[PRP] Belly of the Beast

[Gwennythe]

Ah. There was Xander! The grunt's eyes widened as she searched his face for any sign of visible injury. He'd been taken out of the room, she'd known, but she hadn't known he'd been brought straight back here. Her face betrayed relief at the sight of him.

"..re y' 'lright?" She asked, making no objection to being scooped up, though she winced and closed her eyes. Aside from her fading numbness, the first feelings she could really be aware of were quite a serious headache and nausea starting to grow in her aching stomach.

"... 'S everyone 'lright?" She asked, weakly but urgently- what had happened to Jerome? He'd been returning at the same time; what had they done to him?
Who was still in here? Had they all been hurt?  

[TawnyAngel]

Xander was brought back without Tam. Aulus looked hard at him for a few moment before looking away; it wasn't fair to expect him to have been able to stick with her.

Only when the door opened again did he look back up; Tam and Jerome, both looking terrible. While Xander moved to help Tambery Aulus squeezed Hayes' shoulder briefly before getting up and hastening over to Jerome. <******** arm was a mess!

He had no idea what you were supposed to do about broken bones, advice was generally something like 'don't move it, wait for the professionals to show up'. There weren't going to be any doctors coming to help them here.

"Fine Tam," he said with a glance at his student as she mumbled her question, "they've not been back save to drop Xander off since they took Jerome...."

After some moments of hesitation he knelt down beside the tattooed man and touched him lightly on the shoulder of his uninjured arm. He didn't know what else to do. Glancing back around the cell at the others he asked; "Anyone know a damn thing about setting bones?" Was there even any point, or would the Galactics just break it again next time they took him out of the cell? Yes, when not if. He was in no doubt at all that this had just been the beginning.


Apart from his brief conversation with Aulus Hayes had been quiet, staring at the same patch of floor for the past hour or two in silence, or at least letting his eyes rest there while his mind was somewhere else. He'd removed his second contact an hour ago when it started to sting, and that had been the end of his good vision.

Something stirred him now - maybe the returning members, maybe Aulus' question - and he raised his head toward the moving blurs in the cell. "Yeah. Some." It was hoarsely said; the blond got to his feet, pushing himself out of inaction. "Let me see."  

[Blood_Goddess]

Jerome lifted his head up when he felt something touch his shoulder, recognizing the Rocket with the scars.
The man looked at his arm, and spoke up about setting it, if anyone here knew how.

"s**t..." Jerome muttered, reaching up with his good hand to rub at his face.
It wasn't fun the first time, and he already didn't want anyone touching his arm.
But he wasn't going to fight it, if it would help... Still holding that impulse that he needed his arm.  

[Shawn Darrow]

The boy jerked out of his trance.

People were moving. There were voices. Voices of his teammates. Slowly, slowly things came back into focus. Dark shapes and vague outlines. Hayes' partner, Aulus, was asking about setting a bone. More broken bones? Did the Galactic's cruelty know no bounds?

Hayes was already moving over to examine it, but Shadow wanted to do something. He had to, or his fear and despair would overtake him once more. He didn't know how to set a bone, but...he was the only uninjured one now, it seemed, next to Xander, perhaps. Crawling over, the teen shed his long coat and took off his shirt, ripping it into strips that Hayes could possibly use to bind a splint. They had so little to use as it was.

Clenching his jaw shut, as if speaking would bring about more disaster for them all, the teen withdrew his coat back around him and stood by in the case he could help. His eyes darted here and there, determined not to linger too long n any one spot lest he slip into another, terror-themed stupor.  

[Tinnunculus]

Worn sneakers approached Jerome. Hayes dropped into a crouch, leaning close with a non-confrontational "Hey." The blond squinted, trying to make out what he could of the gangster's injury, but didn't reach out yet. "Where'd they get you?"  

[Blood_Goddess]

"S'just the arm." He said when the blond with the Star Wars shirt came over as well, glancing over for a moment at the youngest boy in the group, who offered them his shirt to help.
"Tried t'make sure it was broken r' somethin'" He finished with a soft growl.

He watched the blond closely, letting him look over the arm as he glanced over to Shadow.
"... Y'cool kid?" he asked, noticing the look on the boy's face.  

[Natsuko-neko]

Xander put his other arm under Tambrey's legs and started to scoop her up the best he could for a fast, careful move. "I'm fine."He said and moved her over towards the wall in the back with the others. "Sorry I couldn't help you more." He said with a guilty look as he set her down against the wall. With her moved he looked over at Jerome and winced at the mess his arm was, glad at least Hayes seemed to know something to help.  

[Shawn Darrow]

Shadow looked up abruptly when he was addressed, nodding in silence at the question. His face crumpled, and for a minute, it looked like he might have been about to cry. How could this man ask him that after he'd just been tortured and had his broken arm re-broken?! How could he still have concern for others?

But no, he had to suck it up and hold his breath. Wouldn't cry here. Not with the enemy watching. "I...I just really...really hope you'll be alright," he said finally, his voice cracked and hoarse from disuse. "Everyone's been so brave...and...and..." He didn't know what else to say, his gaze and sentence both dropping where they were.  

[TawnyAngel]

Aulus avoided looking at Shadow because he didn't feel very brave at all. Maybe the kid was just being kind, or was already going slightly crazy. Feeling usless, squirmy, and awkward he pulled off his own shirt and starting tearing it into strips as the younger Rocket had.

The Galactics were just watching them. Were they really so immune to human suffering? Was a lot of his own team in the end? They were criminals, they made a living out of other peoples' suffering. It was hard to remember that day to day, and even in here when the nature of his life was thrown so sharply into focus it was hard to remember because here they all were helping one another, caring for one another.

Whatever they did to others Team Rocket looked out for their own, stuck together through anything. Wasn't that what he'd always wanted; a place to belong where he was accepted? It was typical of his life that to have that he also had to become a criminal and live through things like this. It didn't matter though, none of it really mattered because more important than what he was a part of, more important than anything that might be done to him... more importantly than any of that was bent over Jerome's broken arm. Protect him from the Galactics. Nothing else mattered.  

[Tinnunculus]

Hayes nodded. "'Kay. I'm gonna straighten this. It might hurt." 'Might' because for all he knew, what they'd done to Jerome's arm could be overloading his pain receptors right now. It was easy to see how the bones had sheared; no one was supposed to have a pointed lump trying to poke through the skin.

The blond glanced down at his hands, then took hold of the gangster's arm above and below the break, expression focused as he applied gentle traction to pull the broken ends apart.  

[Blood_Goddess]

The paled man shook his head softly a couple of times, lowering his head but keeping a warn gaze on Shadow.
What could he really say to that? brave? maybe, Jerome didn't really think of it like that, they were probably just trying to survive.
As for them being okay... well, that wasn't likely to happen.
Saying they were not going to be okay would be realistic, but this kid looked like he was about to burst into tears, he was terrified.

"Ya ever been in a situation like this?" He asked after a few moments of watching him, grateful to have a distraction while the others looked over his arm.

Jerome didn't get much time to get the answer at the moment, Scars was ripping up his own shirt now, and the blond was voicing that he was ready to set the bone.
The gangster glanced over at him, his features already tensing and stony as he shifted his posture to brace himself.
"A'ight..."

It hurt from just being touched, but as Hayes started to put pressure,
The bones started to move back into place, with highly unpleasant noises that probably sounded a lot worse to Jerome.

"aaaAAAH-!" Jerome howled when, with a final 'crack' the bones slipped back into place.
"Mother ********!" He yelled harshly, a way unusual from his typical chill self.
Jerome slammed his shoulder back against the bars, as if trying to somehow escape the pain, then hunched over to burrowing his face into a hand.
He remained like this for a couple of seconds, shaking, before he slumped completely to his other side, sliding along the bars and to the ground.  

[Shawn Darrow]

"Not...not with other people," Shadow found himself answering Jerome. His sight was still trained on the ground, as if he weren't worthy of looking up at the man addressing him. "I've had some hard times before," he said quietly, "But I never had to face it with a team."

This had both its advantages and disadvantages. The teen was certainly used to surviving on his own and facing street thugs who wanted to rob and otherwise hurt him. However, it had never been anything like this, where torture - both physical and psychological - was involved. And he'd never had teammates to worry about before.

The company was welcome and the grunt was grateful that he wasn't alone in the situation, but he also felt a whole lot more responsible for the welfare of the other Rockets. It was a little much for someone who had been so independent most of his life. Unlike Jerome, Shadow had only been used to looking out for himself. It had been a lonely lifestyle, but manageable for someone of his age on his own.

Gaze straying to another shirt being ripped, the kid noticed the Agent Aulus doing as he had done. Well, at least that was an indication that he'd done something right if a higher-up was following suit, right...? But the man refused to look at him. The grunt shifted uncomfortably where he sat. He'd vaguely registered the brawny man weeping earlier over the limb body of his partner.

He'd felt embarrassed to have witnessed such a personal and intimate thing, but inside the boy truly admired Aulus' ability to show such compassion for a fellow Rocket. Shedding tears would have been the last thing he'd have expected the scarred agent to have done. It was somewhat comforting to know even the burly, trained Aulus was human enough to cry under the stress of their situation.

At that moment in his thoughts, a blood-curdling yell reached his ears, interrupting them. Shadow shut his eyes tight, tensing at the pain in Jerome's voice and the sound of the tattooed Rocket slamming back against the bars. Uncertainly, wishing there was something he could do to relieve the man's pain, he went over to the gangster and knelt by his side. He sighed and looked over at Hayes.

"I don't know how you guys can do these sorts of things," he said in a low whisper. "I used to think I had what it took to be a Rocket, but..." Causing a fellow Rocket pain, even if it was for his own good - that took real courage. Shawn didn't think he would have ever been able to do anything of the sort. It made him think of his former best friend back in Goldenrod, Flint Adare.

No, there was no way he would have been able to help him like Hayes had helped Jerome, even if his friend was suffering. It seemed there was more to Hayes being an Elite Agent than his skill with technology. There was more to being a Rocket than having specialized skills or being able to survive on your own.  

[Tinnunculus]

Moving another person's bones around felt like shifting bricks inside a sock; 'unnatural' was describing it lightly. Hayes stuffed the thought in the back of his mind where his others had been going lately. It was getting crowded in there. "M'gonna go slow with this," he mumbled. "Say if it- s**t." By the look of dull surprise on his face, Jerome's reaction hadn't been what he was expecting, and he released his hold as the man jerked around suddenly rather than risk dislocating the bone ends again.

The blond's mouth twitched in a grimace. "Yeah. Hand me those bandages?" he asked Shawn without making eye contact. His attention was on Jerome.

"Aulus, help sit him up."  

[TawnyAngel]

Aulus closed his eyes at Jerome's cry of pain and tried to wish all of this away again. Stupid really, it wasn't going to happen. At Hayes' instruction he nodded, taking a careful hold of the injured grunt and moving him back into a sitting position, keeping a gentle hold of him to make sure he didn't fall over again. With this immediate, practical concern dealt with there was another one; Hayes was... not really sounding quite like Hayes. It wasn't blatant and in your face but to somebody who knew him well it was there. How could he be normal though, after what had been done to him? He could have made it stop. He could have told Tethys his rank.

Eventually he registered Shadow's words and glanced over at the kid. He had no idea what to say to any of that. He couldn't do this.  

[Shawn Darrow]

The grunt quickly handed over the strips of shirt, both his own and Aulus'. He clenched his teeth as the idea that Jerome needed Aulus to hold him in order to set the bone. More pain to their own teammates. This was worse than any torture the Galactics could have devised to use against them - causing them to deal pain to each other.

Feeling a set of crimson eyes upon him, he looked up immediately. It was the scarred face of Hayes' partner staring back at him. He looked tired; sad as before. Shadow tried to smile weakly at him. "I guess I'm learning the hard way that it's difficult to be so close to people. It takes a lot of guts, like yours. But...I'm also thinking that it might be worth it. It's way easier to know that we're in this together than that we're suffering on our own."

"...J-just...hang in there, Jerome," he murmured, holding onto Jerome's good arm, partly to help Aulus, partly in an attempt to be comforting. Though to comfort himself more or Jerome, he wasn't sure.