[It's not an easy fight, no chance, no how. It's even harder by virtue of the fact that there are flashes of painful memories and emotions.]
[But shame is a hard thing to fight through, especially connected to someone else. So it helps that he knows he's not being judged. Maybe he doesn't understand it, maybe it's bewildering to him that Jason isn't doing it, but at least he doesn't have to fight the shame of someone else finding out, of them knowing. There's only the usual shame he feels for himself.]
[They fight well. Somehow. Two brains remember crash courses and practice simulations on the controls a lot better than one. And so much of it is normal movement, the normal throwing of fists. So there's two sets of experiences with fighting, too. Jason's got more training on that front (a lot more), and the magic sword thing is a very welcome bit of offense, but Robbie's instinctual way of controlling his channeled power, projected through the robot - sometimes creatively - covers their defense.]
[And there are two sets of will, dialed into the "never say die" setting. They've deal with neglect and rejection. They have powered through heart ache and loss and death - whether it was their own or those around them.]
[And here they are, drawing a line in the sand in front of a monster, one that says "there will be no children that die by fire today."]
[The collective heroes can't beat these creatures, though, just stall them until a way to defeat them is found, but Robbie and Jason manage to do it long enough that by the time the robot has taken too much damage for them to keep limping on, the cavalry makes it there for the next shift of monster-fighting.]
[The robot barely manages to limp away - though they have to be convinced to leave at all.]
[The ground control guy tells them, "Look, I know you guys feel the need to keep fighting but we need our giant robot to not get wrecked if we're going to have a chance of beating these things. It needs to be repairable. Besides, you should feel proud. We've been monitoring the monster's movements. You didn't give up any ground during your shift. Not an inch."]
[They get back. They get helped out of their power ranger suits. They hit the showers and are given workout clothes to recover in. Robbie jokes about whether or not they'll get the official t-shirt. There's a space there for pilots to recover comfortably. The strain of piloting is enormous, especially when conjoined at the brain. Physically, it's like running a marathon. They get food and rehydration and medics attenting to any boo boos. They were mostly insulated but still got knocked around in there.]
[Where he sits in his little recliner, eating off a tray and practically inhaling gatorade, Robbie has an ice pack on his ankle from when the robot took a blow at an odd angle and something snapped in his ankle harness, letting him roll it. They think it's a minor sprain.]
[He's quiet. He's not sure what to say. Doesn't want to pretend it didn't happen but it dipped into both their traumas, not just his. Maybe Jason will want to pretend it didn't happen, will want Robbie to avoid prying any farther.]
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[But shame is a hard thing to fight through, especially connected to someone else. So it helps that he knows he's not being judged. Maybe he doesn't understand it, maybe it's bewildering to him that Jason isn't doing it, but at least he doesn't have to fight the shame of someone else finding out, of them knowing. There's only the usual shame he feels for himself.]
[They fight well. Somehow. Two brains remember crash courses and practice simulations on the controls a lot better than one. And so much of it is normal movement, the normal throwing of fists. So there's two sets of experiences with fighting, too. Jason's got more training on that front (a lot more), and the magic sword thing is a very welcome bit of offense, but Robbie's instinctual way of controlling his channeled power, projected through the robot - sometimes creatively - covers their defense.]
[And there are two sets of will, dialed into the "never say die" setting. They've deal with neglect and rejection. They have powered through heart ache and loss and death - whether it was their own or those around them.]
[And here they are, drawing a line in the sand in front of a monster, one that says "there will be no children that die by fire today."]
[The collective heroes can't beat these creatures, though, just stall them until a way to defeat them is found, but Robbie and Jason manage to do it long enough that by the time the robot has taken too much damage for them to keep limping on, the cavalry makes it there for the next shift of monster-fighting.]
[The robot barely manages to limp away - though they have to be convinced to leave at all.]
[The ground control guy tells them, "Look, I know you guys feel the need to keep fighting but we need our giant robot to not get wrecked if we're going to have a chance of beating these things. It needs to be repairable. Besides, you should feel proud. We've been monitoring the monster's movements. You didn't give up any ground during your shift. Not an inch."]
[They get back. They get helped out of their power ranger suits. They hit the showers and are given workout clothes to recover in. Robbie jokes about whether or not they'll get the official t-shirt. There's a space there for pilots to recover comfortably. The strain of piloting is enormous, especially when conjoined at the brain. Physically, it's like running a marathon. They get food and rehydration and medics attenting to any boo boos. They were mostly insulated but still got knocked around in there.]
[Where he sits in his little recliner, eating off a tray and practically inhaling gatorade, Robbie has an ice pack on his ankle from when the robot took a blow at an odd angle and something snapped in his ankle harness, letting him roll it. They think it's a minor sprain.]
[He's quiet. He's not sure what to say. Doesn't want to pretend it didn't happen but it dipped into both their traumas, not just his. Maybe Jason will want to pretend it didn't happen, will want Robbie to avoid prying any farther.]