Chapter Eleven.
"Guys!" came the frantic voice of Captain America over Iron Man's built in communicator. "We have a problem!"
"Let me guess ... you found Nerida?" Iron Man replied with a sardonic bite in his tone.
"Yes - do you have Loki?"
"We do, Steve. We have recruited him for this task since he made the beast - now he gets to deal with her."
Captain America was silent for a moment and then he continued, "I am not going to engage her yet; I'll wait for you guys. In the mean time, I will start securing the perimeter and assessing access points."
"She is on the U.S. Bank tower, right?"
"Yes, and ... it is nothing like you have ever seen."
Iron Man glanced around at the group. "All right, we are on our way."
"What is going on?" Chino questioned at Iron Man. "Where is Nerida?"
"Still on top of the U.S. Bank tower," Iron Man remarked dismissively. "I need you to take the Audi Downtown as quickly as possible - and you have to take this asshat with you." He threw a thumb out in Loki's direction.
Chino glared at him. "Are you fucking kidding me? What if he tries to kill me?"
"If he even plucks a hair from your head, I will destroy him myself," said Thor, pointing Miljnor directly at Loki. "Do not fear, Chino. You will be safe ... the entire world rests upon the choices my brother will make in the next short hours."
Chino rolled as his eyes as he opened the driver's side door of the Audi. "That makes me feel so much better." He slunk into the driver's seat, Loki opening the passenger door and sliding in himself. Chino rolled down the window as Iron Man began to hover above the sand and Thor started to spin Miljnor fiercely. "Hey, we're gonna be at least forty minutes behind you what with the traffic and everything on the 110."
"Not in that car, you won't," Iron Man said. "She has power - use it." He and Thor took off across the the sky.
Chino grumbled, "I'm not a damn race car driver, either." He turned the car on, put it into gear and then took off across the sand again, glancing in the rear view mirror every now and again as the wall of water behind him continued to stream upwards into the clouds.
After a few minutes and with the beach still far ahead, Loki said firmly, "Can't you go any faster?"
"No, I can't actually," Chino snapped. "I don't know if you have cars on your planet, but sand and speed don't mix very well. So unless one of your powers includes sprouting wings, hold on and shut the fuck up."
"May I remind you, human, that I am not someone you can merely toy around with. I can destroy you."
"Listen - because of you, my friend is going to destroy everything. You have literally taken everything that I care about and ruined it. I don't have to do anything for you - except get you Downtown so you can fix all of this bullshit."
"You know, Chino, she betrayed me, too." Loki looked at him. "I am also a victim here."
"You are not a victim. All of this is because of you. You are the bad guy here. You did this to Nerida. And no matter what you say, she may have betrayed you but she used me. She always has. It doesn't matter what she does now ... you will never know the pain I have felt from her. Tsunami wave - pssh. Who the fuck cares? I have let her rip my heart out of my chest a million times and it is still a pain that is so unbearable but that I crave over and over again. A pain you will never know."
"I know a thing or two about pain, boy," said Loki, far away. And then Loki said nothing for a while. He stared out the window, casting his gaze heavenward every now and again to search the skies for Thor and Iron Man.
The Audi finally made it up onto the beach and Chino drove it back towards the mansion so that he could follow the road out onto Esplanade and eventually hit Pacific Coast Highway. As he turned onto PCH and began to head north, he realized that despite the speed of the vehicle, he still had to consider cops, pedestrians and other obstacles that were a part of driving in the South Bay and Los Angeles. He glanced around at the dash as he realized that Tony had made so many modifications to the car, obviously to accommodate his Iron Man feats. There was a turbo button located on the Audi's steering wheel that his thumb brushed over several times as he contemplated the consequences of following through with such an action.
"Will that make us go faster?" Loki questioned, staring at Chino's hands on the wheel.
"I think so," he replied.
"Why don't you push it?"
"Do you realize how many cops we will have on our ass if I start driving 160 in a 45 mile zone?"
Loki rolled his eyes and pushed the button on the roof, which began to draw back the sunroof. "You are starting to sound like that Captain America annoyance."
"What are you doing?" Chino demanded.
When the shade did not move fast enough, Loki punched through it, throwing the slab of glass off the top of the car.
"Are you fucking kidding me? This is a $116,000 car!"
"Yeah, and it's not yours!" Loki hissed as he popped through the sun roof, grasping the roof of the car. Leaning in again, he said, "That wave will not care how much you humans love your vehicles - if you don't get us there fast enough, there won't be a fight at all; we'll all be under water."
"What are you going to do if I push that button?"
"Give you a path."
Swallowing deeply and the muscles in his hands tight, Chino slammed a hand onto the button, launching the car forward. Because it was so early in the morning, the traffic was not too heavy as he made his way up 190th towards the 110 freeway. Nearly crashing the car as he took it over the massive hill on 190th, Chino managed to get the to the freeway with minimal help from Loki. It wasn't until he hit the 110 at the 405 that the traffic started to cluster. It was at this time that Loki began to generate a field that physically forced the cars ahead of them out to the sides, denting, scratching and causing small fender benders as they passed. Of course, several cop cars began to chase them as they sped on, their sirens blaring and the red and blue lights flashing at them from behind. Gritting his teeth and strangling the wheel with his hands, Chino anxiously attempted to follow the straightest path he could to get them to the tower. From the roof, he heard Loki call down to him, "So far, so good."
"Do you know how much property damage you have caused?"
"Again, irrelevant with that massive wave behind us!" He paused. "I see buildings - is that Los Angeles?"
It was. Through the morning haze and layer of smog, Chino could see the Los Angeles skyline ahead of them. And even though looking solely for the U.S. Bank Tower was not something he generally did when he was headed to L.A., his eyes did not need to search too hard for it. Amidst the hazy gray morning Chino and Loki could see a blaze of blue coming off of the top of the tower. It was Nerida.
"I see her!" Chino yelled up at Loki.
"I do too," Loki responded gravely. "And she is looking more powerful than ever."
"Seriously, this was your big plan?"
"This wasn't my plan at all, actually. My plan involved more kneeling and glory ... hers is all about death and destruction."
Chino nodded. "Yup, that sounds like Nerida." Chino sped the Audi off the freeway while Loki continued to funnel the vehicle along the path he created. Although he had left many of the cop cars behind, he noticed that their lights were not necessary following them any more. Black police helicopters were beginning to fly overhead. Both Loki and Chino glanced skyward as they raced towards Downtown, unaware of the Audi that was flying across the ground below them.
"They cannot engage her. This will destroy any chance we have of speaking to her first," Loki said angrily. He slid into the seat and gripped the dashboard as they neared the Financial District. The buildings began to rise before them, the U.S. Bank Tower overpowering everything that stood in its shadow. A blaze of blue energy encompassed its rooftop. Many cars had pulled over, police sirens blared and pedestrians stared in curiosity as they all focused on the odd occurrence a thousand feet above them. "These humans ... so ignorant and foolish. Why do your people never run when there is blatant danger?"
"Probably because of the same reasons you keep coming back to dominate us - ignorance and foolishness."
Loki glared at him.
"If you haven't realized by now, we are never going to bow to you. We'll all drown before that day comes."
"Don't be so brave, boy. The Avengers can't live forever. You won't always have your precious saviors around to protect you."
"I don't need protecting. I'm not afraid to die."
Loki chuckled darkly. "So says the brave bystander. You're about to walk into the snake pit. Let us see if that is true then, when Death breathes upon your fragile mortality."
"Are you close?" Iron Man's voice rang over them in the car.
"We're coming up to 5th."
"Good. This is an odd thing to say but park anywhere. We have the surrounding blocks evacuated and have told everyone to head to higher ground."
"Tony, are the cops there? They haven't shot at Nerida, have they?"
"No. We have told them to stand down, unless we need them."
"Good ... do you happen to know where Penny is?"
"Steve has her in the Bank Tower. It is the tallest tower in town ... just in case ... you know."
Chino's heart started to beat heavily within his chest. "I think we all know if that wave comes, it won't matter."
"Just get down here quickly. We are running out of time."
Chino pressed even hard on the accelerator. They were below the U.S. Bank Tower in less than five minutes. Empty cars were parked everywhere. 5th Street was nearly empty aside from the police barrier and random people who were brave (and stupid) enough to remain. Chino plowed through one of the barriers, police officers scrambling after the Audi. He halted the vehicle at the tower's entrance where Iron Man, Thor and Captain America stood waiting for them. He and Loki got of out the vehicle as the officers drew their weapons and yelled at them to halt.
Iron Man raised a hand to them. "They're with us," he told them. "They are our offensive team."
Chino stared up the face of the tower. "Holy shit," he exhaled as he saw the blue storm above them. "Nerida." He stared to take off towards the glass entrance when Captain America grabbed him by the shoulder.
"Not just yet, cowboy," he said, and Chino forcefully removed Captain America's hand from him.
"What the fuck are we waiting for?"
"You need to know the plan," Captain America replied. "You and Loki both need to go up there. Chino, you need to get to her first. Speak to her Do what you have to do. And then, Loki, you must get that Mind Stone, at any cost. If anything goes wrong, we will jump in to neutralize her."
"'Neutralize her'? She's not a fucking soldier," Chino spat.
Captain America moved in closer to him. "Right now, she is the enemy. You have to remember this; she is controlled by something else, something that doesn't feel or remember anything except wanting to unleash that wave. You have to find Nerida, Chino. You have to."
Gritting his teeth, Chino pushed past him and started for the glass doors. Loki looked back at them and tipped his head before following after him. Iron Man, Thor and Captain America watched them as they passed into the building, Thor gripping Miljnor abrasively.
"I hope this works," Iron Man muttered. "I feel insanely stupid right now for letting the biggest douche bag in the galaxy and some random guy off the street just waltz up there to do our job." He paused. "It is kind of funny though, I mean, the situation. Kind of awkward, them both being into the same chick who wants to destroy our world ... almost like a soap opera or some pathetic love story."
Captain America said, "Tony ..."
"Yeah?"
"Shut up."
Under his mask, Tony rolled his eyes. "You are such a killjoy."
Chino gripped the railing of the elevator uncomfortably as the small cab ascended the tower. It was silent. Loki stood away from him, watching the floor numbers rise. Chino was almost sure that if Nerida did not kill him, he would have a heart attack; his heart was pounding furiously within his ribcage.
"I see your fear deceives you," Loki said quietly, not looking at him. "Your pulse is unmatched."
"I think I have a right to be," replied Chino just as softly. "I don't get to hide behind a mask or cape. I'm walking in completely unarmed. Who is the actual brave one here?"
"How romantic," Loki pressed. "How do you plan on taking on this Goliath little David?"
"That's the thing you don't realize, Loki," Chino replied, looking at him. "You think just because I can't physically do anything that I am useless. The thing is, no matter how much you think you and Nerida have something between you, I have so much more. You may have won her heart in the end, Tom, but I know her heart." He lowered his gaze, becoming lost in his own thoughts. "There is a song I wrote about her. She used to ask me about it all of the time. I never told her ... I never told her that a lot of the songs I wrote were about her. For her. The angry ones, the sad ones ... the love songs. She doesn't know how much she has influenced my music. It's why I write. If I don't have Nerida in my life, I won't have inspiration ... and I won't have my music." Now he looked at Loki harshly. "She is so much more to me than a piece of ass. And I am going to tell her that."
Loki smacked his lips. "I admire your flare for the dramatic. Though, it is futile, so I hope you are prepared to die."
"I am, Loki. Like I said, death doesn't scare me. Losing her does."
"I will expect your gratitude later when I save us all."
The elevator stopped on the rooftop. The doors opened, exposing the roof access. The wind was terrible. The blue haze made the air moist as Chino stepped onto the roof. He was instantly wet as he realized that Nerida had conjured moisture from the air, either knowingly or unknowingly. The energy from the Mind Stone embedded in her chest manifested in a bright blue ray that encapsulated her, her hands outstretched towards the sky as the moisture was enough to create another wall of water around her, similar to the wave that was being generated off the coast.
Chino turned back to Loki. "Stay here," he commanded. "I'm going to ... I'm going to go to her."
Loki shrugged and gestured towards Nerida. "Good luck," he scoffed.
Chino turned back around and began to slowly walk up onto the helipad where Nerida stood, her back to him. She was entirely exposed to him, her jet black hair whipping about in the wind. Chino wiped his face as he approached.
"Nerida!" he called out to her.
She did not move.
"Nerida, it's me ... it's Chino!"
He watched as she lowered one of her hands, a long black piece of coral extending from it. She slowly turned around to face him, her other arm high as it kept the flow of energy surging. Even in this state, Chino couldn't help but find her to be beautiful. Those dark eyes, soft curves, devotion to her cause ... even the gentle blue hue of her skin was enthralling.
Nerida stared at Chino, her lips a thin line across her face as she watched him approach. "If you come any closer, I will kill you."
Chino laughed. "You already have. You kill me every fucking time I see you."
"I do not understand. Halt, human." She pointed the coral out at him menacingly.
"You don't, Nerida, but the real you does ... somewhere under all of that, you are there. I want to speak to her."
"I am her, and you may not. Human, for the last time, I will kill you if you come any closer."
Chino stopped just outside of the energy that surrounded her. He realized that the blue haze was actual water. He held his hand out and touched it as it flowed in a spherical formation around her. He was just out of the reach of the extended coral that she pointed directly at his chest. "No you won't because you love me."
"I don't have time for this," Nerida hissed and she lunged at him, keeping her other arm outstretched. Chino fell back, narrowly missing what would have been a fatal wound.
"Stop!" he yelled up at her as she walked near him. "You don't have to do this - any of this! We can go home ..."
"I am home," she seethed down at him, pointing the end of the coral at his throat. "This, all of this, is mine. I will cleanse it and it will be a most glorious kingdom for me and my king."
"Do you love him?"
Nerida stared down at him. "I do not know what love is," she said. "We will rule together."
"You do, Nerida. You know exactly what love is, you just don't think you need it or deserve it ... but you do."
"I am done speaking with you, foolish human. You will die now."
"I am done speaking, too," Chino remarked, sitting up on his elbows. "I was never really that great at it. But singing ... well, fuck, I can sing."
Nerida stared down at him confusion.
"Stay with me
As we cross the empty skies* ..."
He slowly began to stand up while Nerida continued to watch him in befuddlement.
"Come sail with me* ..." He reached out towards her. "Nerida, you know this song. You always said it was one of your favorites, and I purposely couldn't play it a lot because you loved it some much. And even though I never told you, I wrote it ... for you. It is my favorite piece."
Nerida tipped her head in curiosity as she watched him, listening to his voice. Somewhere inside of her she felt a churning. Something was bubbling up, something familiar. It tasted sweet on the back of her tongue, on her throat. Little flashes lit up her mind like someone thumbing through Polaroids at an inhuman rate. She saw Chino. She saw flashing lights behind him. Music. Thunderous beats. But his voice was tangible. It spewed from his mouth in a colorful spew of sound-waves that slithered around her, slithered like silk that wrapped itself around her, holding her tightly. She heard waves hitting the sand. The salt in the air made her skin feel sticky and she could taste this, too, on her tongue. She could feel the cool sand beneath her feet, sprinkling over the tops of her feet, but she wasn't cold at all. She heard him whispering into her ear, his breath warm on her earlobe and just under her ear, on her neck, a hand running over her shoulder, over her breast, holding her waist as he pulled her closer. "Our minds bend and our fingers fold; entwined, we dream, unknown* ..." Still warm against her, Nerida's mind flashed and she saw him, a youthful version of Chino with the brim of his cap bent upward, a jean vest that bore various unreadable patches that were clumsily sewn into the fabric, a stripe of dyed red hair falling into his face as she watched him gliding along in front of her on a skateboard. The sun beat down above them and she could feel the perspiration dotting her flesh as Chino looked back at her from over his shoulder, grinning at her, his animated brown eyes mere slits as he glided along. She saw her hand rise up before her, reaching for him, and even though he continued on away from her on his skateboard, he reached back for her, though they didn't touch. They couldn't; gravity had taken hold of them. Another flash blinded her and Nerida was in the Shack standing in the doorway of the yard where the stage was set up. The crowd was perfectly parted around Chino as he stood in the center of the floor. He was wearing his black flannel button-down and a pair of black Dickie's. He stood with someone; the being was not in the light with him, just a shadow that he was holding onto, staring down longingly at with those brown eyes. Nerida tried to push through, tried to make the bystanders move, but they would not budge. They would not hear her screaming for him as she begged over his voice to look at her, to let him know that she was there with him, for him; she wanted to be in the front for the show. She wanted to support him. He couldn't hear her. He was singing to the shadow at the top of his longs, his fluid vocals hypnotic and calming despite the heavy guitars and drumbeats that accompanied him.
"Goddammit, Chino, I'm right here!" she cried.
She felt two hands on her hips, grasping onto her tightly. In shock, Nerida whipped around and came face to face with Tom. His blue eyes stared down at her, shimmering in the light, his expression soft and rueful. The music began to wane. The room became so quiet that she could hear Tom's heartbeat. It thudded tenderly against her opened palm which was pressed against his chest. It was hard and muscular. Tingles ran up and down her flesh, electric impulses stimulating her fingertips and toes, excitement causing her nipples to harden under her clothing. Tom held her hips so that their pelvises were pressed together,his fingers pressing into her lower back.
"Stay with me* ..."
Nerida started to turn her head back as Chino's voice came back to her, but Tom's hand caught her jaw.
"Do you really want to know?" he said, his lush accent no louder than a whisper.
Nerida stared up into Tom's eyes as he gripped her with both hands under her chin, stroking her skin with his thumbs. Her eyes welling up, Nerida nodded.
"Just know, I would never break your heart," Tom told her before releasing her.
Nerida turned around just as the spotlight moved over the center of the floor where Chino stood in all black, his fingers interlinked in the belt loops of Penny, who playfully smiled up at him, her perfectly sculpted curls bouncing down her back. Like a fist through glass, Nerida's heart shattered in her chest. She opened her black eyes and saw that she was on the rooftop of the U.S. Bank Tower, standing on the helipad before Chino. He was a mere inch away from her face and his hands were on her hips as he stared down at her longingly, his face wet from the heavy moisture that encompassed her from the energy that she channeled from her outstretched hand.
He leaned into her, his lips brushing hers. Nerida tried to hold onto him. She tried to find the warmth she had felt in her mind from him. She could feel everything slipping away again into the recesses of her mind.
Chino sang faintly into her ear, "We slow down as the engines stall; our eyes catch sync ... we explode* ..."
It was like a literal explosion. One moment, Nerida was standing with Chino when all of a sudden, every emotion she had ever felt for him, for Tom, for Penny, for her parents - the entirety of her complicated entity suddenly surged out of her through the Pearl as she screamed out at him. In a matter of seconds, Chino was launched back by the power, flying across the rooftop over the side of the building. Loki, who watched the entire scene, moved swiftly as Chino's body flew past him. Loki threw his arm out and caught Chino by the forearm in midair, Chino falling along the side of the building. He slammed into a window, shattering it, and sending glass shards 73 stories below. Chino dangled from Loki's mercy, his arm bursting in pain at his shoulder and elbow from the force in which Loki had stopped him from sailing over the side of the tower. He was sure that his arm was out of its socket. His eyes watered from the immense burning sensation that seared as though his ligament was being slowly ripped down the middle. He cried out in pain as Loki squeezed into his flesh.
Loki bared his teeth down at Chino, water droplets running down his face, dripping off the end of his nose. His blue eyes ablaze, he hissed, "I should let you die."
"Then let go asshole!" Chino growled up at him.
Loki narrowed his eyes at him. "No ... I won't. The only thing that will hurt worse than plummeting to your death is living with the fact that somewhere deep inside that monster is a woman who used to love you."
Tears streaming from out of the corners of his eyes, Chino said to him, "Maybe ... but remember, this was my world first, Loki."
Baring his teeth in a menacing yell, Loki hoisted Chino up with minimal effort and sent him flying into the side of the wall where the elevator access was. He whirled around, his green cape slinging water out, and he began walking to Nerida, the coral sliding out of her wrist again as he moved closer to her.
"My king ... you seem upset," she said to him.
"How else do you expect me to react?" Loki questioned her. "You directly disobeyed me."
"For the sake of the mission."
"You called me weak!" Loki cried out at her. "Is it really so weak to bare one's soul?"
"Now is not the time for this! I command the seas!"
"You bared your soul just now - to him!"
"I did not!" Nerida screeched at him. "This parasite within me ... she came to the surface. But I have suppressed her. I am in control now."
"That so-called parasite is who you really are! You, Nerida, are the parasite. Or rather, that thing attached to your chest."
Nerida narrowed her eyes at him, her free hand touching the Pearl tenderly. "You have betrayed this mission ... you have betrayed me."
"This mission is nothing without a world, a world you mean to wash away. By all means, I believe in your cause, I admire your convictions ... you are right in so many ways, Nerida, but ... in reality ... this is not who you really are. You are not so heartless and cruel. You don't deserve this life that I have bestowed upon you. I must take it back."
"Why?" she seethed at him.
"Because ... because I love you, Nerida," Loki said, his helmet and armor melting away so that he stood in his casual Asgardian garb. "I love who you are inside. That parasite ... that parasite is the woman I love." Out of the corner of his eye, Loki noticed a flash of red. He instantly opened his hand at his side in its direction as a warning.
Nerida looked over Loki's shoulder at the crumbled ball that was Chino, who lay unconscious against the elevator access, and then back at Loki. She laughed heartily. "Every female's fantasy ... two men groveling for my affections. What have you to bring me, another song? Perhaps some magic tricks, God of Mischief?" She lifted the long blade of coral and pointed it directly at his face. "I grow weary of these futile feats to persuade me not to drop this wave. In fact, I grow angry." Nerida suddenly spun around and shot out the coral from her wrist, it whirring through the air and smashing into the chest of Iron Man, who crumbled into the impact, disappearing below the tower-line. "I see you there!" Nerida taunted.
She turned back and stood face to chest with Thor. "Do you see me as well?" he questioned. He slammed his hammer into her, sending Nerida back. Loki yelled and raced after her as Nerida soared over the side of the building, free falling down the side of the tower. Without hesitation, Loki leapt from the tower and fell after her, streamlining himself to catch up to her. Halfway down, he grabbed her and wrapped his arms around her, rotating her so that he was now beneath her, ready to absorb the impact. He stared up towards the sky as the ends of his cape flapped up around them both. He saw Thor shoot off from the rooftop towards the west. The blue aura around Nerida was gone ... which meant that the wave had been released. Loki closed his eyes slowly and tightened his grip around her body as he waited to make impact.
"Quick, you assholes, get to the beach!" Iron Man roared into the communicator in his helmet as he watched Loki and Nerida falling from the U.S. Bank Tower. He flew up to the roof and landed beside Chino, who was beginning to stir. "You have to stop that wave!"
"We're on it, Tony," he heard Captain America reply.
Iron Man tapped Chino's shoulder impatiently. Chino screamed out in pain. "Jarvis, run a full body scan on him."
"Currently, Chino is alive with minimal damage outside of bruising, a concussion and his right arm is dislocated from his shoulder."
Iron Man chuckled ruefully as he pulled his hand away from Chino. "Sorry man."
"Fuck you, Tony," Chino grumbled as he rolled over clumsily onto his back. "What the hell is going on?"
"Honestly?" Iron Man asked. "Hold onto your ass, kid - that wave has been released."
Chino stared up at him. "Where is Penny?"
"I'm right here," said Penny as she slipped through the doorway from the elevator access. She was on her hands and knees beside him in an instant, gripping his arm and chest. "Chino, are you okay?"
Chino nodded. "For now."
Iron Man walked towards the edge of the tower, staring out to the west. He could see the wall of water. "Holy shit ..." he muttered to himself. He whipped around. "You two stay up here. I have to get those people off of the street."
Chino sat up, staring at him. "Tony ..." he started, " ... good luck."
Iron Man began to hover off of the roof. "You too." He disappeared over the side of the building.
Penny helped Chino get to his feet. Staring out to the west, they both honed in on the great wall of water that erased the horizon past the city and the beaches. Eyes wide, Chino moved slowly to the edge of the roof, transfixed on the sight. Without noticing, Penny moved next to him, her mouth agape. She slowly moved her hand into his. "Chino ..." she exhaled.
Chino didn't look at her. "When it hits, this building is going to buckle," he said quietly. "You will have to hold on."
Tears slipped down Penny's cheeks. "Remember that time Nerida tried to teach you how to surf, and I accidentally knocked you out when I nose-dived?" A meek chuckle escaped her lips. "I ended up being the one to give you mouth to mouth ... I can't remember why, but it was me."
She looked up at him. "That was a good day."
Chino gave her hand a squeeze. "I wish ... I wish I could return the favor," he said, unable to look at her. "God, Penny ... I am so sorry."
"I'm not." The tears silently rolled down her face in a steady stream. "I'm not sad, or mad. I love you. I love Nerida. I guess I wish I could have told you both before all of this." She leaned against him, and Chino pulled her into his arms. "I don't want to be the chicken. You know me, I nose-dive all of the time because I can't look down the face ... I don't like the height."
"At least you ride well. I stare out because I like to see what it's going to look like ... but even still, I can't ride for shit."
Penny buried her face in his chest, openly sobbing. "I'm glad it's you here with me. I'm glad I'm not alone ... I hate being alone."
"You're not, Penny. You never were ... and you never will be."
She was silent for a moment, except for the sobs. Then, she spoke: "Do you think they can do it, they can save us?"
Chino thought for a moment, choosing his words very carefully. He didn't see how they could, but he could not bring himself to say those words aloud to her. So, he took a deep breath and he said to her, "You know, even though Nerida brought this on, there is still hope for her. There is still hope that she'll beat this Mind Stone, Penny. I saw her for a moment. Just a glimpse, but she let me know that she was there. And if there is hope for Nerida, there has to be hope for us." He wasn't sure if he was convincing. He tripped a couple of times over his words. Penny did not say anything. She trembled against him. Somehow, he knew she believed him. She always did ... she was Penny.
*lyrics from "Rosemary" by Deftones
