Take it easy, bromide.

The unending woes of an angsting teen were hard. They were hard, and no one understood. Especially robots. Namely Sawtooth. He especially didn't understand, and that just made everything harder. Needless to say, Hal was more than a little peeved with his "bro" after the fight they'd had, which had only lead to more fighting and bad feelings. The last thing he expected, of course, was to end up meeting with the taller robot-turned-human. Alas, here he was, standing face-to-face -- or rather, face-to-chest -- with the one person he wanted to see the least. The initial shock of seeing Sawtooth with what appeared to be his robotic visage had him silent and just sort of staring up at the taller Strider, wondering just what the fuck was going on. "Please tell me that's a mask," he said finally, running a hand through his hair.  The implication that Sawtooth might have been restored to his former robotic self, and what that might mean for Hal, ran through his mind for at least five full seconds before the former AI finally had the good sense to look down to see Saw's one remaining human hand. With a sigh of relief, he nodded, then looked back up at his bro's face. "Where did you even find that thing? It's freaking me out, not gonna lie."

A Girl Worth Fighting For

Responses formulated, percentages of probability calculated, Hal's mind ran at a thousand miles a minute and still there wasn't enough time. Not a single word left his half-parted, bloodied lips before he watched Sawtooth turn and go, leaving him there alone. The frigid chill of the snow seeped through his pants, painfully sinking through his flesh to infiltrate his bones.  Sawtooth's form shrunk away and all Hal could do was watch, painfully, as the only person who ever bothered to give a shit about him left him for dead. Warm, sticky wetness covered his cheeks, shocking him back to reality. Was he bleeding? His fingers came up to touch the warm liquid, but pulling them away, he flinched. Not blood. What was it then? The flow didn't stop, and it was another few seconds before it finally hit him. Tears. These were tears. He was crying. A choked sob escaped, and he drooped forward, hands slipping under his borrowed glasses to cover his eyes. The shades he'd gotten from Terezi dropped into the snow, landing with a soft sound of finality.  With a snarl, Hal let his hands fall down his face, one of them slowly dropping until he was holding the glasses. Looking at them now, he came to realize that they were just one more thing that made him subpar, one more thing that pointed out how subpar he was to Dirk. They singled him out, made him so obviously less-than.  Growling, he closed his fist around the small, fragile glasses. Carefully, he drew himself up to a standing position, wiping the last of the tears from his blood-red eyes, yet another thing that set him apart as not-quite-Dirk. Even Terezi had preferred Dirk to him; she was just very adept at rolling with the punches. But if she thought Hal couldn't tell that she was wary of him... And Saw. The words rang in his head. Dirk wanted what was best for us. Me and Square both care about you! In a fit of rage, he charged the nearest tree, swinging hard with the fist he'd enclosed around the glasses. There was a loud crack, and Hal wasn't sure whether it was his fist or the glasses, and instinctively, his fingers came apart, dropping the cracked glasses on the ground. He glared down at the offending shades, putting his hand to his chest. This wasn't over. Saw may have won the battle, but he was asking for war.

Snow or Molly?

Somewhere deep down, Hal knew damn well that telling Squarewave the story of where he'd actually been and how he'd come to be here was a no-fly zone. Hell, even Sawtooth would have to admit that it was a bad idea. There was no sense in upsetting Square now that all was said and done, anyway. Just like there had been no sense in upsetting Vriska, and there would be no sense in upsetting Roxy, either, should the topic ever come up in conversation. Putting on a smile, the not-quite-human and not-quite-android let himself slip easily into the glove of Squarewave's positivity. Who gave a shit what Saw thought, anyway? As far as Hal was concerned, this body was simply...upgraded. Made better. "The lost kind," he said, chuckling as though it were some kind of joke. "Took me a while to find my way to everyone else." Hopefully, that was enough explanation for his little bro. Fortunately, they came up on the camp around the next thick grouping of trees. A little clearing with a fire still barely burning in the pit they'd dug out came into view, and Hal sighed in relief. A quick glance around the camp revealed two things: first, that Vriska must have woken up and gone off to do something, and two, she'd left firewood. Perfect. Releasing Square's hand, he moved to the pile of wood, shoveling some of it onto the fire carefully, waving at it with his hand to get the flames going. "Come on, bring your sleeping bag over. We have to get you warm, bro."

A Girl Worth Fighting For

Hal scoffed, spitting blood into the snow as he donned a little smirk at Sawtooth's stumbling. "Of course I am," he hissed, pulling himself into a standing position. "When have I ever been anything more than that to any of you? I'm just a piece of fucking work." A bitter laugh escaped him as he cautiously took the step forward that was required to reach the blade he was sure he would need soon. Unfortunately, he didn't make it that far. The brief second he looked away to locate the katana-shaped hole in the snow was all Sawtooth needed to make his move. When Hal's gaze returned to the taller Strider, Saw had already launched forward, and the AI just barely saw the fightbot's foot out of the corner of his peripherals before it was colliding harshly with his shoulder. He dropped to his knees then, one hand coming up to clutch at his now-throbbing shoulder. He should have known better. His ego had gotten the better of him and he hadn't expected Sawtooth's attack, especially after he'd landed a harsh one of his own. Shivering with the cold that came with a sudden loss of energy, he simply stared at the snow in front of him for a long moment. The ground seemed to spin in front of him, his vision pulsating in time with the pain in his arm. Finally, he cast his gaze in the direction he thought Sawtooth was in, the grimace of defeat clearly marked in his expression. "Come on, Saw. Finish the job. Kick me while I'm down. It's what Dirk would have wanted, isn't it?" he taunted, despite his vulnerable position.

A Girl Worth Fighting For

Almost immediately on impact, Hal's hand flinched back as his knuckles exploded with pain. He hadn't expected to come in contact with a metal hand and had put his full strength behind the blow. He was still reeling when Sawtooth's knee came to his stomach, and his step backwards wasn't quite quick enough. He stumbled back, falling to one knee and glaring up at Saw from behind his shades as he tried to catch his breath. An exasperated, ragged breath left him as he pulled himself back up, sure his organs were all mismatched. He was still seeing stars, but he wasn't going to show Sawtooth that weakness. "How could I forget? Good ol' Strider family affection," he hissed, launching himself forward again. This time, his fist aimed straight for the taller's jaw, and towards the end of his sprint to Saw he had to make a slight leap to reach his target. His teeth were gritted, a scowl etched into features Dirk had rarely used.

Solitude in E minor

His arms fell back around her waist, one hand gently running over her hair. "I'm sorry," he murmured, a little more weighted than it probably should have been. "If I could have saved him, I would have." The lies flowed easily off his silver tongue and the AI fell easily into his smooth-talking ways. Lies and careful manipulation had never let him down before, and at least until he could gauge this girl's danger level, he would have to rely on them.  He leaned down, touched his lips to her forehead and held her close. "It'll be okay," he whispered. "I'm here for you if you need me, okay? I know you miss him, but I can't bring him back -- all I can do is hope I can help."

Snow or Molly?

Despite his tanked mood, Hal couldn't help but grin back at Squarewave. As much as he hated to admit it -- had always hated to admit it -- the feeling of family he had around the other bots of the Strider household gave him the warm and fuzzies. Especially, of course, when one of them was happy to see him. This was, thus far, going much better than his meeting with Sawtooth, and Square didn't even seem to care that he was no longer Dirk. There was no accusation, no threat, just... welcoming. It was... pleasant. "I can tell you're freezing, Square. Come on, let's get you out of the snow, okay?" He took the smaller bot's hand - shit, his fingers were like ice - and began leading him back in the direction of the camp where he'd left Vriska. "I've been around," he added once they were on the move. "I was a little tied up, but I'm here now, and good thing too. Don't want you getting sick."

It was by sheer chance that Hal stumbled across Squarewave out here in the cold. After his altercation with Sawtooth, he was basically soul-searching. He felt like shit, inside and out after the entire thing. Bruises littered him and little spatters of blood stained his shirt, but he was on his feet, as he always was. He'd given up the search for Sollux Captor too, deciding he'd deal with that later. For now, he just wanted to be alone. That was, of course, until he spotted Square looking like he was freezing. "Hey," he called, quickening his pace to approach the smaller Strider family member. "You okay, kid?" he asked, brows furrowing as he scanned Square's face. He needed to get this kid to shelter, make a fire, something, and quick. Otherwise, he was likely to get sick, and that would probably just make things worse between Hal and Sawtooth.

Solitude in E minor

Hal put his hands up in truce, frowning at her. "Whoa there, sister. Calm down. I'm not going to hurt you." He neglected, of course, to say anything about what had become of Dirk. At least not yet. "Most people call me Hal," he started, speaking slowly and watching her for any sign of an attack. All the while, he was formulating his response. He'd have to be careful with it; this girl seemed to care a lot about Dirk, though he couldn't fathom why. "Listen, I don't know what happened to Dirk," he said finally. "I know this is his body, but I didn't -- I mean, he got taken to the Overseer when everything was all fucked up, and -- now he's just gone." A frown crossed his lips even as he lied. "I came here because he had it marked in his waypoints, and you were here and -- I wasn't sure what else to do. I'm sorry."

A Girl Worth Fighting For

The sight of his brother's blood was almost enough to make him retch. Hal very nearly dropped his blade and turned to vomit, but he managed to hold on despite faltering. He caught the other's stance changing, but wasn't quite quick enough to catch his bearings before pain exploded from the point of impact. Coughing hard, Hal watched as a splatter of his own blood flew to mix in the snow with Sawtooth's. Steeling himself, the smaller Strider's grip on his blade's hilt tightened again as he skidded backwards. A fine mist of snow kicked up behind him, but he managed to stay standing, his mouth forming into a scowl as he carefully planned his next move. He was in pain and the wounds on his vocal chords had ripped themselves back open, but still he didn't want to fatally injure Saw.  Dropping his blade in the snow, he kicked off the ground with one foot, thrusting himself forward at Saw. If they were going to fight, they were going to fight fair. That was the Strider way of life. His fist moved to connect with the taller's stomach with all the strength he could muster behind it.