Fourth Dispatch - [voice]/[action]

[captainhornblower]

(After this [log rated R for violence]

Italics should be considered to be coming from Archie's journal, as it has been left open and on, but Horatio does not know this.)


[Footsteps approached the door, and it opened.]

Archie, I'm--

Archie! Archie!

[The man speaking hurried over and dropped down. His hand covered the fingers on the display for a moment before it slid up, pressing against the wrist. A pulse of some kind.]

Thank God... Archie. Archie, can you hear me? Archie!

God damn it.

What sort of bastard--

God damn it!

[He's on his feet, moving about. There's more than a bit of noise. Thuds and cracks. Things being discarded without care.

He approaches, sinks down beside his friend and throws open his own journal...]

Damn it. Bastard withcraft journal. Work, God damn it!


[He's gotten the voice on.

And instantly, his voice is calmer. He knows what he needs to do, even if his hands are shaking. Fabric is being ripped as he speaks, and he's half panting.]

D-Dr. McCoy.

Dr. McCoy, if you hear this, please. Please respond.

Archie-- Archie's hurt.

I need help.

Comments

[ voice ] 1/2

[tothelibrary.livejournal.com]

[ just silence. ]

[ voice ]

[tothelibrary.livejournal.com]

What happened. [ not a tone anyone but the people from sunnydale have ever heard from dawn. ]

[ voice ]

[captainhornblower]

I--

[His voice cannot break. His voice cannot break. His voice cannot break.

But it is very quiet. And perhaps shakier than he realizes.]

I don't know.

I was out.

[action] In which Kyra wishes she had AIM at work.

[tehoniongirl.livejournal.com]

[When the swearing starts, her gaze is drawn to the journal...first in surprise.

...then in cold fear.

Dr. McCoy. Len. Was he home? Was he-

She doesn't respond to the journal right away. Just snatches it up and runs to look for the Doctor. His room first, and then the kitchen if she can't find him.

It's after shouting McCoy's name down the hall that she gathers herself enough to focus on the journal and, on the other end, Horatio.]

What's happened? How bad...how bad is it?

[action]

[captainhornblower]

[Horatio wants to go on another tirade.

But with a young woman speaking to him-- especially with Jilly speaking to him-- he can't.]

It... It's not good.

[The lack of detail reveals more, really, than what he's actually saying.]

[action]

[tehoniongirl.livejournal.com]

How not good?

Is he breathing?

[please say yes. Please say yes. Please say-

Nevermind. If Len's in the house, he'll have heard her even if he missed the journal. And with Archie at stake, she knows he won't linger. Whirling on her heel, she's out the door as fast as her feet can take her, abandoning house 7 and following the familiar path to Archie's apartment]

[ silence ]

[herotypical]

[ buffy doesn't answer. not with words, not with anything truly in response. what buffy does is get up and start to plan.

she can guess what might have happened and she doesn't like that guess; even had it been wrong, the present situation? something she has to deal with.

let those good at patching up people and comforting others pick up this tab -- meanwhile, buffy will finally begin the motions of confronting grell on her own. ]

[voice | horrible filter]

[all7seas]

What is it? What's happened, Hornblower?!

[voice | horrible filter]

[captainhornblower]

[It's the first male voice. The first person he doesn't have to protect-- even if most of the women would kill him for suggesting they needed to be protected.

Horatio's voice doesn't change. It's still quiet, but the wavering in it is less disguised.]

I wasn't here. I went out...

There's blood everywhere.

I wasn't here.

[voice | horrible filter]

[all7seas]

[Jack stands in shocked silence. Could it have been...? But Jilly was the one they'd all been protecting. If it had been Grell, she'd struck cleverly and true.]

It was good. It was good that you went out. Was he slashed across the chest?

[Voice]

[consultmybooks]

[This is...

...not possible. Not. It can't be. They'd talked just this afternoon. Kennedy had...Kennedy had promised to look out for Helios. He hadn't been okay, none of them had been okay, but...]

Is he...

[Giles swallows painfully before he continues.]

...what's happened?

[Voice]

[captainhornblower]

[The voice is new, but Horatio doesn't care.

He doesn't care about introducing himself. About who this might be.]

Someone attacked him.

While I was out.

Re: [Voice]

[consultmybooks]

With what? Have you managed to determine yet?

[He has his suspicions, like quite a few people currently connected to Jack Sparrow probably do.]

written

[erythrophilia.livejournal.com]

[The camera is obscured and the handwriting disguised.]

How is he holding?

written

[captainhornblower]

[It takes a long time for any writing to appear, and it's not the usual neat writing of Horatio Hornblower. It's not scrawled, but it's shaky.]

Not well.

written

[erythrophilia.livejournal.com]

[Same as above]

But he holds? I see the others came to help. He will survive.

[Voice//Filtered from Legato/Yuber]

[goldenglasses]

What happened!? Is he alright? [Er, probably not if you're calling for a doctor.]

[Voice//Filtered from Legato/Yuber]

[captainhornblower]

Someone...

I was out...

God damn it. God damn it!

[Voice//Filtered from Legato/Yuber]

[goldenglasses]

It's alright. Don't blame yourself. Is McCoy on the way?

[Filtered]

[endgames]

[Of all the times for it to happen - you survive out in the jungle, and these are the kinds of thing you come back to. He hasn't really known Archie for long - just blew up some cannons with him, actually. Even so. He reocgnizes the name.

He won't ask obvious questions - he can see - hear - for himself that it's bad, and they don't need the distractions. But he'll offer what he can, because if he's right he thinks it might be important.]

...does he live in Community Housing Building 1?

[Filtered]

[captainhornblower]

Yes.

[Filtered]

[endgames]

[Well fuck it all. He tries to get up from where he's lying on the couch, but of course it's no good. Chakra exhaustion. He can still barely move.]

I live in the same building. About ten, fifteen minutes ago, there was a gunshot.

[Voice]

[daisy023]

[God damn it. Why now?

Her voice is neutral.]

What's his condition?

[Voice]

[captainhornblower]

Dr. McCoy is assessing him.

[He sounds neutral... mostly. Except that is voice is more dulled than neutral. There's simply nothing behind it.]

[Voice]

[daisy023]

[McCoy. She had heard the name before. One of the people here that came from space-faring ages. She trusts he would know a lot to keep him alive.]

Type of injury?