2024-08-03: Sleeping Amidst a Field of Dahlias
- Log: Asleep Amidst a Field of Dahlias
- Cast: Chloe, Kaworu Nagisa, Liam 7-020, Lucine Azul
- Where: Augmented Shibuya
- OOC - IC Date: 3rd August 0099
- Summary: Concerned about Chloe's mental state after the disturbing events during the last Meteora battle, several of her comrades check in on her. Only to find that she's travelled to the surface, where the strange Meteora sleeps.
<Pose Tracker> Chloe has posed.
It's been a week since the battle with the Meteora ended with the
revelation of its human form. Since then there has been no signs of activity
from the giant monster. Regardless, the atmosphere within the city of
Augmented Shibuya has been rather tense. There's been a lot of questions
running around about what to do with it.
The access elevator to the surface has had heightened restrictions
placed on it since the battle, to restrict on-foot access to the monster.
Probably a safety measure to keep curious idiots from doing something that
might get themselves and possibly others killed.
Of course, one curious idiot has been rather quiet about her thoughts
regarding the monster on their doorstep. Chloe has spent a lot of her time
holed up in the apartment where she lives. She hasn't been able to sleep
much-even less than usual-so is looking rather worn out. She's been
alternating primarily between feelings of anger at their failure to destroy
the thing, and confusion towards its behaviour and the form it's taken.
Round and round her thoughts have been going to an almost dizzying
degree. Until finally they have hit a peak and forced her to act. She swiftly
leaves her apartment, making her way through the streets of Augmented Shibuya,
making her way to the elevator that leads to the surface. As she approaches, a
warning sign pops up in her AR view. But she raises a hand up to the digital
window. It registers her override and switches to a green checkmark, before
vanishing. The elevator doors open and Chloe steps in.
Chloe's journey doesn't go unnoticed though. Noa doesn't spend all of
her time with her co-pilot, lest she risks Chloe getting annoyed and
forcefully locking her out of her life. However, Noa just happens to notice
Chloe entering the elevator to the surface. No small amount of concern flows
through the Super AI and she decides to get in contact with a few of the
others that happen to be in the city, with the idea of getting them to follow
after Chloe with Noa. Providing them with access to the same elevator once
they've gathered, it's a short trip up to the surface.
The desert above is hot compared to Augmented Shibuya. It is a desert
in the middle of the day, after all. Sand stretches out in all directions,
with the faint outline of the La Tour orbital elevator visible quite some
distance away. More locally, two of the Pallas Makhias are currently looming
some distance away, evidently on guard, watching over the nearby Meteora.
Said monster is still in the same position as it was at the end of the
battle: A giant orb a few hundred metres in diameter, a chunk of it smashed
open to reveal the hollow interior. Nestled inside, the humanoid Meteora far
taller than most mobile weapons is currently motionless, its legs pulled up
against its chest, its arms wrapped around them. Its eyes are closed and word
is they have yet to open.
Curiously, a field of red flowers has sprouted in the desert sands
beneath the monster, where all other plant life seems incapable of living.
The AR glasses provided to visitors still work up here on the surface.
And not too far away from where the surface elevator unloads everyone, a
series of AR warning signs cordon off a large area around the Meteora.
There, people will see Chloe, standing just at the edge of the
restricted zone. She's staring up towards the partially visible face of the
Meteora. Whatever thoughts are going through her head are not visible on her
face, primarily because most of the emotion on it is fatigue.
Having followed everyone up, Noa flickers into view beside them,
visible and audible through the same AR glasses. She seems concerned about her
co-pilot, simply saying with worry in her voice, "Chloe..."
<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.
Though NERV does its level best to keep Kaworu busy to the point of
having no life outside of it, Kaworu has a secret. He has many secrets,
really. And because of those secrets, he can always make time for the things
he wants. One such thing is spending time with Shinji, his dearest friend.
He makes regular visits to him in Magallanica, the most recent being
just yesterday. On that visit, they'd talked about various things. The attack
on Augmented Shibuya had come up in passing--and Shinji had expressed his
concern, so Kaworu had told him a little more. About Chloe, and about Coco's
passing, and the digital idol Noa, and the return of the Meteora on the
anniversary of Coco's death...
It's information Kaworu really shouldn't be passing on to what is
technically now a civilian. But technically, Prometheus is only allied to
NERV, not a branch member of it.
One thing led to another, and now Shinji has arrived to pay Chloe a
visit at Augmented Shibuya with Kaworu, both of them dressed in casual
clothes. This isn't an official NERV visit, after all, even if this is far
from the best time for tourists. They'd met up with Liam and Lucine, to make
it yet clearer that this isn't an official NERV visit--but Chloe had refused
to let them into her apartment. On the way away to try to figure out something
else, Noa had caught up and redirects them to where Chloe actually is.
"Is... is this really okay?" Shinji murmurs to his friends, shifting
uncomfortably as the elevator rises. "Isn't there supposed to be a Meteora out
there?"
"Noa's given us implicit permission, so it's okay," Kaworu reassures
him.
"That's... not really what I meant..." Shinji shoots Lucine and Liam a
look, as if to silently plead with them too. He came here to offer his
condolences to Chloe, but he doesn't know about giving them while there's a
giant monster looming over all of them, no matter how inert it might be
right now.
...Of course, if Shinji really wanted to, he could always refuse. He
knows Kaworu wouldn't tell him no. But for some reason, it's hard for him to
say no to Kaworu, either.
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
It's a testament to Liam's concern for Chloe--and the progress he's
made in therapy--that he's returned to Augmented Shibuya outside of his
official duties. The shuttle ride in gave him plenty of time to explain how
the city works to Lucine--and a long, aerial view of the dormant Meteora, and
the field of impossible flowers. After picking up AR glasses at an information
desk, the two met up with Kaworu and Shinji.
As before, Liam made sure to take the glasses off every now and then,
to check the computer-generated world against the real one.
Chloe's refusal to meet with them was disappointing, but perhaps
understandable. Noa's concern for her copilot was also understandable,
especially since--as Liam understands it--it isn't exactly safe to go topside.
Liam leans against the elevator door with arms crossed, his AR glasses
pushed down to the tip of his nose. He's wearing a grey athletic hoodie,
matching shorts, and tennis shoes. Despite the heat, he doesn't look the
slightest bit uncomfortable. "I'm wondering that too, Shinji," Liam says,
giving the younger man a sympathetic look. "But the least we can do is check
in on her. I don't think Noa would send us to find her for no reason. She
was... really shaken when that thing showed up again. And now it's wearing her
dead friend's face."
The doors open. There's Chloe, and Noa joins them a moment later. Liam
frowns. "Chloe," Liam says, taking a step forwards. "We need to talk. About
this."
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
Liam had supported Lucine through her own messy emotions over the Vajra
attack, as well as Sheryl's rehabiliation and now, it's her turn. She knows
the Meteora battle had dealt a blow to NERV's morale (at least to some of its
members) at a time when it was already on shaky grounds.
Augmented Shibuya was a whirlwind of sensation; the glasses almost give
her a headache as she tries to keep aware of Noa, along with all the other
signals dependent on the VR set to be seen and heard.
"... She's in a rough state, right now," Lucine softly says to Shinji,
as they rise up in the elevator. "If Noa's concerned enough to help us... I
think she could use some support, even if it's just for her to know... that
there are people thinking about her." Her brow furrows a moment, noting
Shinji's lingering unease. "The Meteroa hasn't moved for a while. If it does,
it may be fortunate that we're there, especially if Chloe isn't of the mindset
to move away from danger." The logic of this puts her at ease, but will it do
the same for Shinji? That may have not been the true source of his anxiety,
despite him asking about it.
The heat of the desert brings the sparkle of sweat already to Lucine's
skin, despite hers being a few shades darker than Liam's pale tone.
A barren landscape. Flowers growing where they normally wouldn't. An
oasis in a disaster zone, where no living being should linger for long. There
are certain parallels Lucine could make, but the cold prickle of odd
familiarity won't begin to explain what Chloe might be feeling, right now.
She may sense emotions, but the lens of perception is more intangible
than the lens they wear. ".... I heard the basics of what happened," she
starts. ".... I..."
Words fail her, unlike when she talked with Shinji. "We're here to
support you," she says, rather uselessly. None of them can fix this. There's
not even a settled idea of why things are this way.
<Pose Tracker> Chloe has posed.
It's natural to be concerned about being on the surface. If the Meteora
were to suddenly activate and reveal abilities similar to its first form, it
could kill them all in one strike. Makhia guards or not.
But Chloe doesn't really care about the danger right now, staring up
towards the sleeping Meteora. There's only so much she can not notice about
her surroundings and when Liam speaks her name, Chloe visibly jumps in
surprise, then turns to look towards the group. Caught somewhere she probably
shouldn't have gone, Chloe asks, "W-What are you all doing? How did you get up
here?" Chloe's eyes then dart towards Noa's floating image, realizing the
culprit. She narrows her eyes at the AARC.
Noa seems to flinch for a moment, before stanading her ground and
putting her hands on her hips, "You're not going to scare me off with that
look. They came to the city to talk to you but you just ignored them! We're
concerned about you. I mean, look at you! Look where you are right now!"
Chloe doesn't respond to Noa, simply glaring at her for a few more
moments. She then looks at the others. She doesn't glare at them, though
neither does she show thanks for them being here. Instead she says, "I don't
need help... What I need are answers. What is that thing? Why does it look
like Coco? Is..." Chloe pauses for a moment as she looks back at the Meteora
in the distance, "Is there a possibility that there's a part of Coco...
Somewhere inside it?"
<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.
The AR glasses are also kind of uncomfortable. Shinji finds himself
taking them off from time to time to check the virtual city against the real
world when he notices Liam doing it.
His outfit is a bit different from his usual hoodie get-up. Instead,
he's wearing a very light, high-collared windbreaker to protect against the
sun over his T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. His cap is still there to protect
his eyes. On Kaworu's part, he's wearing a white shirt with gray shoulders and
a black-and-white undershirt along with beige slacks, a metal wristwatch, and
popped sneakers. The snowflake necklace he used to wear all the time now has a
special place in a jewelry box back home.
Shinji makes a soft, uncertain noise at Liam's response--a noise that
falls quiet when Lucine talks about how rough Chloe has had things. In the
end, he nods. "Yeah... you're both right. We can't just ignore her. I'm sure
she's in a lot of pain..."
Like I was, he doesn't add. At least for him, Rei and Asuka turned
out to be alive after all. For Chloe, Coco is...
Shinji is NOT comforted by Lucine's implication that a kaiju battle
might break out, something that comes across through the grimace that creases
his face. But Kaworu catches his eye and smiles at him.
%"It's all right. If it comes to that, I'll protect you, Shinji-kun," he
reassures him.
And this time, it is a bit more reassuring. "All right... Thanks,
Kaworu-kun."
The elevator reaches its destination; the four step out and see Chloe.
Liam and Lucine call out to her, saying what they need to do, but Shinji
hesitates, and Kaworu holds his tongue at first. Shinji's gaze turns towards
the Meteora and the humanoid shape within it, and he flinches. ...He'd already
heard about it, including just now from Liam, but it really does look just
like Coco. This must be incredibly hard for Chloe to see it... He didn't know
Coco well, but he does remember meeting the both of them at Tokyo-3. Coco
had been there for a tour of the city, and Chloe had been her guard, and
Kaworu and Rei had been there too... His eyes slink over towards Noa, who also
has Coco's face. That must also be hard, if in a very different way...
So when Chloe and Noa start arguing, Shinji flinches. "I-I'm sorry. I
know it's been a long time since we last met... but I don't think any of us
have answers," he offers meekly.
"There's something about it that's different from last year," Kaworu
remarks.
Shinji blinks at him. "There is? Uh... what's that?" He wasn't there
for the attack last year either, after all.
But Kaworu shakes his head slowly. "I'm not sure. I can't quite tell."
Shinji is silent for a moment. He looks over at Lucine and Liam; then
he looks at Chloe. "Maybe... we could help... find answers?" he suggests
slowly.
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
Liam glances between Shinji and Lucine, and nods, somberly, as Shinji
trails off. Chloe isn't the only one to lose--or nearly lose--someone precious
to them. Everyone has their own painful memories. In Liam's mind, that makes
it all the more important that they reach out to Chloe, and remind her that
she's not alone.
"...We took the elevator," is Liam's response to Chloe's very good
question. He pauses a beat, and glances to Noa as she pleads her case. "I...
really didn't feel comfortable coming up here, but Noa's right. When was the
last time you ate, Chloe? Or got a good night's sleep?" Liam's face tightens,
and he folds his arms across his chest. "...I'd want answers, too," he says,
looking up at face of the effigy looming over them. "And I hope that we made
the right call about that thing. I don't think it's coincidence that it took
that shape."
Liam unfolds his arms, and turns to Kaworu. "Beyond what it looks
like?" Liam says.
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
Unfortunately, Lucine's experiences with the Meteroa are too few to
really be a voice of logic. She doesn't realize that, quite yet.
The vague sprig of familiarity that comes from Shinji brings a soft, if
sorry smile to Lucine's lips. Even if Kaworu's prediction that Asuka and Rei
were 'alive' proved to be more true than Lucine expected, it still wasn't a
full 'answer', and it brought with it more questions.
"This wouldn't be the first mystery NERV has encountered," Lucine notes
quietly.
"It's not Noa's fault." Lucine comes to the defense of Noa, as Chloe
glares towards the AI. "We're the ones who chose to come here. And Shinji is
right, we don't have answers." Save Liam, but that was the easiest one to
answer. "However, I'd argue every one of us here... has felt loss similar to
this. The sorts were we're left with questions and no answers."
"I can say this." She holds up a finger. "The chances of you solving
this mystery... depends on you surviving. You knew Coco well; you're hras
Coming out here, even if you want answers... will only make the void between
you and those answers seem more inescapable. At the very least, we should get
out of the sun."
<Pose Tracker> Chloe has posed.
Chloe turns her head to look at Shinji. She remembers him well enough,
as they've met a couple of times. Though as he says, it was a while ago since
the last. Which is why, when he says that they don't have any answers, Chloe
replies, "Then what's the point of you being here?" A harsh rebuttal, though
Chloe hadn't been speaking of Shinji specifically but rather all of them.
Though it could certainly be taken that way.
Kaworu mentions that there's something different about the Meteora
compared to the previous encounter a year ago. Though he's not sure how...
Chloe doesn't seem all that particular comforted by that, "That could mean
anything... Though... I suppose it does at least mean something about it has
changed." Was that Coco's doing? Or did something else happen over that year?
Liam asks about Chloe's health, which clearly is not doing great. She
slumps a little at the questions, answering, "I haven't slept well in over a
year... I have... Dreams..."
Chloe then looks at Lucine. She absently clenches a fist, "This isn't
just about losing someone... That was hard enough... This is far more..."
Painful? Confusing? But Lucine does make a good point... Why did she come up
here? What did she hope to learn by simply staring at the Meteora?
Liam speaks of making the right call and Chloe quickly starts, "You
should have-" But she then stops, glancing towards the Meteora in the
distance... Does she even feel like she wants it dead now? She doesn't know...
"It doesn't matter what it looks like. That thing's not Coco!" Noa's
outburst is quite firm, though there is a tinge of worry in her voice. She
waves her hand towards the Meteora in the distance, "It's just a monster that
looks like Coco! And there's only one reason why it'd take that form. It's
clearly after you, Chloe! It's going to try to kill you. Try to take you away,
like it did Coco. Take you away from..." Noa hesitates, seemingly uncertain
about finishing her sentence.
"My my my. Disobeying the General's orders to stay away from the
Meteora and sneaking up here. You're being quite rebellious, Chloe. I don't
remember creating you with such a strong ego."
The amused and familiar tone of Professor Julie interrupts, keeping Noa
from saying anything more. But she's not just on the radio this time. The
wholly cybernetic woman walks across the desert sands on thin legs that are
from human, the likewise spindly arms and fingers swaying beside her. She
stops and raises one of those fingers to point to the group, "You all
shouldn't be up here. Ah, but if I suppose you wanted to do some SCIENCE I
could hardly blame you."
Julie turns to look towards the sleeping Meteora, "Isn't it
wonderful!?" She wiggles her thin fingers in excitement, "I'm DYING to just
tear it apart and examine it. Think of what we could learn. News ways to fight
the Meteora? New advancements in Makhia tech? My, it may even change the
existence of humanity as we know it!"
Julie grins back at everyone, "A Meteora that ate a human... And became
a human!" Pause, then quickly amending, "Well, humanoid. Jury's still out on
what its intelligence is like."
<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.
This is a world in which so many people have lost someone precious to
them. It's unreasonably cruel. And yet, it's the world in which they must live.
"Yes," Kaworu tells Liam. He chuckles faintly at Lucine's comment, and
for her gives another, "Yes."
Shinji winces when Chloe snaps at him. "S-sorry..." She didn't seem
impressed by his offer to help find answers, so he doesn't press it, but he
can't help but give her a sympathetic look as she speaks of how much she's
suffered over the past year.
Kaworu meanwhile looks at Chloe thoughtfully. Then he says, "She was
calling to someone."
Shinji snaps a wide-eyed look at him. "Huh?"
But Noa bursts out that the Meteora only stole Coco's face to hurt
Chloe. Shinji gives her an uncertain look, which he flips back to Kaworu, then
back to Noa.
Then Professor Julie appears, and Shinji yelps in horror and jumps to
one side to hide behind Kaworu, who lets him. Kaworu smiles comfortingly over
his shoulder at him, then regards the others. He politely ignores Julie's
enthusiasm for violent science--he's quite familiar with her type--and says,
"Liam and Lucine are right, Chloe. Unless there's something you want to do
that needs to be out here, why don't we head back down?"
Of course, the words 'that needs to be out here' could carry unexpected
weight, especially if Chloe can pitch it as Science.
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
"...Is there anyone here you can talk to, about the dreams?" Liam takes
a mental step back, reorganizes his thoughts. "I mean, it's all right to be
upset, and to want answers. None of this makes any sense, and none of this is
fair. But you have to take care of yourself, Chloe, even if that means asking
for help when you need it. Especially if it means that."
Liam glances out at the Meteora as Chloe tries to articulate her
thoughts. She has a good point. "You haven't gotten closure," he says. "I
think." Noa's outburst startles him a little, and his eyes dart in her
direction. "Is it... I don't know, can those things even think?" He doesn't
try and finish her sentence, though--that's something only Noa herself can
confess.
SUDDENLY!
Liam whirls around to face the voice. He puts a name to it before he
sees the actual person it belongs to--Dr. Julie. His eyes start darting back
and forth the moment she's in his arc of vision, sizing her up. He expects to
see a human-baseline, normal-presenting researcher. His expectations are
dashed instantly.
Liam's mouth opens. His eyes go round. The spike of sudden, reflexive
horror is all but palpable--and so is the smothering of that horror. "Yes," he
says. "Your call, Chloe."
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
It's not about losing someone. The last time Lucine and Chloe met, it
was during that 'house-warming' party. She definitely was dealing with loss
then. And afterwards. .... And now, Lucine is at a loss for words, yet again,
as Chloe deals with something so much worse. ".... None of it makes sense.
This isn't like the Angels..." Those seem to be a rejection of what would be
defined as 'human', or, perhaps, something intrinsically opposite, but still
curious.
Does this... feel the same way?
'She was calling to someone.'
As Shinji snaps that wide-eyed look at Kaworu, Lucine is similarly
surprised, even if her reaction is a more subdued head tilt. ".... During the
fight, you me-"
Noa's outburst cuts Lucine off, drawing her away from any
clarifications. Noa had her own reasons to bring them up here. ... Perhaps,
Noa's similarities to Coco are not in name only, if Lucine's assumptions about
Chloe and Coco's relationship are true. Even if Chloe would naturally try to
push Noa away, could those parts also feel an attachment to her?
Julie's introduction draws Lucine's attention; she looks towards her
distractedly, but is unable to control her shock in time, awkwardly bumping
backwards into Liam.
"... A-ah, he... hello, I'm sorry, ah, was surprised, with the Meteora
right there, ah..." She's bowing her head slightly as an apology, which helps
because she doesn't _have to look in Julie's direction just yet_.
'Creating you'. .... Chloe is... does that make her a Coordinator?
Lucine draws in a breath. While she doesn't remember Julie if she's met her
before, she'll definitely remember *now*. The _enthusiasm_.
"... Are you... as associate of Chloe's?" She breathes in and reaches
out her hand, tenatively, in a handshake. "I'm Lucine Azul, and this is... ah,
Liam. We were worried about Chloe, so... I apologize for any trouble we may
have caused."
<Pose Tracker> Chloe has posed.
Kaworu's words cause Chloe to look surprised for a moment. The Meteora
was calling out to someone? Could it be calling out to Chloe? Is Noa right in
that the Meteora is here for her? Something tugs at the edge of Chloe's
memory, but she can't recall.
She doesn't get to find out more though as Julie appears. Chloe doesn't
seem concerned that she's been caught out up here, simply replying, "If the
General has a problem with it, I'm sure he'll let me know."
Julie's appearance causes quite a shock to Shinji. And Julie takes
notice as a result, chuckling, "Well, aren't you a flighty one." Though
looking a bit more closely, she pauses. She takes a few steps closer to Kaworu
and Shinji, leaning forward for a closer look at the latter's face, "You seem
familiar..." A pause as she tries to recall. She then snaps her metallic
fingers, "That's it! You look like a young Gendo!"
Julie taps her chin with a long finger, "Hmmmmmmmm... Oh! That's right,
he went off and got himself married. A shame about her. She had such a
beautiful... Brain."
When Liam asks about anyone Chloe could talk to about her dreams, Noa
quickly flickers over besides Chloe, saying, "Me! You can always talk to me
about them! After all, it's my job to look after your mental health."
Chloe quickly provides a rebuttal, "No thanks."
Noa frowns, crossing her arms, "Oooooooooh. How am I supposed to help
you if you won't let me!?"
Chloe frowns too, cutting back, "You're the last person I want help
from."
Lucine extends a hand to Julie. Julie looks at it with an amused smile,
raising her own far weirder hand to show, wiggling the long fingers, "Sorry,
dear. I don't shake hands." Ah, yes, trying that would make things awkward.
Instead Julie raises a long arm across her chest and bows with a
flourish, "Julie. No last name, I've forgotten it. Not that I have much need
for one. Though everyone calls me Professor." She rises again, "One of my
former careers. I'm the founder of Augmented Shibuya, and lead researcher of
Prometheus." Lucine will probably have heard from someone or other that the
city has been around for a couple of centuries.
They're all suggesting that getting out of here may be the thing to do.
And Chloe admits she doesn't feel like sticking around anymore. She nods a
little, starting to walk away and back towards the elevator.
But Julie has other ideas, "Ohhhhh? I thought you were all interested
in answers? For example, it may look like it's motionless, but there are
actually minor movements suggesting it's breathing! Even though ultrasonic
waves show no real signs of lungs, or other major organs for that matter.
Except its core, of course."
Julie grins, "Aren't you all curious at all?"
<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.
"It's as Liam says. You won't be in a condition to find the answers you
seek if you neglect your own well-being," Kaworu says mildly. Having said
that, he won't stop her--but he also doesn't say he won't stop her.
He doesn't weigh in on the similarities or lack thereof between the
Meteora and the Angels--or in one gaining a humanoid form.
He does, however, tell Lucine, "Yes."
Kaworu might be the only one meeting Julie face-to-face for the first
time who's completely unfazed by her appearance. But Julie likewise seems
unfazed by the reactions she's getting, so fair's fair.
Shinji cringes when Julie tells him he looks like his father when he
was young. However, where before he was cowering, now he gives her a sullen
glare. It intensifies when she hints at his mother. "You knew my--?" But he
bites down on the end of that question: You knew my mother?. He doesn't
think he wants to hear anything about his mom from this lady. It's not just
her uncanny valley body; her entire personality screams wrongness.
It just figures that she seems to know his father first.
Kaworu watches Chloe and Noa's exchange, his faint smile leveling out
in concern. Meanwhile, Shinji's brow furrows in confusion. "Founder? But...
isn't Augmented Shibuya a couple hundred years old?" He's pretty sure he
remembers that... He knows it's been a long time, though.
There's an open question of heading back down. But Julie suggests there
may be answers to be found yet--that she may be the one to supply them.
Shinji's lips thin... but as instant of a disliking as he's taken to her, it's
Chloe who wants those answers. Who's he to refuse them on her behalf?
Likewise, Kaworu listens to what Julie has to say, and responds by
looking at Chloe as she walks back towards the elevator. "It's your decision,"
he says. If she opts to head back down after all, he and Shinji will
follow--and if Chloe decides to get answers, he and Shinji will stay for her.
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
Liam glances between Chloe and Noa, his lips tightening in something
that's not quite a frown. "...Were you assigned to her, Noa?" Both of them
seem frustrated by the situation--Noa, by Chloe's refusal to talk, and Chloe,
by Noa's existence in general. But that feels too sensitive to touch here,
especially while Julie's here.
"So all of this is your work," Liam says, as calm as he can manage when
there's an actual amoral scientist less than ten feet away. "The AR, the
Makhias, Noa--even people like Chloe?" God, just saying that makes him feel a
little ill--but he keeps the expression of mild surprise intact. And as Julie
offers actual data about the Meteora, he glances at Chloe. "Kaworu's right."
Even if he himself is torn between his own desire for answers and the desire
to just not have to interact with Julie any further.
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
"... I understand." Lucine wasn't sure what to expect, when she held
out her hand. She blames her nerves. "That... must be annoying, at times."
Lucine doesn't miss that ill twinge from Liam over the idea of Chloe
being made, as well as Shinji's sullen mood at the subject of his parents.
".... Julie... Professor Julie..." Lucine repeats the name over and
over out loud. The name *does* sound familiar, and not from recently, either--
It *clicks*. Lucine's yellow eyes widen, as she, quite rudely, points
towards Julie. "... Wait... you're from that article! Ah-" Of course she
wouldn't know *which* article, Lucine, think, use your words! "... There was
an article about a virtual city on Earth... I can't remember what magazine it
was, ah, just... it was several years ago." Lucine smiles nervously. "It just
never clicked, until now." It seemed so weird to her at the time. Why would
anyone on Earth want something other than Earth? For a hot second, it seemed
like virtual reality may be something to invest in, on Mars. Why invest in
expensive domes trying to emulate Earth, or try to terraform all of Mars, when
you could just simulate it in cities underground?
Her mom, the biologist, was particularly ranty that night. ".... So you
are that scientist. I'd never thought I'd meet someone like you."
Her tone can't decide to be mildly impressed at the accomplishments of
one scientist, or mildly disturbed at Julie's inability to sense discomfort.
(Or, perhaps, Julie *does*, and does not care.)
At least, maybe, it'll take Julie away from talking about a few certain
subjects with Shinji. "Ah, well, there's interest, but... we're in a rather
squishy state. Plus... everyone's right. if anyone should decide, it should be
Chloe herself. It hasn't moved since, correct?" She taps her chin. "... We can
afford to wait. If there is something of Coco inside... they may be wanting
answers of their own. They may not move until they have them."
Is it right to go from calling it an 'it' to a 'them'? The entity,
whatever it is, is still dangerous.
<Pose Tracker> Chloe has posed.
Julie smirks in reply to Shinji's unfinished question. She coyly says,
"Let's just say I have an interest in interesting people. Of which I rarely
find." She leans her head to the side, resting a cheek against what amounts
for a palm on her hand as she says wistfully, "Ah, if only I was younger back
then..." Wait. What's she saying? And which one is she talking about!? Surely
she's joking.
Speaking of age, Shinji enquires about the city's and Julie points at
him, quickly saying, "Correct!" She doesn't expand on it further, though the
implication is definitely there.
Julie actually grins proudly as Liam asks if she did all this, "Yes!
It's all thanks to my genius." Pause. She waves a hand, "I suppose some others
contributed smaller details. But most of it comes from this brilliant mind of
mine."
Lucine seems to recognize her and Julie hmmms thoughtfully, "I do
vaguely recall something about an article back then... Wasn't my idea, of
course. What do I care about the minutiae of the outside world? It all
continues to spin, repeating the same humdrum cycles over and over again."
Noa blinks as Liam addresses her, she then nods, "That's right. The
Coconoes requested my creation... But didn't actually want much to do with me,
I suppose. So I was assigned as Chloe's co-pilot, to help control her Makhia
in battle and look after her out of it."
Julie's prodding does get Chloe to stop in her steps. She looks back at
Julie, thinking about it for a moment. Everyone gives her the decision on
whether to stay or go... She then shakes her head, saying, "She's in too much
of a mood right now. She'll probably just string us along for too long...
It'll be bothersome." Chloe continues walking back to the elevator.
Julie just smirks, not denying anything. She chuckles, "Ah, you know me
so well. Though I'm a little disappointed you aren't more eager to find the
answers you seek. Did that girl really screw you up that much?" Chloe freezes
for a moment... But doesn't want to give Julie the satisfaction of a response,
so just continues on, not turning back. So Julie raises her hands in
resignation at the lack of a bite, "Oh well..."
<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.
Liam's reining in his feelings remarkably well. Shinji admires him for
it. He's staying so calm, while Shinji's literally hiding behind Kaworu. He
shoots him a concerned look--
Which immediately shifts into a look of a different kind of horror at
Julie's implication that she would have totally banged his dad (mom?
(both?!)). Suddenly he's EXTREMELY okay with leaving without any answers.
He didn't miss her "correct!" either, or that article that Lucine
brings up that was apparently about Julie all along (even if he does miss that
Lucine brought it up at least in part to distract Julie from him). But that's
something he'll have to mull over later. Kaworu, for his part, continues to
take it all in stride.
Shinji does have enough presence of mind to glance at Noa when she
talks about her circumstances--her requested creation, how she was assigned to
Chloe. That... makes him feel sorry for her. It's not her fault she was made
to look like someone who passed away. He purses his lips and looks away.
Either way, Chloe decides she doesn't want to be tormented right now.
Kaworu nods affably. "If you'll excuse us, then," he tells Julie, and strolls
off after Chloe. He does not walk so fast that Shinji can't keep pace with him
on the far side from Julie.
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
And so humble about it, too, Liam thinks. Wait, he thinks, a moment
later. Did she just say she would've been interested in--
Liam, bless his heart, internally parses 'interested in' as 'would
date'.
"...The Coconoes? Coco's family?" Liam's voice grows hushed, as Noa
explains further. "...I'm sorry." That explains, in part, why she's so eager
to help Chloe. "I... appreciate what you've done for her." It's not Noa's
fault she was made in the image of a dead girl.
"And I think Chloe's made her decision," Liam says. He takes one last
glance back at the towering Meteora, and the field of scarlet dahlias. He
sucks in a breath, pushes his AR glasses onto the bridge of his nose, and
follows Chloe back to the elevator.
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
Lucine completely skips over that implication of Julie's. What is it
with scientists wanting to date morally grey peop--
Cough.
"... It caused a stir on Mars, it seemed like, but... maybe it just
felt like that to my corner of it," Lucine says quietly. The fact that she
went out of her way to mention Mars may signal Liam to a small bit of ire on
his girlfriend's part, as if the simple mention of 'world' instead of 'worlds'
was enough to make the Martian tense up.
It's not Julie's fault.
It's not Noa's, either.
"Grief is complicated." Lucine gives Noa a gentle smile. "Especially
when it's been blown wide up again. It's neither you or Chloe's fault." Liam
thanks Noa for being there for Chloe. "I appreciate it too. You're a good
friend." It feels empty, since she literally was programmed to be that way,
but...
It doesn't mean she's stuck in a static loop, right?
Julie, meanwhile, loses her bid to get Chloe interested. With Kaworu,
Shinji, and then Liam leaving, Lucine does likewise, but not without her own
comment on the matter.
"... I'm afraid you're a few years too late for that," Lucine says,
with a sharp, grim smile. "At least, in my case. But... it's not my call,
either way."
Being stuck in the stomach of an Angel will do that to you.