#rvb meta

i will never get over the fact that South tells Meta that she's shot Washington and left a timed charge on his body, so if he wants the equipment, then he better get it fast, and somehow Washington makes it back to command decidedly not exploded and with York's healing unit--despite the fact that Meta has indiscriminately stolen every other piece of freelancer equipment he's come across. i will never get over Meta using Wyoming's time distortion unit to slow down time, level a pistol point-blank at Washington, full body flinch and not take the shot. i will never get over Meta and Washington's banter while they searched for Epsilon, the fact that Washington can understand him even without a voice, even now, when he's this (he never needed Sigma, he never needed Sigma). i will never get over the fact that the last of Maine didn't die when he tossed Carolina off a cliff, or when he started hunting down the other freelancers, or when he had all the AI erased from his head and got left in an empty husk of armor with useless equipment. the last of Maine died when he took Epsilon. the last of Maine died when he betrayed Washington. the last of Maine died and the last thing Washington ever said to him was, "I always knew you'd do this." because he actually didn't know. Meta would have betrayed anyone, everyone, but not Maine. not Washington. but Washington will never know how hard Maine had to fight to be Maine, to leave him alive. he'll forever think Maine died killing Carolina, and the only thing left was the Meta and inevitable betrayal. he'll never know. the last of Maine died when he betrayed Washington.