically all over the comm frequencies when--this was surreal. Was she dead? Now she had to find out, and she surged, turning into a blue energy form for faster flight, and surged forward, trying to call out.

"Mmrrbblleerr!"

Colonel blinked. She was starting to try coming around, and this was going to be... Interesting. And Nova was no help by now. She had brought over dinner, and was pretty much looking for a stick to poke the lettuce with. He had objected, but she ignored. Typical.

"Mmmrrfffel!"

Again, and Colonel was starting to figure out what was going on. She was FINALLY waking up. Definitely good.

"Come on. You're close. Come on."

"COLONEL!

WHAM. She jerked up and knocked the much larger reploid on his back, landing on top roughly. The both of them were frozen that way in suprise a minute before Colonel chuckled.

"Well, it's good to see you're awake." The Repliforcer chuckled, and the smaller Reploid was unamused.

"Aren't you dead?"

So blunt. Colonel thought a moment before answering the question.

"I suppose I was. I also suppose it's safe to quote Monty Python and state I must have gotten better." Colonel smirked softly. The smaller Reploid blinked.

"Got... Better."

"Yes."

She rolled her eyes at him and got up, dusting herself off before wobbling and falling again. Colonel immediately caught her in an arm.

"I don't think you're 100% back to par yet..."

"How long have you been here?" She looked up sharply. Colonel sighed. He understood the paranoia. He was supposed to be dead. He and Iris. He knew that. He REMEMBERED dying.

He decided not to ask why he had the second chance and the fates that had brought the smaller Reploid to him again, instead lifting her into his arms.

"I've been here several months. You've been in a coma since I found you three days ago."

That did it, and she was muted for several minutes before latching on nervously. Was she dead back home too now? Had she died? She looked nervous. She hadn't felt dead-- she knew what dead was -- but... Was she dead at home? She felt Colonel wrap a hand around her shoulder reassuringly, and blinked. Oh, yeah, he was still there.

"Amelia... You're alright. Whatever happened, it happened for a reason." Colonel sighed. He sounded like General, and he had a feeling his commander had suffered a fate like his, only with more explosions. The smaller Reploid looked up, pale.

"Are you sure you aren't General?"

Oh, Jesus.

"Yeeees." Colonel huffed. She smiled nerviously. He hadn't changed atleast. The larger Reploid tucked her close. He wasn't letting go this time. Last time he'd walked away, he'd been killed. She blinked, eying Colonel's face a minute. Just as bizzare a look in his eyes as ever. She never did understand. One eyebrow went up.

"Is anyone else here?"

Colonel rolled his eyes.

"No, not any other Reploids to my knowledge, but the residents are usually very polite."

"HAH!"

And Nova walked into the area, cracking her back, then blinked, pointing at the smaller Reploid.

"YOU. Finances?"

"....Uhm. I have money."

"How much?"

"Don't ask. I budget."

"Can you afford a house?"

"Uhm. Probably."

"WE HAVE A WINNER!" And Nova patted her head. "Welcome aboard, mate."

Colonel raised his eyes.

"Amielia, this is my 'roommate'. Nova. And I'm well aware of the Irony, Nova."

Amielia raised an eyebrow at the other lettuce.

"I'm afraid to ask."