A/N

It's hard to pass judgement on Recreation right now, but suffice to say, the trailer certainly got my attention. That Church isn't gone (yay!) and Caboose being on fire tends to do that. Hope Wash turns up though...

Anyway, yeah, came up with this after I saw it.

Remembrance

When I possessed Sarge back in another life (literally), I learnt that the Red believed the sniper rifle to be a coward's weapon. That if you were to kill someone, you had to do it while looking them in the eye and delivering crappy one-liners. Suffice to say, I wasn't too taken in with his ideology and became even more willing to use my sniper rifle. And fail. Miserably.

So looking at tweedle-dumb and tweedle-dumber through the scope of said rifle as they debate the finer points of mathematics, I decide not to shoot at them. Not that the maroon and yellow (sorry, orange) soldiers are any better or worse than Sarge and their communist robot, but seriously, I just can't be arsed to use this gun. It's inevitable that I'll miss. And besides, the whole justice from beyond the grave thing doesn't sit well with me.

Oh yeah. Did I forget to mention that I'm dead? Some kind of ghost/AI condemned to roam the world of the living? That my name is Leonard Church? Well, no, I didn't forget to mention it. Because seriously, who cares?

"I'm sure this'll end well," I say to myself, taking my ethereal eye from the rifle's scope. I turn around and walk away from Red Base, letting the lie sink in. I'm not sure that this will end well-random conversations between those noobs tends to head off in unexpected directions, such as the arrival of rookies and a tank no-one can drive. But I'm past caring. And yes, while I complain about how those douches have killed me (twice!), that's just for effect. I don't really care. No. Of course I don't. Grif, Simmons, Sarge, even Donut...yes...don't care about them at all...

"I'm on fire! That's bad! Bad fire! Bad fire go away!"

I mean, if I was killed by an alien (which I was), or a monster (or was that blarg beast a monster? Is there a difference?) or some kind of sororitory blow job massacre (don't ask, I'd rather not reflect on that), that I could handle.

"Please stop burning! Nothing else burn."

Ah yes. Something else I've become used to.

It's no surprise really, given that Caboose is a team-killing fuck...nah, I can't be angry right now. Watching the Mark V armoured...thing on fire brings back so many pleasant memories. Such as the time when Tucker and I celebrated his un-birthday. You know, one out of the 364 days in a year where the human race was spared an abomination of nature being included in their gene pool. A memorable occasion, given that Caboose somehow got himself on fire with the candle (yes candle. Representing his level of intelligence).

"And this is my legacy?" I ask as I watch Caboose burn. "What did I do to deserve this?"

I don't know. I don't know any more than Tucker knowing how many days there are in a week. Does he remember me? Does Caboose remember me? Probably not, especially since O'Malley killed Leonard when he possessed the rookie back in Blood Gulch, probably replaced by someone called Marvin. Or Phil. Or the yellow me. It's hard to remember now.

"Ugh," I say to myself. "This has all gone so wrong."

"Well?" asks a voice. "What are you gonna do about it Church?"

"Do? I ask, turning back to look at my co-spirit. "What can I do Tex? I'm dead. I'm gone."

Yeah...I guess I forgot to mention that by some great twist of fate Tex is in the same situation as me, having suddenly appeared after more than a year of absence. That's timed entrances and Deus Ex Machina for you.

"Aw come on Church," she says. "They say you're never completely dead if someone still remembers you."

"Yeah...but look who's left to remember me. Him?"

On cue Caboose comes running out, still on fire and still able to complain about it in a completely ineffective manner. Kind of funny, but jokes lose their impact after the first time you hear them. And watching a joke is no different.

I don't feel inclined to help him, even if by some chance Caboose does remember me. As I explain to Tex, I certainly feel dead. You know, the kind of dead of being encased in cement and shot into the sun. And while the impact of such a statement has decreased ever since we landed on the sun (despite what those conspiracy theorists say), she gets the general drift. It's a long way back for me. For both of us really. Two ghosts/AIs trapped in the physical world, remembered only by the detritus of civilization.

"Okay," says Tex. "So are we done?"

I remain silent, watch a non-flaming Caboose head back into Blue Base, expressing unreasonable hope that he can do whatever he's doing without setting fire to himself. I'd wish him luck, but I don't want to waste words. Besides, would he even remember who I am? The last person who...wait.

I've been going about this all wrong.

"No..." I say to myself. "No, we're not done."

"Well if we're not done..." says Tex slowly, thinking my words are directed at her, "then let's get started."

I smile faintly. Funny how English 101 works so much better than English 102. You know, how words can take on more than one meaning, like me 'thanking' Tex for her wisdom. Yes, I want to thank her, but not for wisdom. Rather, it's for...well, I don't know. But despite being killed numerous times, despite being forgotten by the universe, despite my legacy being non-existent...if Tex remembers me...

I can live with that.

...

...

... "I'm on fire! That's bad! Bad fire! Bad fire go away!"