2023-09-11: Finally
- Cast: Rita Bernal, Michele Luio, Jona Basta
- Where: The Ra Mari II
- Date: U.C. 0097 09 11
- Summary: At the end of the path, no one is where they expected to be. Reunited at last, Rita, Michele, and Jona talk about their past, present, and future.
<Pose Tracker> Jona Basta has posed.
Just the other day, Jona Basta woke up properly.
He had woken up here and there, briefly; Doctor Bidan insisted on lots of bed rest, though, and IVs to help him rehydrate and get nutrients. Now, though -- well after his battle in the II Neo Zeong -- Jona is up, and is sitting in a lounge area of the medbay.
He looks a little haggard. Without adrenaline, he has slowed down some. He has gotten some basic tending to himself, a haircut and a shower, and he is wearing a T-shirt loaned to him by Lahvi. It is a little too big for him.
He looks thinner than he did; he exercised and ate as best he could in the Neo Zeong, but it wasn't meant for months.
He sits at a table in the lounge area. There is a plate on it, with a grilled cheese sandwich, and iced tea in a glass. He is in one of three chairs there. Fa Yuiry had word sent to Michele and the Phenex that Jona is up.
And, on several levels, he knows he won't be here alone for long.
<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.
The Phenex, haggard and battle-damaged from her failed defense of the Castle of Iron, arrived back at the Ra Mari II early in the morning. She isn't allowing anyone near her -- choosing to take the slow path of Miraculous healing from Rita herself, rather than trust unknown engineers.
Rita /did/ ask for one bit of help, though. Months and months ago, Koji Kabuto created a hard-light projector for the Newtype spirit, allowing her to be seen by all, and allowing her to have a somewhat more physical presence in the world. It has been set up in the lounge area Jona chose, with an extremely long extension cord reaching all the way back to the Phenex in the hangar. It's not exactly /safe/, but Rita doesn't mind.
As the final cords are connected, the final settings adjusted, the machine glows, projecting a mess of luminous pixels above. Slowly, they begin to form into a humanoid shape, then refine themselves further. Rita Bernal, as she chooses to represent herself: long, golden hair down to her waist. Today's dress is a soft, metallic gold, with off the shoulder sleeves and delicate blue embroidery across the hems. Her skin is scarred, still, evidence of what they've all been through.
After a moment, green eyes open, landing on Jona. Rita steps forward, off the machine.
"Jona. I'm so happy to see you awake." Rita laughs, smiling so widely her eyes squish closed. "I'm so happy to see you at all! I never thought I'd be this lucky."
Rita sits in one of the spare chairs. It's spaced far enough away from the other two so that no one is crowding anyone else, but still close enough for warm conversation.
"If I'd followed the path, I should be past Jupiter by now. Instead..." Rita folds her hands in her lap, softly looking down at them. "Instead, I don't know. For the first time, I don't know."
<Pose Tracker> Michele Luio has posed.
Michele Luio contemplated whether she should come. She's kept her distance from people while here, making sure she wasn't a 'burden' after everything she's done that led to this whole mess. But with the news Jona was awake...
She needed to talk to him. Whether it was for him or her, she couldn't say, but she needed to try and at least start setting things right, no matter how long it would take in the end.
By the time Michele arrives, Rita's already holo-presented, as Michele breathes inwardly for a long moment, and then exhales. She approaches the table, and-
"I'm glad you're awake and eating, Jona. May I sit?"
It's the usual Luio cadence, but there's definitely far more vulnerability to the *emotion* than any Luio usually presented.
"Rita, I'm not sure I'll get used to seeing you like this again any time soon, but I'm glad I can."
If Jona agrees, Michele will sit in the third chair, otherwise, she'll stand.
"How are you holding up?" She doesn't direct the question, allowing both to answer.
She'll let Jona decide when they want to talk seriously.
<Pose Tracker> Jona Basta has posed.
"Michele," Jona says, by way of greeting and as if to... just, somehow, confirm her presence. It feels unreal, still. His eyes widen for a moment, and then he smiles.
"Sure. Of course," he says. "I didn't get enough food for everyone, but..."
He isn't so sure Rita can eat. And he isn't sure what Michele likes, these days.
Then, he looks at the machine. There are many things that Jona never expected to see again. Some, he knows, were mistaken; the product of giving into despair, the results of believing that he had done something -- and had to do something -- unforgiveable to be who he is. He let a lot of those go.
So when Rita appears in front of him, it's something he never expected to see again. That is even with observing the pixels form, until they refine into the very familiar form of Rita Bernal.
Even if he can sense her, it's another entirely to see her. Jona stares, his mouth open.
Then, slowly, he smiles. "Rita," he says, and he takes a second to just breathe. "You're... you're really here. In front of me."
He looks to Michele, at her question; then, he looks at Rita. Jona actually doesn't answer at first. It's not the sort of question you blithely answer a 'Fine, thanks' to.
"I'm... doing better," he says. "It's the first time I can say that in awhile. I..." There's so much to say. But first, he looks at Rita, then to Michele. "What about you both?"
<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.
"Koji Kabuto created this machine, with the help of his family." Rita raises her hands. She /looks/ solid. She looks real. Should Jona wish, he could even reach out and touch her -- but Rita will not initiate such a thing.
Rita looks surprised at being asked how she is. For a moment, she's quiet, not knowing how to answer. "I'm still here. I didn't think I would be. And... I'm glad to be here, still. That's a new feeling for me. I think." A pause, as Rita considers. "This is more than I deserve. But still, selfishly, I'm thankful for it. I want more happy things to happen, to all of us."
"I'm sorry it took me so long, Jona. You waited for me for so, so long." She smiles sadly. "And I hurt you so terribly. Both you and Michele. Everything went wrong, but even before then... I should have talked to you both from the start. I should have done so many things differently."
Rita looks down. "When I was seven, and I foresaw the Colony drop, I saw everything else, too. I knew if I didn't do things exactly as they were laid out in front of me, Zoltan would destroy the Earthsphere. I was terrified."
"After I died, I tried to change things. In my visions... Michele died. And I couldn't accept that. So I tried to find another path." Words spill from Rita's mouth. "And everything got twisted... But now, I can't see any further. I have no idea what's going to happen next."
With a wan little smile, Rita looks up, from Michele, then to Jona. "It's even more scary than the visions were."
<Pose Tracker> Michele Luio has posed.
Michele waves a hand about the food, a 'thanks but I'm fine', as she listens to her two childhood friends speak. As they do so, she sighs, and tries to smile. "I'll live, and that's more than I sometimes think I deserve. But fixing things requires steps forward, not back."
Michele considers exactly what Rita said, and then- "While you telling us may have avoided all of this, that doesn't absolve me of my part. I am who I am because of me, not because of you. I was so... I couldn't live in a world without you, and my selfishness almost cost us..." She trails off, but glances towards Jona with guilt and regret.
"I'm just glad, in your own ways, that you're both safe. The future being unwritten means we can still have a choice, doesn't it?"
<Pose Tracker> Jona Basta has posed.
"Koji Kabuto did, huh..." Jona trails off. His voice is quiet for a moment, as he thinks about that. Another person he wronged terribly; another thing he will need to make up for; and another person who, though he never meant it for Jona, has helped him tremendously.
"I'm..." He quiets down, as they both speak. He looks to Rita, then Michele. He looks at his sandwich, then he closes his eyes. He listens, as Rita explains.
He opens his eyes again, though.
"I was so attached to a world where I was the person who wronged you," he says. He looks at Michele, then. "So attached to being the one who had to find his redemption. And I thought... I thought, if you'd seen it all, then... I still had to be the one at fault."
His voice quiets. "But I was wrong. To do that to both of you," Jona says. "And--and we /do/ have a choice, now. We found a way where all three of us are here, together. So even if it's scary..."
Jona smiles, himself. "I don't think it's bad."
<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.
Rita nods at Michele's words, giving her an encouraging smile. "You and I both have a lot of mistakes to make up for. I think that you want to try is what matters. At least, that's what matters to me." Jona can speak for himself.
"Even if I hadn't had my visions, Jona, you did nothing wrong. We were children. We were in a horrific situation. Nobody could've expected you to act any differently. You too, Michele." Rita smiles softly, sadness in her eyes. "And I've never blamed either of you. Not for a second."
Rita looks thoughtful at the word 'choice'.
"Choices..." She looks between her friends again. "Yes. It's a good thing. We can choose, now. Anything we want. Anywhere we want."
Green eyes turn to Jona again. "What do you need, Jona? And what do you /want/?"
"And you, Michele. You've both had one goal for so long. You must be feeling as lost as I am. What is it that you need, and that you want, so you can move forward?"
<Pose Tracker> Michele Luio has posed.
Jona and Rita are being more kind than she thinks she deserves, but Michele's better able to accept it, now, knowing that the battle is over and it's real.
"What I need is to give Brick a goddamn raise." Michele jokes, and then gets serious.
"I need...*and* want... to make things right. It won't be fast. It won't be easy. But, I'm gonna put myself out there. Do work for charity or volunteering to start, assist the victims. And not just through money. I'll put the effort in."
A pause, as Michele turns to Jona. "Speaking of. You don't have to forgive me or accept this. But, if you're willing, I would like to fund you for the time being. Get you a place to be stable, rest, on your feet as you recover and do what it is you decide to do."
"Stephanie's basically got me out of the running for head of the company now, not that I care. But we talked. She's covering up some of the drama for PR. I... don't know how to feel about it, but at the least, it means I can do something instead of rotting in a cell."
Not that she'd complain if she did.
<Pose Tracker> Jona Basta has posed.
Jona looks down, when Rita says that. That she didn't blame him, despite everything he did. It's almost too much; his eyes look distant for a moment. And, yet, it feels good to hear it -- to know the terrible mistakes that he made didn't rob him of people he cares for most.
He looks at Michele, then. He nods, after a moment, and he hesitates. He has to think about her offer. "I..."
Finally, he nods. "I'm working on it, Michele. I forgive you, but... I'm figuring out what that means, still," he says. "But... I'm okay with that. If you'll help me get on my feet, I won't turn you down."
Then, he looks thoughtful. rRita's question is a hard one; he doesn't, quite, have an answer yet.
But he feels closer.
"It's... it's like you said, Rita," he says. "I've had one goal for so long. And now, I don't have to pursue that. I don't want to turn away from either of you. You'll always be close to me."
He hesitates for a moment more.
"But I want to do something for a lot of other people, now," Jona admits. "I think... if I'm going to know who I am now, if I'm going to find a way to accept myself after all of the people I hurt, I need to help others. I need to live for others, beyond the three of us."
Jona looks to Rita, then Michele. "So... I might sign on with the Magallanica, and help the refugees being taken in, at least for awhile."
He hesitates. "If you want to come, Michele, I won't say no."
<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.
"Magallanica may be a good option. They're going to need a lot of help. Someone like you, Michele, could make a difference here, for many, many people. Many who have stories like we do." Rita offers, quietly.
She doesn't understand the world of PR and 'raises', but she understands these things are important in Michele's world.
"I wouldn't let them put you in a cell. Please don't worry." Rita smiles in what she hopes in a reassuring way.
Thank goodness Jona accepted Michele's offer. Rita can only find so many space-diamonds big enough to matter. "Yes. Magallanica... It feels right. The princess and my sisters will keep it safe, whatever happens. I can't tell anymore what will happen, but I /know/ it will be a haven for the people of space."
"Don't forget to live for yourself, too, Jona. None of us have really gotten to try that sort of thing." Rita smiles gently. "It's wonderful to hear you want to help the others, but you cannot forget yourself."
You'll always be close to me.
Rita's hands clasp in her lap.
"Do you both..." She asks, tentatively.
The words are too much. Instead, she lifts a hand. With a soft click, a compartment hidden on the side of the projector opens. From it emerges something in glimmering silver.
A silver chain, with a singular pendant hanging down in the form of a diamond.
Gently, the necklace floats to Rita, landing in her hand. She looks down at it, afraid to see Jona or Michele's reactions. Afraid that she's the only one who kept her piece.
<Pose Tracker> Michele Luio has posed.
Michele nods to Jona about the money, but when he tells them his plan and hesitantly suggests Michele can join him, she considers it deeply. After a few moments...
"I would love that. I won't crowd you, though, it's a big colony. We need to figure out what we are without each other if we're ever going to decide if we want a life with each other in it."
As Rita pulls out the pendant, Michele stares for a second. And then... she reaches into her jacket pocket, slowly recovering a semi-matching piece of a pendant, and holds it forward. "I think it's about time these return to their original owner. Don't you?"
<Pose Tracker> Jona Basta has posed.
People with stories like theirs. How many were out there? Maybe, Jona thinks, they could do even more than he realized.
He does blink -- and look surprised -- when Rita promises that they won't end up in a cell. Except, of course, she has the Phenex. Together, the two of them could get them out of any such arrangement.
"Living for myself... that's going to take some practice," Jona tells Rita, and his smile is tired. "But I'll start practicing."
He looks to Michele -- and Jona nods, after a moment. "Mm. Yeah," he says. "We'll have that space. And if we need each other... we won't be far."
His eyes turn, as he hears the soft click of a compartment on the projector. His eyes widen as he sees the piece of a pendant -- silver chain and all -- and Jona stares, his mouth open until he thinks to close it.
Then, he reaches to his pants pocket, and pulls free the last piece of the necklace. Perhaps the only worldly possession he had left, in the end.
He looks at Michele, then, and his eyes widen. Then, he glances to the side, his expression tight as it becomes too much for him to speak.
<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.
Rita listens to Michele and Jona work things out. It's a warm, sweet feeling. They haven't been able to talk to each other this freely since they were children. It's a promising sign for a new beginning.
"Thank you, Jona." Rita's eyes shimmer with projected tears. "This is so much more than I ever dreamed of. I'm so happy..."
A nod toward Michele. Rita opens her other hand, psychically pulling the other two necklace segments toward herself. Should they not be interrupted, Rita will take all three into her grasp, gently closing them into her palms. She closes her eyes.
Rainbow light, shimmering in pastel grace, shines from between Rita's fingers. It only takes a heartbeat for the Miracle to happen, but she holds on just a bit longer. Rita brings her hands to her heart.
She manages a little laugh, even as a few tears fall down her cheeks. If she lets go of this necklace, there will truly be nothing binding them together. All this time, she kept her segment safe, through torture and death. Rita isn't ready to give it up.
She just needs a second.
Rita opens her eyes. They are no longer green, but every color imaginable, radiant and glorious with the Light of Possibility.
After all this time... She can pretend to be a goddess once more.
Sacred fire licks up the projection, prismatic and impossible. It does not spread, nor burn. Rita's hair rises, floating around her shoulders. Psychic strength echoes from the spirit, a display of her full power.
"Keep him safe." Rita whispers. "Guide him to happiness. Let him find peace."
The lights in the room flicker. Artificial gravity is interrupted, sending Jona's food into the air. Fae sounds, almost like a song in some foreign language, chime through the room.
"And, when they're ready."
More tears. Rita's smile, imperfect and genuine, never falters.
Bring them back to me.
One last flare of brilliant grace passes into the necklace, and Rita's strength fades. Gradually, gravity returns, and the fire encompassing her projected form flickers away. The light of her eyes vanishes, leaving them that sweet, otherwordly green.
Soundlessly, Rita reaches her hand out. Hanging from it is Jona's father's necklace, now restored. A diamond with two stylized wings extending up and out, dangling from a singular silver chain.
<Pose Tracker> Michele Luio has posed.
Michele doesn't fight the necklace leaving her hand. As Rita speaks, Michele's eyes become glassy, small tears falling down even as she smiles softly.
"Don't drop it this time, okay?" A small laugh, as Michele inhales and exhales. "Now it's up to you if it ever gets split again. With the heroes of humanity out there, we have all the time in the world to learn who we want to be. It doesn't have to happen overnight."
<Pose Tracker> Jona Basta has posed.
It takes Jona a moment to uncurl his fingers; to really, finally, let go of this one piece he held. Because, in the end, he does have to let go. He looks to Rita, and his eyes are misty, too; he takes a deep breath, steadying himself, as he watches the three of them move to Rita.
They're in her grasp, now, he realizes. It's everything that he ever hoped he could do. But he waits, even if it's more out of respect to Rita than necessity.
And his eyes widen, when she has eyes lit like the rainbow -- and her light is dancing throughout. Jona even makes a surprised noise, as sandwich lifts up off the table. That prompts a soft, disbelieving laugh.
But that's the only interruption he offers. He reaches his hand out -- fingers brushing Rita's projected ones, for just a moment -- and takes the necklace his father gave him. Whole, again. He stares at it.
Then, he closes his eyes, and slides it over his neck.
For a moment, he is back home again; on his father's shoulders, looking out at the sea shore. He is walking with Rita and Michele, down the beach, and the sky hasn't become fire. He hears the ocean; he hears Rita's laughter; he hears Michele's joke that earned that laughter.
He opens his eyes, and the pendant dangles against his chest. "I won't," he says to Michele. He looks between them both. "It'll stay with me, always. Until it leads me back to you both."
<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.
"No matter how far you two go. I'll be here waiting." Rita promises, softly. "All you have to do is call, and I'll be with you."
As Rita and Jona's hands meet, Rita can't truly feel it. Not like this. But it's okay -- Jona can. That's what matters. His memories echo loudly enough for Rita to feel, and she laughs in harmony with her past self, one hand still pressed to her heart.
"It suits you, Jona. It always has." Rita smiles through her tears. "Thank you for letting me borrow it for a while. It was exactly what I needed. It was my anchor through everything."
Rita's hand lowers, returning to the other, resting at her chest. "It brought me back to you. I love you, Jona. I love you, Michele."
"It's finally over." Rita whispers, in wonder, sorrow, and joy. "Finally, finally..."