2022-11-15: Bittersweet
- Cast: GaoGaiGo Team, GBR-04 Volfogg
- Where: Frontier Fleet
- Date: U.C. 0096 11 15
- Summary: Mamoru takes a rest from repairing Mic's wreckage at the Frontier Fleet. Volfogg approaches him, and the two can't see eye-to-eye, no matter how much Mamoru tries.
<Pose Tracker> GaoGaiGo Team has posed.
After Mic Sounder attacked that mall in the Frontier Fleet and the simultaneous attack on Orbit Base, Mamoru has been assisting with repairs and physical labor in the former, using his telekinesis and coordination abilities to help clean up debris. Theoretically he should be on Orbit Base assisting with guard duty, but Ikumi's there and has GaiGo up for repairs, so there's not much they can be doing except guarding, and helping with thedamage sets his heart at ease.
Currently, Mamoru's sitting on a bench setup for the workers, who have all headed home. He's checking his phone, sipping at a cola before he moves to call home for transport.
"Ah...Mic. What will it take to bring you home...? I miss you guys..."
He stops himself from dialing, instead clicking the Photos icon. Pictures of the gang, of a younger Mamoru with everyone, of him and Ikumi and Hana all grown up. His expression is wistful.
They'll get them back, right?
<Pose Tracker> GBR-04 Volfogg has posed.
There's nothing calculated or wise about this visit. It's extremely risky, and the odds of "success" are low. But Volfogg is here anyway, employing every little stealth trick he's got to keep any sort of security from picking up on him. It can only last so long. Mamoru may be alone here, but Volfogg doesn't take any chances, and a familiar blanket of foggy mist settles throughout the area.
No one would guess Volfogg had recently been wrecked to hell and back. His armor is spotless as he stands behind Mamoru's bench, peering down at the photo on his phone. "We miss you too, Special Agent Mamoru. You can still come home with us."
<Pose Tracker> GaoGaiGo Team has posed.
As the mist blurs through, Mamoru's hackles rise. Why would it be misting randomly in a colony ship? No, not just any mist...
He jumps to his feet as Volfogg speaks, pocketing his phone in his jacket. "Volfogg...!"
Mamoru stares at his old friend, a mentor to him, but also extends his psychic senses, checking once, twice, for an ambush. When it's revealed to just be Volfogg, he calms a little. Swarming would be bad. But just Volfogg...maybe...
"I could say the same, Volfogg. I wish you'd come back, let us help you. I know you won't accept...but please, we can stop fighting..."
<Pose Tracker> GBR-04 Volfogg has posed.
"I can't," Volfogg says, and it's just two simple words, but pain bleeds through them. "Article five, clause one-hundred-and-twenty." He can't sigh per se, but his cooling machinery cycles a breath of ventilation, long and weary. "There is nothing wrong with my AI block. I've run millions of diagnostic scans. Everything is functioning as it should."
Volfogg moves to the front of the bench, settling down on one knee, studying Mamoru's face. "So I don't understand why you can't see it. We know how to heal the universe. To fix it. Isn't that our job?"
"You're so bright, Special Agent Mamoru. You've always been. You don't need my protection anymore, but I had hoped that we'd... still be friends. Please, whatever you need, whatever must be done..." Volfogg trails off, brought low by his own emotions.
<Pose Tracker> GaoGaiGo Team has posed.
Mamoru can't argue with the diagnostics - Triple Zero won't allow Volfogg to listen to reason, because it's given Volfogg his own. Mamoru's face, as Volfogg studies, is a far-cry from the boy who would go 'Wa-ha!' at him. It's a grown man's face with a mournful expression.
"It is. But...I can't see letting everyone go away to be healing. Growth is healing, love is healing, death, destruction? None of that heals. What happened to us purifying the Zonder? Now you're using replicas...?"
Mamoru flinches at the compliment, but that's not the part that hurts. He counters immediately, as he moves to sit back down on the bench. If Volfogg moves for an attack, he'll just fly away, right? And besides, he wouldn't reveal himself if he was going to.
"We're still friends, Volfogg. As much as this is something Mic would say - we're just having a disagreement. We don't have to hate each other to be on opposite sides."
<Pose Tracker> GBR-04 Volfogg has posed.
Volfogg, at least, doesn't seem too eager to attack in this moment. Mamoru has given him an extra dose of conflict to mull over. Everything was easier to process, so long as Volfogg kept away from Mamoru and Guy. Everything made sense, when he'd discuss the fate of the universe with Entouji. But now, here in the colony, faced with Mamoru trying to assure him... The foundation shakes.
This should be a good thing. Mamoru still wants to be friends!
Volfogg pushes upright and takes a slow step backwards. Frustration builds on his metal features. Predictably, none of Mamoru's logic gets through to Volfogg. "How do you expect to win, Special Agent Mamoru? I can't promise you won't be caught in the crossfire. Is that what you want? This could've been easy." He takes another step back, eying the clarity at the edge of his fog. Maybe he's wary of discovery. Or perhaps that he's all too aware of what Mamoru is capable of with that gift of his.
<Pose Tracker> GaoGaiGo Team has posed.
Mamoru is honest as Volfogg asks his questions. "I'm not sure how I'll win. That's for in the moment, right?" He laughs, hiding the tears building under his eyes.
"But I'm no longer a child, even if I was a Brave back then. Me and Ikumi...we're like Guy. We're Kings of Braves. And do you know what we do? I don't think being a Brave has changed for you, Volfogg."
"We believe in our future. In our dreams. In each other. We believe in brightness, in hope, in love, in family. In victory. In bringing you home. And you believe the same for us, on the other side of this mist that divides us."
"If I'm in he crossfire, if I die, at the least, I died with courage. And if I succeed, then it's all been worth it. There's no catch-22, no loss condition for my heart. Just..."
Mamoru brushes his tears away, smiling earnestly at Volfogg. "I know I won't get you back today. But someday, we'll reunite. No matter on which side, my heart tells me we'll rejoin each other as comrades."
<Pose Tracker> GBR-04 Volfogg has posed.
The conflict in Volfogg's mind only gets worse. Mamoru manages to stir up some sharp pride, because look at the little guy! He's no longer a little guy! But the honest acceptance through tears throws Volfogg even further.
It's so... soothing. But wrong. Wrong, and awful, but wonderful. And impossible. Impossible. "Impossible," Volfogg says, voice soft. The metal of his armor rattles as tension coils in his machinery. Such heartfelt vows aren't typically met with looks of anger, but Volfogg has hit too many logic roadblocks, and everything keeps rerouting to rage.
"I'm not giving up on you, Special Agent Mamoru," Volfogg says through a clenched jaw, the glimmer of mirror coating building on his metal. It envelopes him in an instant, and he blends back into the scenery, vanishing entirely.
<Pose Tracker> GaoGaiGo Team has posed.
As Volfogg disappears, Mamoru doesn't leave the bench. He takes a few moments to finish crying, and then dials up Ikumi with the most tearless voice he can provide to pick him up. He can't go home on his own.
Even the happiest people break down eventually.