2022-07-02 - Confrontation ~GATEWAY~
- Log: 2022-07-02 - Confrontation ~GATEWAY~
- Cast: Guy Shishioh, Soldato J-002
- Where: 3G Orbit Base - Hangars
- OOC - IC Date: 2022-07-02 - UC 096
- Summary: Still reeling from his encounter with Lamia, Guy Shishioh has another unexpected visitor. The murder attempt this time is both less literal and more effective.
<Pose Tracker> Guy Shishioh has posed.
The Acting Chief of Three G Green has more to do than sit at his desk looking pretty. The organization is heavily piggybacked onto 3G Blue right now - and who knows what the future holds. Right now, that means that while 3G Blue Chief Akamatsu is on duty in the Main Order Room, Guy's down in the hangar that is not, currently, the Big Order Room, checking in on the status of GaoFighGar. After a thorough pummeling at the hands of Gill'yavec, Guy is still smarting from discovering he can, in fact, get completely flattened and sometimes he has to just lie down and accept that.
Besides that...
'What is an Evoluder? Do you know?'
"Somniums," Guy mutters, staring up at a mostly-repaired PhantomGao. "What are you after...?"
<Pose Tracker> Soldato J-002 has posed.
There is no warning.
But then, there never is, is there?
The ES Window opens immediately behind Guy. The roiling, otherworldly glow fills the room. Guy's shadow dances upon the broken PhantomGao as the light that crosses space simply rips open a path for its master to travel.
A pair of techs, fitting the name of Braves, attempt to respond. They are ready with wrenches. They must be given credit - but then that was always the power of 3G, wasn't it? It was never Guy's courage alone. It was always the courage of the many, coming together to fight impossible odds.
Still, in this case, there is no percent to transform into one hundred. The techs drop to the ground instantly. They simply...fall. Like concrete. Bam, bam. Like concrete.
It's no surprise why. The white armor. The multicolored hair. The crossed arms with the gleaming red jewel. The flowing scarf. The beak of a nose.
The worst possible person to show up in a place like this.
Soldato J-002 simply stands there, silently, for a long, long moment. It is probably pretty tense - even if it would be weirder for J to speak a greeting before-
"Cyborg."
Yeah, there.
The white helmet tilts upwards at the ruined PhantomGao. "You've destroyed another machine that trusted you."
Then his head tilts back downwards. "I would be disappointed if you had."
"Where is Renais?" There's a beat, like he's hesitating.
J doesn't hesitate. J goes faster than sound. Hesitating means he's having to think about something at a speed other than 'ludicrous reflexes,' which means it's more than combat.
"..."
"......"
"...has she recovered? When I last saw her she was in what passes for a healing device on your planet."
<Pose Tracker> Guy Shishioh has posed.
Guy's more used to this kind of intrusion, even if it does still send the hair on his neck standing. Orbit Base knows how to detect ES Windows, knows about J about as well as anyone on Earth can. Still.
It's still one of the most dangerous people in the known universe flexing his most dangerous muscle in the most dangerous way available.
Guy half-turns, eyes finding the Red Planet soldier in that white-green armor of his. He's tense, no mistaking that; J's his equal even Equipped. Like this....
But he suspects J doesn't want to lead with a fight. And Guy...is it weakness, not to want to start one?
"J," Guy says, by way of greeting.
'Destroyed'. Guy chuckles, and finally breaks that rigid posture, wandering off toward one side of the repair bay. "Back in the day, Galeon and I got back up from scrapes like this in hours." Usually against doctor's orders, he thinks but doesn't add. J might not even know what those are. "PhantomGao's a bit more delicate, I guess. It'll be back up soon." His eyes slide to J, quipping, "But if you wanted to settle things, you might give me a day or so to get all the screws tightened."
Ah. Yes. There's the question.
"Renais decided not to stay with Orbit Base for now. I think she's working through some of the things she did out there. We haven't talked in a few weeks, to be honest. We didn't let her go until she was recovered, though."
Information given freely. A part of him realizes he'd be more cagey with what he says if this were Taiga standing there.
What a horrid thought.
<Pose Tracker> Soldato J-002 has posed.
J just listens. There's no visible reactions. No twists of his lip. No sneer. Nothing. He just listens. Perhaps because the thing that's important to him isn't Guy, for once. Perhaps because the thing that's important to him is-
"Sensible of you. You have my thanks for taking care of her. Arma got in my way when I sought to bring her home, but at least she was properly maintained."
Ah. Well.
J stares back up at PhantomGao. "Yes. You did," he says finally, "And Galeon trusted you implicitly."
"And yet you left it behind."
The helmet turns back down to look at Guy. "I'm not here to settle things with you, cyborg, though I have no doubt you wish to try to remove me from the board while I'm at my weakest." Technically true - J-Ark is a lot harder to break than J is. "If you wish, feel free. But I'm here for something..."
Now his lips twist in distaste. "...more important."
Yeah those aren't J's words.
The ES Window still hasn't closed. "I'm here to ensure that you don't do anything foolish during your visit."
Visi-
Rabbit-ear red hair. Soft amber eyes. Hands low, pressed together over her waist. A low-cut white-and-pink uniform with a red-and-gold jacket.
Oh.
Oh no.
Mikoto steps out of the ES Window. It seals shut behind her.
"Guy," she says quietly.
J looks off to the side in the same way a bird might respond to some random noise as Mikoto steps forward. "...I..."
"..." She smiles. "I don't...really know what to say."
J, without looking at them, says, "After Renais was freed your Chief suggested it would be to our tactical benefit if we ensured no other hesitations on the battlefield."
Yeah. Yeah, of course. Taiga.
That's what it is. Ensuring that Mikoto won't hesitate.
Ha, ha. No.
Ensuring Guy will.
<Pose Tracker> Guy Shishioh has posed.
Guy knows about that incident but he still needs to get Ikumi...
...he rapidly becomes too busy to properly process the clash of mental images attached to 'owing Ikumi Kaido a drink.'
He can feel the jabs at him. This...doesn't feel like J's kind of attack. Left Galeon behind...that is what it would look like. And it DOES hurt. But he was fused with Galeon at the time - more than anyone he knows the panic that was flying through his partner's systems, the knowledge it could not resist. The decision to force Guy out before all hope was lost.
Guy's jaw sets. You know maybe he will start things off, he thinks, his blood starting to simmer. "I guess Galeon still can't tell you what he thinks," he says, instead of immediately punching J directly in the nose. Though he does, at that point, turn, and realize the ES Window is still there. J usually doesn't plant them. Guy's a little surprised he can, actually.%$r
A thought that just has time to form before she's there.
Guy's a truly intelligent man, and Orbit Base's team is sharp, and Guy's Evoluder abilities mean he's never really cut off he can do almost anything about this, and--
That entire head of steam dissipates into vapor. "Mikoto," he rasps out, low in his throat.
J is saying words apparently. Chief, he hears.
"Mikoto, I," he starts, and stops, and makes a face like J has already stabbed him.
<Pose Tracker> Soldato J-002 has posed.
J, who does not understand anything like 'personal space' or 'embarassment' or 'maybe go away when two people are talking you stupid bird,' stands there, looking off into the distance. Maybe he's watching the mechs. Maybe he's listening to the chatter on the Orbit Base. Maybe he's just daydreaming. Who knows what J does when he's staring at the window of the J-Ark - let alone now, when he's actually sharing space with other people?
Mikoto walks forward and puts her hands on Guy's. She smiles at him. "It's...I'm glad to see you, Guy."
Her lips waver as she stares into his eyes. There's tears on the edges of her amber gaze. Then, she releases his hands, throws her arms around him, and presses her face against his chest as she starts crying. It's a long cry, a rough cry, the kind of cry someone cries in a romance movie when the plane lands and they run to see their love interest, the mix of joyous and miserable where they know the next plane leaves and the time is fleeting but the time they've got is more precious than jewelry.
"Wh-what have..."
She swallows.
Something metal hits the ground behind Guy.
"...."
It is a knife.
Oh, she could never.
-oh, Taiga knew that.
Oh, just the thought of her agreeing to bring it...
The look on her face when he must've handed it to her and given her the order...
But she's sobbing now into Guy's chest uncontrollably, as J walks over past them, picks up the knife, and gives it a baleful stare before tossing it into the wall with enough force to stick it into the metal. No danger to the station, but enough to make it real, real hard to pull out.
J does not care about the scene behind him.
At least some things never change.
Mikoto hiccups. "Guy...what...have you been up to?" She manages finally, wiping some of her tears away as she looks up at him, forcing a smile. "Y-you've probably been up to...to a lot of adventures, right? I h-hear you got a pardon. And g-got put in charge of 3G."
Hup.
"I'm...s-so proud of you." She presses her cheek against his shoulder. "Y-you've probably been on a lot of adventures, right? Without me."
<Pose Tracker> Guy Shishioh has posed.
Someone like J has to know that Orbit Base won't be responding quietly to this. They're taking it slow so far because, well, one, J's kung fu aura knocked out all the lowbies in the block, but also because Guy hasn't signaled for help. They have not quite processed that one of Taiga's plans would suffice to fill Guy's brain with so much static that he might not even think to do that if someone cut off his head.
But there are people gathering, elsewhere in the structure. These are the hangars, too; there's at least one Brave Robo replacement for Volfogg, there's at least three more based out of his facility who might be here, awaiting orders. Letting this linger...well. It won't, not forever.
She runs into his arms and he wraps her up in them like his own heart were coming home, hands comfortably finding the small of her back and back of her head, clutching as tightly as he dares. His eyes clench tight, tears streaming down the corners. "I've missed you, Mikoto," he croaks, words difficult to squeeze through a traitor throat.
The sound of the knife almost doesn't penetrate his thoughts. These dire images fail to find traction. Guy's in another world. But perhaps that too is part of Taiga's high-density play.
Orbit Base's security is a marvel of a thing, after all. Hello, Advisor. Are you watching? The ease with which your King of Braves can be undone?
The knife quivers in the wall silently, until eventually it attains the soft hum of the GS-Generator far below. Guy's head tips down into Mikoto's hair, pressing lips to her forehead like they always have done.
But it's not the same, is it? "We've been getting everything ready," he says. Now he's not even properly thinking about what he's telling to whom. "There's a place for everyone. Being in charge isn't all that exciting, honestly..."
A soft chuckle.
And then his throat slams shut. 'Without me.'
Right. There's a reason they've been apart. His breathing picks up, his jaw tensing. "...it hasn't been easy," he deflects, because the alternative is to either attempt to run, and have J do something he can't at all predict, or push her away, which--
--is not what's going to happen.
<Pose Tracker> Soldato J-002 has posed.
It's a good thing J isn't the type to stab Guy in the back, or kill Mikoto to break his will, or otherwise do anything more interesting than stand there and watch 3G assemble. He's always been honorable to a fault. Always been...so unyieldingly certain in his own honor, his own pride as a warrior. It's probably the saving grace of this encounter - that J isn't willing to break the peace by doing something truly horrifying, that J doesn't want Guy weakened for the inevitable fight.
J's face turns to the camera. He's practically daring them to take a shot at him. Practically daring them to break Guy's brief happy moment. That stoic gaze isn't even looking at the 3G Robos. He's either certain he can fight them (mmmaybe?) or certain that he could escape before things got out of hand (much more likely).
Mikoto just rests up against Guy as he speaks. She laughs, lightly. "I bet you're just saying that. You're always too humble." She looks up at him. "It's OK to be proud of what you've accomplished, you know."
His breathing picks up. She leans up and kisses him on the chin. "I don't think it has. You could come back, but I know you won't. Even though..."
"Even though you left your home behind, you'll do what you think is right." Her smile gets distant. "No matter the consequences."
Silence. She doesn't say anything for a long time. Just...resting there, while 3G assembles, while J stares at the camera. She's unwilling to leave his arms. Her fingers tighten against his jacket. "Guy."
"We won't get a pardon, you know."
"If you go against the Cosmic Order, and something goes wrong, you won't be able to convince the whole world that we're innocent. We're not, and you know it. But..."
She looks up at him again. "...are you going to be able to stand by if we get the death sentence?"
J's lips go up in a 'tch,' but he continues to be silent.
"If you came back...if you helped us...we'd win, and be together. There wouldn't even be a doubt." She smiles sadly. "But..."
She turns away from him, releasing his jacket to lean into his arms from behind. "...I don't want to talk about it, but we have to, you know. We can't leave..."
She swallows.
"Anything unsaid."
<Pose Tracker> Guy Shishioh has posed.
Somewhere, Supervisor Yang and Advisor Prickle are looking at each other and deciding when they make a very, very ugly call. Breaths are held intensely. Is Porcauto already in position? He's best suited to the environment, but...the risks...
If 3G were to be responsible for Mikoto's death in a scuffle like this...there'd be no appeasing Guy. Or predicting him, for that matter.
Her kiss stops the stress building up, however slightly. However much her mere presence is part of the problem, hers...hers makes him strong. Reminds him who he is. What he is. Why he does what he does, and how to use that power of his.
He's now more attentive, less lost in the physical sensation of the woman he loves and the sudden thunderous reality of her presence. "You already have one," he says, simply. As for the rest...
"No," he says it with total, immediate honesty. "I won't be able to. But that's fine."
She turns away from him. His hands fold around her sides and over her stomach at once, still holding her close. "Of course," he says. "We're adults now." He chuckles. "Sometimes you have to discuss unpleasant things."
The smile slowly fades.
"The Cosmic Law...isn't everything, Mikoto," he says. "It's guiding you in ways you don't realize. I won't accept it. And I won't come with you."
Taiga...what's your play, he thinks, clarity clicking through the gears of his mind. Is it J?
Or maybe he just needs this to work so badly he's going to try anyway.
"And I can prove it...if you'll come with me."
Two purifiers. Mamoru and Kaido. All he needs is one of them.
<Pose Tracker> Soldato J-002 has posed.
The tension of a guy who can tear through a wall at the speed of sound and vent the entire room at once is probably palpable for everyone involved except Guy. It may not be in J's character to do so, but he's not above using the environment to disable opponents, and while nobody in the room (except maybe Mikoto) would die from oxygen loss, J is probably the fastest (perhaps Guy outspeeds him, but that's not a test anyone wants right now), and in a vacuum limiting movement...
Well, the cyborg supersoldier isn't limited, and that's probably even more dangerous than he is normally.
Still, again, he hasn't moved a muscle.
She smiles. "From the Federation? Do you think the rest of the world will accept it? After what we're going to do?"
What we're going to do.
"I love your optimism. I always have. But...I don't know that this ends with a happy ending." Her smile turns strained again. "I wish it was before. Back when Mamoru and Hana got married in front of Galeon and everything wonderful seemed possible, even in this war-torn world." She closes her eyes.
"Guy..."
"..."
"...if there's something worth protecting in the world, I know you will. No matter what. That'll decide, won't it? If we win, then the world wasn't worth saving, because Guy Shishioh would never give up, even if he needed to kill me."
"After all..." She looks up at him. "You fought Repli-Mamoru."
"And you fought the New Zonda Species."
"And...in the end, you were able to overcome."
Her hand suddenly slides into his and squeezes. "Promise me, Guy. That if you have to do it, if you have to, you will. You'll..."
Kill me again.
J finally looks off into the sky. "That's enough. We're leaving."
Mikoto closes her eyes. "But-"
He walks over, intruding into the happy moment with all the subtlety of a brick - and wedging himself into a place where a foolish shot from one of the Brave Army would risk hitting Mikoto even more. "They're preparing to secure the bay. While I have no problem with your death if necessary,"
Ouch, J. Then again, he was perfectly willing to kill Kaidou, so....
"Losing your knowledge of our strategy to the enemy is unacceptable. Renais..."
A pause. "Was fortunately not fully informed, by virtue of her station."
Mikoto removes her hand from Guy and tries to pull away as the ES Window opens directly in front of Guy. Less than five feet away. So precise. Frighteningly so.
"...I'm sorry. J is right. I know what you're planning, Guy." She smiles as she moves to step backwards through the Window. "I love you. But this isn't where our story will be decided."
J, as if to illustrate the point, draws his blade. The hum of the Will-powered energy from the hilt is almost drowned out by the reactor. But, J has never been one to be drowned out, no matter how quiet he is.
"We'll meet on the battlefield, Guy."
Wait.
Are they...planning to put Mikoto in a robot...?
She moves, again, to extricate herself, hesitant, though determined.
<Pose Tracker> Guy Shishioh has posed.
The Ruin Apostles still have that Manage Machine they kept Mikoto alive with last time, not that Guy's thinking on that angle at all.
Yang might be. Yang is having a lot of emotions right now.
Guy is only having about three. "I do too," he says, quietly, at her strained recollection. "But...they've grown so much, too. Little Hana's a Mobile Operator now. And Mamoru's a pilot. And...Tetsuya's having a baby, can you believe it?" The words tumbling out of him.
His eyes cast down. "I miss those days. But it's not so bad now, either. If only..." ...you'd stay. If only the Oath Over Omega hadn't stuck its fingers into everything.
And then, Mikoto makes the cruelest request of him she can. Their eyes meet.
And he smiles at her like he always smiles, the King of Braves in full confidence. "I won't let it come to that."
J intervening sees Guy casting an extremely tense look at him, but Mikoto slipping away as well...you'd almost think they'd rehearsed it, the way she slips away just fast enough, the way J intercedes with his blade before Guy can attempt to force the matter.
His hand slowly closes on air. "I love you," he says to Mikoto, staring to remember that face. "...we'll meet again," he says, simply.
His eyes cut to J. He was friendly before. Now it's like he can barely stand to look at him.
<Pose Tracker> Soldato J-002 has posed.
Mikoto steps through the ES Window first. She's gone in an instant. J remains. That saber continues to hang there, ominous, casting his armor in the red glow of the J-Jewel. It's almost like he's waiting for Kaidou to show up so he can take a shot. So he could cut off one of their forms of purification -
-no, that's not J's style at all. Never has been. Never will be.
J's face remains locked on Guy's.
J is not normally cruel. J is not normally brutal. J may taunt, but J has never been the sort to-
"Fair is fair, cyborg."
"You took Renais away."
...if nothing else, that says a whole, whole lot about how much J cares about her. That'd probably be nice if not for the circumstances.
And then he steps backwards through the ES Window and vanishes, and the Window closes behind them, leaving 3G in the vast hangar to deal with the fallout.
<Pose Tracker> Guy Shishioh has posed.
"Yikes," Advisor Prickle says, at the entire opposite end of Orbit Base.
Guy just swallows, staring at that sword like he's really, REALLY thinking about his odds. His jaw clenched tight, his eyes ticking up to J's helmet.
The ES Window snaps closed.
Guy stumbles to a chair and collapses into it, tears streaming down his face as he looks up at the lights above.
Orbit Base's alert level returns to -- well, not normal. With this many intrusions, normal would be unwise.
Guy doesn't move from that seat for 30 minutes, long after Porc-auto, hidden by his Mirror Coating, elects to return to standby.