2023-06-23: VI. Re: I am

• Log: VI. Re: I am
• Cast: Banagher Links, Judau Ashta, Leina Ashta as Puru-1, Suberoa Zinnerman, Seolla Schweizer, Alouette Pommier, Akane Shinjo, Rena Lancaster, Trevor Teach, Kaworu Nagisa, Ruri Hoshino, Knight, Koji Kabuto, Christina MacKenzie, Sayaka Yumi, Liam 7-020, Mineva Lao Zabi, Teletha Testarossa, Marida Cruz, Ennil El, Roux Louka, Naoko Suzuki, Tetsuya Tsurugi, Rikka Takarada, Kikka Kobayashi, Eight York, Lucine Azul, Sousuke Sagara, Sayla Mass
• Where: A Chaotic Battlefield, Beyond Time
• OOC - IC Date: 0097-06-23
• Summary: Puru-1 finally comes upon her objective, the Full Armor Unicorn Gundam, only to find its pilot, Banagher Links, joined by the Judau Ashta in the Double Zeta. Desperate to kill the Beast of Possibility before the Universal Century claims someone she loves as a victim, the two fight to bring her out of this paranoid state and bring her home. As Psycoframes and Biosensor resonates, the two draw many more in to push back against the negative feelings that continually draw her back in. With the assistance of so many, will they achieve their desire of bringing her back home?

---

<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

Starlight cuts a path through the battlefield.

He can see the Banshee now, with the Unicorn's camera's zoomed in to their max enhancement. Every second, she gets closer.

Leina...

All the rage from Banagher's duel with Angelo ebbs away, leaving the Unicorn's pilot with nothing but unbending determination. Grief weighs his spirit down, but this -- Permanence expects this of him. To save Leina. Banagher won't let her death be in vain.

4X zoom... 3X... 2X... 1X...

The Banshee rises in front of the Unicorn, weapons drawn.

<"Leina!"> Banagher calls. His voice is rough from shouting, heavy with tears. <"I'm here! You don't have to fight anymore!">

In response to her sister's promised violence, the Unicorn draws her beam saber, parrying the first strike. Azure light bursts as the twin Gundams meet, sparking into bursts of psychic power that stretches far across the battlefield.

<"No matter what! I'm going to save you!">

It's all that matters -- Banagher's one and only desire.

<Pose Tracker> Judau Ashta has posed.

Within a single, chaotic day, it seems like the whole world has rallied against the Three Ships Alliance.

It's familiar territory, to Judau Ashta.

He is not, technically, part of the Three Ship's Alliance. He learned very early on in helping the AEUG that formal military hierarchy - or answering to basically any sort of authority, ever - was never going to be for him. But what brings him here today is the same thing that brought him to the AEUG back then:

Leina.

And what makes him willing to fight for this - for so many people he barely knows...

It's all thanks to her, too.

He feels her now. Now that he knows who she is, now that the veils been dropped -- there's no way he could ever -not- feel her, no matter where she is.

And that's why, as the Unicorn draws towards the Banshee -- there is another sight just behind Banagher, closing in fast. Blue, white and red. Distinctive v-fin, framing that absurd cannon on its forehead.

                <"LEINA!">

                        LEINA!

As the two Unicorns meet, the Double Zeta and its pilot are not far behind, all his sentiment, all his drive, all his passion to save the one single life that has meant more to him than anything in this whole world expressing in the single, sentiment-echoed shout of her name.

As the Unicorns meet, the Double Zeta joins them, an aura of reddish-pink burgeoning outward from its Biosensors to bring its pilot's singular wish to life.

                Bring her home.

KTS: Kaworu Nagisa has deployed in Evangelion Unit-00.
KTS: EN Barrier activated!

<Pose Tracker> Puru-1 has posed.

        The fatigue of so many battles had exhausted her physically, emotionally. The engagements had become a blur to her, unable to count how many times she had fought upon the battlefield. And yet the words still stuck with her, despite her best efforts to reject them. They gnawed at her psyche, making it so hard for her to keep pushing forward towards the Beast of Possibility.

        So pull the trigger, and make me.
        It's not just us, Leina. If you fly away, you'll probably just hear the same things from someone else...
        I need you. I can't rest... I need you, Leina. You're my family.
        Leina, thanks for teaching me how to meddle. Bet you've still got a few lessons. I wanna learn 'em.

        The hardest thing you can do, sometimes, is nothing. It's the bitterest drink you can imagine, the first time.
        And we can find a way out, Leina! We'll do it together!
        You're scaring me.
        THIS IS ANIME! (Still 'wot' face on that)

        You've never let yourself be angry about that, have you?
        You had... everything I wanted! Even back then! And for everything you lost, you kept moving forward!
        This is a world where flowers bloom.

        ...You're my daughter. That's what you are to me.
        Tell me when I can see you smile again.
        I never got to really thank you for what you did for us.
        Be advised that tactical objective "rescue" does not require the consent of the target.
        I have all the justification I need to abandon you! But I don't believe it! I can't stand the thought of it!

        We aren't the ones who can save you, but that anger, that loneliness-- means there's still a heart there to save!
        He's going to need you, before this is over. You must be there when the rainbow appears. It's time to go home.
        It took me eighteen years to realise that the change had even happened - but it did.
        THIS IS WHAT I WANT, AND YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET IN THE WAY OF THAT, LEINA ASHTAAAA!

        She doesn't get it. She still doesn't get it. Even now. Why all of them bothered to face her, if not to destroy her? If not to treat her as an enemy?
        
        Why? Why am I worth their effort?

        Why is she so convinced she's right, and everyone else is wrong? Is it simply that she always thinks she knows best? Is that really it? A moment of quiet reflection is given but it's so hard to think through the cloud of exhaustion, against the negative feelings crawling across her back. Then she senses him coming. For a time even the hands are still. The feelings feel muted. There is only anticipation thick within this section of space. That pressure, that resolve she feels from the two of them. Then she sees it, the Unicorn, bedecked in so many new armaments flying down towards her, the Double Zeta flying not far behind.

        BGM Start - Re: I Am - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptwH69_0EAo

        As he calls her name and despite his assurances she doesn't have to fight anymore, she shouts back two words as well as the Double Zeta. "BANAGHER!" There is not a feeling of hatred within it, simply unlimited frustration, anger and determination to resolve this. Like a particularly ferocious household argument, in which she'd stormed in on them both, FURIOUS from some form of wrong doing. That anger, that fury however, translates into an intense pressure of her own. Spreading across space, like the deepest depths of the sea. The Norn rips a Beam Saber out of its forearm, igniting it as she charges.

        And streaks up towards the Unicorn, an azure comet that feels like it distorts space, rippling across space in a geometric curve, ever adjusting in prediction, like a force of attraction. This clash as inevitable as destiny. The two comets meet, and there's a FLASH, a bright blue curve that splits space like a gleaming event horizon.

        It blinds for a moment, but in that space, the two have met, Beam Saber clashing, the two revolving from the momentum of the engagement, it forcefully rotating them both in place. As the Norn tries to shove the Beam Saber through and into the Unicorn.

        She may be his only desire, but in this moment, that is not her focus- for she cannot comprehend that feeling, only the reason she must kill the Beast of Possibility, "Do you have any idea what you've done!? I won't let you - I won't LET YOU mislead them all with your childish fantasy of possibility! You're the Judas Goat of HOPE! Guiding them all to SLAUGHTER!" As if this battlefield were simply more and more evidence of this. "It doesn't MATTER if you promise them nothing! You sweep them all up into this stupid idealistic quest just because they all hunger for something BETTER! Something not you, nor any stupid BOX can deliver!"

        She shouts, even as they clash, before she shoves the Unicorn away with a brutal bludgeoning smash of the Armed Armor DE, at the same moment the Double Zeta catches up. Again her name is called, and she feels it too. She FEELS it on a deeper level than she'd like to admit when Judau calls her name.

        "JUDAU!" Then turning around, she pivots the Banshee, thrusters winding it to keep it away from Judau, it's Mega Cannon firing one spherical blast Judau's way. Then another. And another, subtly changing the angle every time in the barrage at the Double Zeta. "What's the play here Judau? You've never won a real argument against me before." There is a certain rising anger, her frustration directed towards him, "Planning on having Beecha crash the Hyaku Shiki into the Ra Mari to distract me so you can RUN AWAY?"

        A beat.

        "Besides, you KNOW I'm right! You fought, and fought, and won! Tell him what that looked like! Tell him what it got you! Tell him just how much changed! ... Tell him what it's going to be like for him at the end of this road!"
        
        She's never spoken to him like this. In fact, the two have never really spoken in depth about their feelings over the First War, not about this. Not about everything. It was too rough, too raw. Each time they spoke at all it was like reopening old wounds. Each time, she tried to be validating, kind. She buried all of her negative feelings, resentment. And yet here they are, forced to the surface, against her will. The machinations of Martha Vist-Carbine and Dr. Murasame slicing her into a thin razor edge of a person.

        "Tell him how much him losing the Unicorn here and now would be a MERCY!"

        And in those moments of clashing feelings and emotions, it hardly matters that the NT-D isn't active, the Psycoframes resonate, the Bio-Sensor glows. Three Newtypes this strong, amplified mobile suits that try to parse the unknowable human mysteries caused by them messily trying to understand each other. To try to understand each other without misunderstanding, their machines facilitate this. And suddenly, everyone is drawn into that too.

        It doesn't matter where they are, on the Ra Mari II, on Earth, on the farthest flung colony that the trailblazing Macross' formed far beyond this Solar System. Anyone who has even the thinnest thread of connection to the three combatants. Hears them. Feels them. It doesn't matter how much Puru-1 obfuscates her sense of self, wrapped in a cloak of curses and negative feelings.

        They're out there. And everyone, everyone knows it.
        
        Banagher and Judau at least will feel them, and if they follow that thread of connection, they both instinctually know without a doubt, they can draw them all into this too.

        OOC Note: For supports participating with support commands or support spirit commands, please deploy in your unit or in some generic unit. On your turn if you have them may fire one MAP support command, and as many spirit commands as SP allows when your turn comes up. It's important to keep to your round, but you can pose in any order otherwise before Judau and Banagher.

KTS: Puru-1 targets Banagher Links with Beam Tonfas and Sabers Rush!
KTS: Puru-1 targets Judau Ashta with Armed Armor DE Mega Cannon Shot!
KTS: Puru-1 has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Banagher Links has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
KTS: Banagher Links has activated the Alert Spirit Command.

<Pose Tracker> Suberoa Zinnerman has posed.

Still sitting at the bridge console at the Ra Mari II, Zinnerman continues to track the Banshee and the Unicorn. Using the interface is almost unnecessary for these specific mobile suits - still reeling from his experience in the hangar, he can feel the young man's burning resolve as keenly as the crushing despair coming from the girl the Vists called 'Puru-1' as a cruel joke.

So much self-hatred and despair coming from one girl.

He cannot abide it.

"Banagher," he says - quietly, but audible enough in the Unicorn's cockpit as he patches through to the white RX-0. "I'm with you. Chin up. It's time to bring her home."

Such a simple wish. Yet one echoed by so, so many others on this battlefield and beyond it. Marida is alive. Somehow he feels like he's skated past a tidal wave of grief he didn't realise was there until he was safe.

His resolve rings true in their hearts: I won't let another girl be crushed by this Century.

He won't give up.

KTS: Banagher Links's Beam Wall L1 activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Banagher Links fails to Parry Puru-1's Beam Tonfas and Sabers Rush, taking 2970 damage!
KTS: Puru-1 has engaged Banagher Links!
KTS: Puru-1 begins a Formation attack!
Suberoa Zinnerman has cancelled his attack.

KTS: Suberoa Zinnerman targets Banagher Links and Judau Ashta with Awe.
KTS: Suberoa Zinnerman has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Seolla Schweizer has posed.

        In these short months of breathing in the air of the real world - of living as a bird might, of learning what life outside of a cage even is-

        The boiling feelings of anger and frustration that have always lurked inside Seolla have turned into a flame. A bonfire of focused determination to refuse a world that would steal peoples' futures.

        ---Maybe Seolla can't do it as she is. With her own limited skills, without a sword that would be sharp enough or tall enough to cut at the giants that trample over people. But she'll do what she can. In the hold of the carrier, she watched Banagher take off towards the stars, to where he and the others could save Leina. Even if it was just hoisting supplies to and from the mechanics. Even if it was just scurrying around and working up a sweat as one of a handful of people all lifting together-

        When that calling arrives, it's right in tune with what Seolla feels. The chorus of voices all weaving together like the feathers on an arrow. The whispers of those around her raising higher. All feeling something similar-

        An arrow needs a head of blinding, sharp metal, doesn't it? The crew immediately around Seolla all seems to form at the 'rear' of this message, but to get their soft, caring calls to land, they need something harsher at its forefront. She knows what to do.

        ((...Leina. LEINA! Don't you DARE give up on everyone trying to save you!))

        ((More than anything, it's painful as hell to see you like this, cause it's a hell I know way too well. It doesn't feel like you can be saved right now, huh?!))

        ((I'm here to reassure you that all that stuff you're feeling, that twisting, bubbling crap that's about to eat you alive - we're pulling you out of it. I'm not afraid of it. Nobody here's afraid of it. You probably feel like it's gonna pull everyone in, but that's only because THEY chained you up to it. I don't care how dirty my hands get reaching in there - everyone believed in me enough, and you'd better well remember they believe in YOU too, Leina!))

        ((...So if you can hear me...when it feels like you're gonna throw up going easy on them even though it's 'life or death' - ))

        ((...it'll feel like dying, like being on the verge of dying. It's terrifying. I know. I know!! We all know! ...just please. ...don't let go until they've gotten you back home.))

KTS: Suberoa Zinnerman inspires awe, increasing Banagher Links's Morale!
KTS: Suberoa Zinnerman inspires awe, increasing Judau Ashta's Morale!

<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.

This sensation - she's not sure how, but Alouette can feel it even from her home all the way in France - the Unicorn and the Banshee locked into battle. Banagher and Leina... locked into battle. As she is now, where she is now, can she reach out to them? It's worth a try, she thinks, as she musters all her feelings forward.

"Leina," she starts, carrying her feelings forward to the Banshee as if with a messenger bird. "We never gave up, not on ourselves, and not on you." Her spirit feels resolute, but warm. "Rikka's been smiling like she used to, bit by bit. Akane is painstakingly taking care of her. We've all been looking after each other. And most of all, we're all going to be okay."

"But I would never be satisfied until you're able to join us. So I'll fight, whatever way I can, to get you that chance. It's not about whether you deserve it. No, it's the choice I've made as one who survived, and there's nothing that could change that. So please... stop running away. From where you need to be where you want to be."

Next, her feelings are carried to the Unicorn. "Banagher. I'm sure you thought you scared me away, or that I hate you after what happened on the Garuda. You would be wrong... I couldn't possibly blame you for that. If my words are able to reach your heart, that's proof."

The spirit shines with the glow of courage. "This is a fight you absolutely need to win, Banagher. Not for victory's sake, or even for the purpose of the Box or stopping the Vist Foundation. It's for Leina, and you and her brother are the only people left who can bring her home. Keep her in your heart, and never forget..."

"Victory goes to the one with courage!"

KTS: Judau Ashta fails to charge.
KTS: Judau Ashta partially guards Puru-1's Armed Armor DE Mega Cannon Shot, taking 2610 damage!
KTS: Alouette Pommier targets Puru-1 with Shock!
KTS: Alouette Pommier has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

Something stirs Akane's heart as she sits at the counter at Aya. It's something familiar -- something she'd been scared of, the last time she'd felt it, once she realized what she was feeling.

She can't let herself be scared anymore. 'Safe' and 'alone' aren't synonyms -- nor are 'disconnected' and 'liberated.' She allows her heart to reach out where it wishes...

The artificiality of a bond with Akane is always present -- the sensation of traces, wires, of green and yellow and red, arcing through infinite darkness to connect two hearts.

On one end of that gulf, Akane stands, looking away. It's not her style to meet someone's gaze at its most intense. "I was kinda hoping it wouldn't get to this point for you, but maybe this is the kinda thing where there's no way it doesn't get to this point." She sighs a little, saying, "It's hard for me to trust other people with this kinda stuff. Between you and me, I'd rather just come rip that stupid cockpit out..."

With a low laugh, she concedes, "I'd look pretty stupid if I was asking you to do something I couldn't, though. So... guess I'm here, trusting Judau and Banagher... I hope you can do that, too."

Pushing her hair back, she turns away. "... I kinda get the feeling those guys are gonna hear this stuff, too, so... Banagher, you have to know she doesn't want to hurt you. And Judau -- my orders are absolute, got it? You better bring home Leina."

... at the end of the day, Akane has no idea how this will go. She's just telling a story she's heard before with new names.

Sometimes it's worth believing in a story, though, whether that belief holds or not.

KTS: Akane Shinjo targets Puru-1 with Shock!
KTS: Akane Shinjo has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Akane Shinjo has activated the Rouse Spirit Command targeting Judau Ashta
KTS: Akane Shinjo has activated the Trust Spirit Command targeting Banagher Links
KTS: Alouette Pommier has activated the Rouse Spirit Command targeting Banagher Links
KTS: Alouette Pommier shocks Puru-1, reducing her Morale significantly.
KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 46500
KTS: [Spirit Defense] Puru-1's Never Let You Go activates, and her spirit endures.
KTS: Akane Shinjo shocks Puru-1, reducing her Morale significantly.
KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 46500
KTS: Alouette Pommier has activated the Trust Spirit Command targeting Judau Ashta

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.

The Gaia Gear Alpha is on its way back towards the Ra Mari II. The white Mobile Suit flies, while Rena looks downward; its autopilot is helping, at the moment. She feels that throbbing sadness at knowing Permanence is gone. They'd saved her, and...

And now, she was gone.

Her eyes close.

She has to focus on the present -- on protecting the Ra Mari II, lest the Federation's or Sleeves forces make another strike -- and wait on mourning. Grief has a way of always being pushed to later.

But she feels something else. A pressure.

The pull of two Psychoframes is one that Rena can't deny.

Rena feels herself almost torn away from the Gaia Gear Alpha, but it's more complicated than that. For one terribly disorienting moment, it is as if she exists in two places at once. As if she is still in the Gaia Gear, still flying towards the Ra Mari II. Still next to Anita and Riika, flying in formation.

Yet, also, at the same time, she is also with Banagher, Judau, and Leina.

She isn't a stranger to Newtype resonance, though. Rena spent the better part of a decade having that with Eight York. When you live near a Newtype you share a powerful bond with, that connection becomes something that she understands intimately -- even if that understanding means accepting it cannot be fully understood. Thus, she reorients, quickly.

Her eyes open and see more than can be seen.

"Leina!" Rena cries out. Her voice carries across time and space.

"My answer hasn't changed," Rena says. "Maybe we've told each other a few lies... but I don't think our friendship was a lie. The things we went through together on Axis. The way we thought the other was dead, then found each other again. None of that was fake!"

She bites her lip, hesitating for a moment.

"I promised your brother I'd do everything I could to bring you back," she says. "Because... I don't want to lose you again. I know things are messed up, but--but I can keep going because people like you are with me! And I want to be someone who keeps you going!"

Rena shakes her head, her blue-and-red hair swaying with the motion. "Please, Leina! Listen to them and... and fight with them! Judau and Banagher won't let you down! But if they're going to save you from this... then they need your help! No one can do this alone."

Rena finally extends a hand out -- metaphorically, maybe, but it's something that seems and feels real all the same. Her hand held out, that Leina could just grasp.

"Judau, I know you'll keep your promise," Rena says. "You'll save her. And Banagher... I know you love her. Once you're back, I'll help you find a new plush, just for her. I know you can do it, Banagher."

Then, Rena smiles. "Leina... I believe in you, too. I know you can do this. They won't just save you. You'll save yourself!"

KTS: Rena Lancaster targets Banagher Links with Insight L1!
KTS: Rena Lancaster has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Rena Lancaster targets Judau Ashta with Insight L1!
KTS: Rena Lancaster has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Trevor Teach has posed.

It's been only minutes, but even the slimmest of moments matter in matters of life and death. Raw adrenaline can only sustain someone for so long before fatigue and accumulated exhaustion set in, and today has been... exhausting. One moment, Trevor is dimly aware that he's gently guiding Isadore in to dock-- the next, everything is dark.

...And the very next, he's floating on a cloud. Or, rather, on a gurny, being hauled to medical. Bandages are wrapped around his brow. He's tired. So tired. Everything feels numb-- but that's the way things go when you get try to mainline soul-shattering trauma, to try and carry a weight that has ground so many other free spirits to dust. But--

He had to. He had to try. The heroic edifice that he built for himself demanded it. To be the person he made himself to be-- he had to try.

And so he did.

And now, with adrenaline bleeding away, everything is just-- heavy.

Heavy.

Heavy.

...An unfamiliar ripple pulses through the sea of qualia. The psychoframes resonate, the miracle that forced back Axis is reborn, and so close by-- too close by to not be swept up in it. Trevor's eye flickers shut, and his heart soars into the current of souls.

...It's light. It feels like a lightness of being that somehow, somehow he thinks he's experienced before. A long, long time before. He sees them, the gundams clashing, life against life. Two, he recognizes in an instant. The third feels familiar, in that way that you maybe know someone who knows someone who knows this person. But of the trio, he focuses on one, and he finds--

His voice.

((Banagher.....))

((Sorry, Banagher. We tried, but it looks like we're going to have to leave this to you and your friend. But we did all we could do. I don't know if it'll amount to much, all of-- this-- is so far beyond me, but.))

((That girl... is suffering so much. She wants to die more than anyone I've ever known, but she's still so afraid of death-- she still has so much to live for, she's-- afraid. Of the pain. Of being alone. But no matter what it looks, she's still there. No matter what she forces you to see, no matter how hopeless it is, someone that can still feel pain is someone who hasn't lost their soul.))

((Not... sure what more I can do to help you here, bud. But know that I'm here for you. So. Don't let this splitting headache of mine go to waste, yeah?))

((You got this, Banagher. Bring that girl home.))

KTS: Trevor Teach targets Banagher Links with Insight L1!
KTS: Trevor Teach has completed their actions for the round.
Trevor Teach has cancelled his attack.

KTS: Trevor Teach targets Banagher Links with Warn L1!
KTS: Trevor Teach has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Trevor Teach warns Banagher Links, making his next attacks more accurate!
KTS: Rena Lancaster shares insight with Judau Ashta, making his next attacks more accurate!

<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

Exhaustion echoes from the Banshee, just as true and real as her ferocious negative emotions. How many fights has Leina been through since Banagher escaped the Garuda? Anguish tears into his soul, and he grits his teeth, enduring it.

Even though the Banshee has defeated her sister Gundam time and time again, the Unicorn's new upgrades seem to have put the two on even ground. Golden eyes fly open wide as the Banshee tries to force her saber into the Unicorn -- far more vicious than she's been before. So that must mean... Leina isn't fighting to capture the Unicorn. She's fighting to destroy it.

<"Everyone chose to be here! I haven't mislead anyone. We're all here -- because we believe in Possibility! Because we believe in you!">

The Banshee overpowers the Unicorn's parry, throwing the white Gundam's beam saber far from her grasp. Immediately, Banagher switches the Unicorn into reverse, putting space between himself and the Banshee.

Awareness, familiar and warm -- Judau. Banagher manages a small smile of relief. <"Judau. This is the moment. We can do this!">

Seeing Leina fire on her own brother with such vicious intent brings tears to Banagher's eyes, and a new flame of hatred in his soul. Those monsters... twisting her enough that she'd fight the person she loves most--! This has to end.

<"I won't lose the Unicorn!"> Banagher shouts. <"And I won't lose you! Even if all of this doesn't change a thing, it will still be worth it to me! Because it led me to you, Leina!">

"Unicorn! Prove me right!" His soul entwines with the Beast of Possibility, and the Gundam begins to transform.

Smoothly, swiftly, armor plates slide away from each other, revealing brilliant verdant light. Banagher's seat falls back, the controls moving out of the way, no longer needed. Shields on each of her arms fan open, independently flying up and away from the Unicorn.

The Beast of Possibility trumpets a call, echoing across space. A challenge to her sister. A promise to her pilot.

Leina Ashta will be brought home.

In a move reminiscent of the absent third sister, the Unicorn raises her arm to her shields-- and pauses.

"What is this..?" Banagher breathes, as the hearts of so many connect to his own. "Another Miracle?"

Golden eyes slip closed as time seems to stop.

"Captain." Banagher murmurs. "I'm bringing her home, I promise. Be ready for us! And -- thank you."

"Alouette--?" As she assumes, there's a flash of guilt as Banagher recognizes her voice. But -- that doesn't matter. She encourages him, brushing the trauma of their shared captivity aside now, in the face of such greater need. "I will! I won't give up! Courage -- that's more than enough!"

Akane is next, speaking to Judau as well as Banagher. He smiles at her command. "She could never hurt me. Don't worry. We'll be back before you know it, Akane."

A sob-laugh at Rena's words. "I -- I'll hold you to that. I want to find the best plush in the entire Earthsphere. I'm counting on you, Rena!"

"Who... Trevor." It only takes a moment. The pirate is so injured, his 'voice' feels faint, and worry flashes in Banagher's heart. "Please take care of yourself. I -- won't let anyone else die. Not when so much has been sacrificed. I won't give up. We're all coming home!"

Golden eyes open. Time starts again.

The Unicorn brings her arm down, and her twin shields rocket toward the Banshee. Green brilliance haloes them in their flight, leaving a graceful tail, twisting around each other to avoid being shot down. At the last moment, they dart behind the Banshee, humming to life.

Missiles fire, and fire, and fire -- seemingly endless, as the shields orbit around the Banshee. Each one is terribly accurate, guided by Banagher's heart and the will of the Unicorn herself.

<"Can you hear them!?"> Banagher calls over the din of the explosions. <"Everyone's hearts -- everyone is here for you! You haven't lied! You haven't tricked anyone! They love you for who you are! Because of the things you've done, the care you've given... These feelings are real!">

KTS: Banagher Links targets Puru-1 with NT-D Shields: Resonance!
KTS: Banagher Links has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Puru-1 has activated the Wall Spirit Command.
KTS: Puru-1 has activated the Wall Spirit Command.
KTS: Banagher Links rattles Puru-1, making her next maneuvers more difficult.
KTS: Puru-1 blocks Banagher Links's NT-D Shields: Resonance, taking 7320 damage!
KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 39180

<Pose Tracker> Judau Ashta has posed.

He can feel it.

So much he never knew was there. The self-loathing, the desperation, the uncertainty. The fear. He knows what they did to her, now. Akane told him. ... everything. The revelations about the Qubeley filled in the rest of the gaps that he had felt about the Banshee's pilot for so long. But to actually -feel- it...

To Judau, Leina had always been an anchor just as much as he tried to be for her. That stubbornness, that resolve, that moral backbone -- that belief in something better, for everyone.

She dragged him towards something better, kicking and screaming.

Seeing her like this, -feeling- her like this.

        This is the moment. We can do this!

<"You're damn right we can!">

He knows he has to do the same for her.

Not that she intends to make it easy. In action, or in words. Hearing her shout his name like that, hearing her accuse him of running like he always does when faced with an argument he can't win, makes the elder Ashta flinch in the seat of the Double Zeta's cockpit more than that Mega Cannon trained on him ever could.

But, Judau is ready for this too. They did terrible, horrible things to her. Twisted her mind. If he wants to bring her back, he needs to reach to the Leina he knows is still in there.

"You think I've got the gilla for that?! I still owe him from last time!"

And part of that is bringing back those old, familiar places.

"And I don't need to, when you're bein' as DOUBLE as dumb as me!"

No on could do bickering quite like they could.

The barrel of the Mega Cannon glows. Seagreen eyes narrow.

"... I'm not runnin' this time, Leina. Not anymore. I told you at Dakkar! I know what you'd do if it was me in that thing, if it was me they were messin' with!"

The Mega Cannon fires.

And the Double Zeta--

"You'd DIVE IN and you'd SAVE ME FROM ME!"

-accelerates- towards the violence.

Bursting barrages of particle fire crash into the burgeoning psycho-field of the Double Zeta; willpower buffets so much of that multi-directional onslaught -- but it also slows the ZZ considerably with its relentlessness. The last blast of cannon fire -knocks- the ZZ off its axis into a disorienting, uncontrolled spin. Judau curses despite himself. And yet...

... something happens.

Judau blinks. Psycho-frame is a new concept to him; truth be told, he still doesn't get it. But he knows the Double Zeta. Knows its Biosensor. And he knows this feeling. So well.

Consciousness expands outward--

And on instinct, Judau Ashta grabs onto it, -amplifying- it further with his intent through the Double Zeta. A corona of maroons, pinks and reds blooms across the battlefield like a nebula...

... and he feels them all.

For a moment, Judau's eyes close, despite the danger of the moment.

And a smile tugs on his lips, as he feels those familiar, resolved intentions flow through every nerve in his body.

<"... I already told him, Leina,"> he says at first, as the ZZ reorients himself. <"Banagher knows what happened. He knows why I left. ... Why Roux an' I had to leave. He knows everything it costs all of us. But he's a dumbass, just like me. And he's still here. Just like he knows I'm -still here-.">

The aura of the ZZ expands outward, and it catches that first, stray thought in the infinite ether that binds all human hearts together.

<"Maybe I can't beat you in an argument. But you know what I'm still real good at? Cheatin' my ass off! I'm not pullin' any stops here to get you back, Leina --">

<"AN' I'M NOT GONNA DO IT ALONE THIS TIME!">

Even if Akane's gaze can't meet Leina's directly, Judau makes sure her intentions do: words are translated into feelings, into that universal language that can only come heart to heart as the Double Zeta's thrusters ignite. His time knowing Akane has been brief; he knows her history is complicated; rough. It hasn't always been pretty. But doesn't that perfectly describe so many of the people who have become their treasured friends? She helped him see the truth.

And that's why, just this once, this sole time, when she begins with my orders are absolute, got it?

Judau Ashta, notorious contrarian and anti-authoritarian, just grins.

"You better believe I will!"

He feels Rena next. Rena - the friend that Judau never knew Leina had - her tether to something good and supportive when she was so isolated in Axis. He draws her words into the Double Zeta -- and amplifies them like a megaphone, until there can be no ignoring it, no denying every honest intention in every syllable. Seolla too -- even if he does know her, her feelings, what she wants for Leina?

They tell him all he needs to know, bolstering the Double Zeta all the more as he DRIVES it towards the Banshee at full tilt -- even Zinnerman, a man who might have, at one point, been Judau Ashta's enemy -- his will makes the ZZ move that much faster, that much more furiously forward.

<"You hear them, Leina?! They all wanna help you, an' they're at least three times better than using their words than I'll ever be! Akane, Rena, Seolla--"> he'll wonder how he knows that name later <"All of 'em see the truth, no matter how much you keep tryin' to insist otherwise! You're the strongest. most stubborn damn person I know, so if I gotta play dirty to get you back, you better believe I'm gonna!"

The Banshee is powerful, cutting edge, especially compared to the ZZ -- and it's only gotten further upgraded since last Judau saw it. But if there's one thing Judau and the ZZ have in spades--

<"So get ready, 'cause we're gonna give you THE BIGGEST, DUMBEST, LECTURE OF A LIFETIME, UNTIL YOU SEE HOW MUCH STRONGER THAN -ALL- THOSE BASTARDS PUT TOGETHER YOU ARE!">

--it's sheer, goddamn recklessness.

And that's why the Double Zeta -continues- plowing forward, despite how dangerous the Banshee is within melee range. Why it seeks to -crash- against the other machine in the aftermath of the Unicorn's assault, not with beam sabers -- but with the broad sides of the ZZ's wing shields, bringing him so close that escaping the Double Zeta won't be an easy prospect.

Suicidally reckless? Maybe. But making the biggest, dumbest moves are as natural as breathing to Judau.

Especially when it comes to Leina.

KTS: Judau Ashta targets Puru-1 with Wing Shields - Sheer Recklessness!!
KTS: Judau Ashta anchors Puru-1, forcing her into close range.
KTS: Puru-1 blocks Judau Ashta's Wing Shields - Sheer Recklessness!, taking 3960 damage!
KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 35220
KTS: Judau Ashta has engaged Puru-1!
KTS: Judau Ashta has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Puru-1 has posed.

        "That only proves how much you HAVE!" She shouts at Banagher, that because they believe in Possibility, because they believe in her. The verdant glow shines, and Puru-1 flinches, as if the light hurts her eyes, "That light. That light will be EXTINGUISHED TODAY before it harms anyone else!" She can't tell him just how touched she is by the idea it led him to her. She has to remain strong, steadfast, or at least that's what she thinks.

        "I think you'd TELL him you had the Gilla!" She fires back, in what's perhaps an amusing moment of sibling bickering, before she growls at him, "You ABSOLUTE DUMMY! That's not what this is about! Didn't hear hear me all those years back!?" She doesn't even have to say them aloud. He feels them.

        This time. It's my turn to protect you.

        The words from that day all those years ago, when she was shot standing between the two of them. "You should have stayed home, stayed OUT OF THIS FIGHT!" Still, he tells her that he told Banagher, that Banagher is a dumbass, and Puru-1 gawps before it becomes a certain fury, "YOU! GODDAMNIT! JUDAU! YOU - KNOW HOW IT'S GOING TO END FOR HIM AND YOU'RE JUST GOING TO LET IT HAPPEN!?"

        She can feel it, as Zinnerman makes connection, she tries to ignore it at first, but startled, her anger comes down from it. "Why!? Why are you STILL HERE? You're TOO late! You were too late nine years ago!" She tells him bitingly, disturbed by this point of connection so soon after leaving him. She doesn't feel Marida on the sortie, so why!? Why?

        That disbelief continues unto Seolla, "Give up!? They should give up!" I don't want their salvation! "Pull me out of it!? No! You don't get it! None of you have understood!" Yet even as they feel it, the love, the courage to try and save her. The sentiments of resolve towards her are causing the negative pressure to abate. More and more do they reach out, and more and more do the fingertips of those ephemeral hands recoil in incomprehension. And even she can't hide her feelings as she tells her how it'll feel, how terrifying it'll be.

        I'm scared.

        She's been scared since this started, scared of losing them both to some stupid, hopeless battle.

        More, and more they come, these feelings, these threads of connection brought in by both of them, "Alouette!?" You should. It's painful hearing about how Rikka's doing better when it is my fault. "I'm exactly where I need to be! RIGHT HERE! RIGHT NOW!" As she doubles down on feelings of deep-seated denial. "What will courage get them anyway?" She murmurs, erratically, thinking of all the bravery from the First War.

        "Don't. Don't say it like that! It's not- like it was with you-!" A connection established by Akane, the artificiality of those wires try to curl in, and are met by ephemeral fingertips which recoil as if shocked by a wall outlet. "You shouldn't BE HERE!" Because you're recovering. "Not after-" I betrayed you. Ruined your recovery. "TRUST? You think I should just-" Within the cockpit she thrashes under the weight of her anger, "How will that fix anything!? What would CHANGE if I came home! They'll STILL just be TARGETS!" Forget about me.

        It's not over, it's not over thrums into her head, "Renalle..." She seems to calm down for half a beat, as she tells her, "It- they DO need my help! They need someone to make the hardest decisions FOR THEM! Because they don't know any better!" Seeing the reached out hand, she tears her gaze away, forcing herself to look away from its phantom image, that she knows would be quite real if only she just grasped it. "How! You went through all of that too! How do YOU not understand!?" Again salvation is offered. The knowledge that she'll save herself. And again she offers back only rejection and stubborn denial in equal measure.

        And finally the Pirate, she never even caught his name, yet he relays that information, and her hands squeeze tightly on the controls as she can feel what he's telling them both, as if tattling on feelings she never wanted either of them to know. Even now, "How dare you- HOW DARE YOU!"

        Yet it's having more and more of an effect, as if their feelings are beating back that pressure, gradually, forcing it by inches, making her confront their feelings directly. Why does the presence reject them offering themselves on a platter? Why? When it's so often wanted to reach for all of them does it recoil when they reach back?

        The shields of the Unicorn suddenly fly, as missiles strike the Norn from different odd angles trajectories. The Armed Armor is brought to bear as she beats a hasty retreat, but in the end the Shield is blasted time and time again by his shots, cracking the Obsidian armor in several places.

        And in that moment, Judau plows right into the Norn, jolting the pilot within back and forth in the cockpit. An old style addition, a translucent airbag erupts out of the console, preventing a worse blow to her but still carrying a toll. "Gah!" Even as the Double Zeta tries to lock her up in melee.
        
        "Stronger. Stronger than- That's what you think. That I'm STRONGER!? WHO IS!? WHO CAN BE!? YOU SURE WEREN'T! EIGHT YEARS JUDAU!" Despite it all, despite her validation of their decision, time and time again. She can't help it, in this state the deep seated feelings she buried, "YOU LEFT MY LIFE - LEFT ME TO GRAPPLE WITH ALL OF THOSE FEELINGS WITHOUT YOU FOR EIGHT YEARS! AND YOU'RE SURPRISED I GOT WORN DOWN?"

        Recovering from that stunning one two combination, her anger just builds, and builds, as she realizes where they're all coming from. All of them. "Can I HEAR THEM!?" She finally replies to both of them asking the same thing of her, "You! You're both bringing all of them into this!? How miserable must you make this before it's OVER!"

        BGM Change - Destroy-->Self-Sacrifice - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ_9ebbrzUg

        That seems to put her over the edge. Her cockpit is suddenly alit in an orange glow, shimmering in hexagons around the panoramic cockpit, the screen glowing with the NT-D, as the seat shifts back. All of that time resisting the temptation to use it, has led up to this moment as she feels the injectors slide into her. The pain is minimal. The feelings of the Norn suddenly reach deep inside of her, churning within her from the inside out. For so long she'd held it in, through so many battles, knowing she would need it here and now.

                ANGER FURY SORROW
        DESPAIR LONELINESS DESOLATION
                BANAGHER JUDAU
                YOU ASKED FOR THIS
        EMPTINESS JEALOUSY SHAME
                M I N E ALL M I N E

        The Banshee suddenly erupts from a swarm of these feelings, even as if it shifts, its horn splitting into a V-Fin, face plates changing to that crimson eyed visage. It's Armed Armor XC extends like antenna, then rotates out plates of Psycoframe, fanning out like the mane of a Black Lion. The Armed Armor DE shifting like petals, revealing a second layer of orange-gold underneath. All along the length of the armor it tremors and spasms before it expands, growing in length and breadth and width as orange-gold plates of Psycoframe are revealed, gleaming yet dim, still in a state of being locked up by Judau.

        Because the psychic pressure is overwhelming as to be SEEN. Smothering, two borders shimmer in space like a heat haze, before opening into twin violet eyes, framing the Banshee in a ghastly predatory representation overlaying it in Psycoflame. They can all feel it, the hands writhing about her, her sinking into the sea of negative presence, giving herself over to them.

                 NOW THIS ENDS

        And then the hands reach out, erupting from the Psycoframe of the Unicorn, and the Biosensor of the Double Zeta to latch onto Banagher and Judau and try and smother their outside connection outright, to try and FORCE them to sever it at all costs as those negative feelings press upon them to shut out the rest. But in the end, that is telling isn't it?

        She's scared. She's scared of facing them, opening herself up to them all. Scared of what she'll face, and see. Scared of being seen so deeply. And so she puts everything into stopping them.

        "These feelings are the TRUE legacy of the Universal Century! Not some MAGIC BOX!" Again and again she fixates on that, no matter how much Banagher denies that's his desire any longer, "What can either of YOU do against them? Will you just say 'Even so' against the tide?" As she directs that pointed remark Banagher's way, "THEN BE DROWNED BY IT!"

        (Does Judau even know what a tide is?)

        Okay maybe Nova has a point about this being an anime, or Puru-1 just took to her drama club acting lessons a little too well to heart after Dr. Murasame did some brain tinkering on what she thinks her role is.

        "Did you think really it was a good idea, rushing me like I'm Mashymere?" She tells him, low and dangerous, as the Beam Saber in hand takes on a cast of that psychic glow, tinted in Azure as it subtly grows, before she swings it down, once, twice, thrice savagely to try and force him to break away.

        Then the Beam Magnum is taken up from its back. And suddenly as she suddenly sweeps backwards, alit by azure glow amidst that flame. It's muzzle charges, in crackling spherical hell. A weapon that should never be fired unless you mean to use it given its sheer destructive power.

        "I haven't tricked anyone!? I haven't LIED!? Is that what you really think?"

        Again, and again she fires it at the Unicorn. Never trying for a direct shot, but with a weapon like this, she doesn't have to. A near miss can be ruinous to a mobile suit, just like with the Double Zeta's High Mega Cannon. A full E-Pac of five shots discharged in a matter of seconds, as sweeping streams of beam energy light up the sky.

        "Next you're going to tell me I never betrayed you!" She tells him, as if demonstrating the depth of her betrayal with a weapon as deadly at this one. "Idiot. I told you that this would be a MERCY, and I MEANT IT!"

Puru-1 transforms to RX-0 Unicorn Gundam 02 Banshee Norn <Destroy Mode>
KTS: Puru-1 targets Judau Ashta with Beam Tonfas and Sabers High-Output Combination!
KTS: Puru-1 targets Banagher Links with Beam Magnum All-Out Barrage!
KTS: Puru-1 has activated the Daunt Spirit Command targeting Judau Ashta
KTS: Puru-1 has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: [Spirit Defense] Banagher Links's Determination activates, and the spirit endures.
KTS: Puru-1 has activated the Daunt Spirit Command targeting Banagher Links

<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.

        Far below, on the edges of a fortress city, sprawled atop the roof of an apartment complex, Kaworu Nagisa considers the battle that rages over the Earth's atmosphere. It would be impossible to spot with the human eye, but... he looks at their struggle directly: the Unicorn, the Banshee, and the ZZ Gundams.
        
        And not just them. Battles stream through the heavens like stardust.
        
        Conflicts between Lilim are not his concern. They're out of his purview by his own choice. But the radiation of psychic energy connects so many hearts together--Leina's, Banagher's, Judau's, and so many more.
        
        He smiles in the darkness. This conflict might be out of his purview, but there's no reason he can't encourage a friend.
        
        And so--
        
        "It's all right. I know you all can reach her," he reassures them in his gentle, confident voice, starting at Banagher and shimmering outwards to Judau. As short and simple a message it is, it's more than words; it is a feeling of certainty.
        
        Of faith.

<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.

        "Excuse me." It is from the Banshee itself that the next message comes, and Ruri Hoshino asks permission of the machine as much as she does of Leina. Her gold eyes gleam, as she reaches through, weaving her psyche between the lattices of the NT-D. It's... supremely difficult, for her to open her heart to humans, after all she's seen. It is difficult to ask anything of the Banshee, too, the way it is right now. But she manages to open her heart to the Banshee -- and through the Banshee, to the Banshee's pilot. (One is not so far from the other.) "Sorry to interrupt. But you're being very foolish, Ms. Ashta. Even the Banshee who's frightening everyone doesn't want you to die... it let me into its systems just so I could disable the neurotoxin injectors your handlers installed. You're being very stubborn." Somehow, her psychic presence communicates the ghost of a frown. (An echo of the emotions which flood from Ruri to the machines she connects with, perhaps.)

        "You're a fool. Mr. Links feels the same way about you, I think... and not just him. This is a desperate battlefield. If everyone didn't care about you, the correct tactical decision was to run long ago. But even though it could all end, here, they're still fighting for you. I had to go all-out, too. If you can't be a little more responsible, you should at least listen to your big brother." She's scolding her, as if she's just a bad girl. But then... isn't that how she thinks of herself? ... it's the most logical way Ruri can think of to get through to her.

KTS: Ruri Hoshino targets Judau Ashta and Banagher Links with All-Out.
KTS: Ruri Hoshino has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Kaworu Nagisa has activated the Rouse Spirit Command targeting Banagher Links
KTS: Knight has deployed in Gridknight.
KTS: Kaworu Nagisa has activated the Trust Spirit Command targeting Judau Ashta

<Pose Tracker> Knight has posed.

        It hits Judau like a swipe across the jaw. "You're with her," and it's Knight's voice, taciturn as ever. "Let me in." He... always was the third cat, in Villa Mass. These short demands suit the two of them, and their rough understanding.

        "Leina Ashta." Knight's stern voice carries the strain of recent battle -- but never mind that. The Ra Mari II has shown him kindness, too. He will not die of exposure today. One may think, here, of rain soaking a boy until a girl brings him an umbrella, brings him inside. Let it soak the message. The words are simpler: "Is this your battle?" Is this what she's really fighting for -- or is she fighting another woman's war..? ... it's the most poignant question a weapon of a boy could ask, now he's grown into a bigger world.

KTS: Knight targets Puru-1 with Demoralize!
KTS: Knight has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Knight has activated the Trust Spirit Command targeting Judau Ashta
KTS: Knight's Gridknight has left
KTS: Judau Ashta parries Puru-1's Beam Tonfas and Sabers High-Output Combination, taking 1890 damage!
KTS: Puru-1 has engaged Judau Ashta!

<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.

"Leina." This feeling is unmistakable - the steady warmth and certitude of Koji's spirit.

"You said I wouldn't have any idea what's in your head, but I know what feeling like the worst person ever does to you. Gennosuke and Sayaka believed in me then... and I believe in you now."

"People have bad days - God knows, I did, when all was said and done. They relapse into the feelings they can't throw off - but people don't just wake up one morning, give up on everything they believe in, and throw in with the enemies of the people they love. The only way it makes sense to me is if they made you feel this way - and that makes me mad enough to promise you: They're going down. They will pay for this conspiracy, and everything they've convinced you you have to do. They might look invincible... but Akane, Alouette and Rikka have already proved them otherwise."

As Koji directs his attention to the other Newtypes struggling against the Banshee, another voice - a memory, as close to his heart as his faith in the young souls locked in battle here - drifts across the infinite expanse. A gruff, gravelly voice, filled with regret and love - a father's last words.

        Koji... You must be kind to everyone.

The pilot of Mazinger Z takes a deep breath - mentally and physically - and squeezes Sayaka's hand as they sit in the transport's hangar.

"Banagher! Judau! She needs you - she needs all of us - right now! Sayaka and I can't be there to help, but we all want Leina back. All of you are family to us, and we've got a hell of a party to throw when this is all said and done, so bring her back! The Castle of Iron stands with you - so fight like a devil to reach her!"

KTS: +defend (player or queue number)
KTS: +defend (player or queue number)

<Pose Tracker> Christina MacKenzie has posed.

        Christina dismisses the swarming HUD alarms on the battered Tristan. XAIRO sounded the all clear--Sayaka has warded off the last of their pursuers. Though the Tristan's missing fin funnels forced Chris to balance the others with a complex thrust balance, the Mazins and the Gundam have limped off to a safe, but impotent distance.

        The haros crowd around her as she turns and lingers. Droplets of water cling to her eyes under her helmed. She hates to admit it...she hates herself for being hurt, it's so petty! But even knowing it's petty, she still feels that shove... that rejection, from Leina.
                "You won't even let me bathe in Hell with you... Oh, Leina."

        The battlefield still blooms with the fireworks of ending lives. And then, it blooms with another light, flaring against another sense... And she's swept beyond herself, swept beyond walls and stars. Beyond time. Christina recognizes it, not as anywhere or anywhen or anyone she's been--Rita took her into a mezzanine like this, before, and Leina...Leina told her all about this world.

        Leina was there, but like she was earlier--shrouded in smoke, untouchable but...Chris desperately wanted to reach out to her. Hands are for holding.
        A presence like Leina...and laser focused on her. Judau... Judau, who won't let anything stand in his way.
        And he was there, too. His armor was gathered around him, the Unicorn sang out with him, and his heart was there, beating. Chris had felt it beating before, on the Ra Mari with his concern, and on the Garuda with his relief.

                        A memory rises, of a girl.

                        > 'Its more like, theres a sea inside each of us, and when we go to that place, those seas meet. The waters mingle and merge. The tide sort of recedes, but a part of you stays behind. Its not like a piece of you is missing or something just it belongs to someone else too?'

        A sea of thoughts, memories...
                (("If it's a sea...If it's a sea, then...then take my waters, Leina, and I'll take yours! You let me believe in a future. It was you, it was you and Banagher and Audrey, that let me believe in change! Even when I was trapped in the past--An image ripples out from her mind: A newborn tree, a scrap of metal, a sketchpad. In this place...in this place, even someone as limited as Chris can share her canvas.--you've given me so much, so... let me share it back to you: a future where people like me...try to understand people like you. Not as weapons. As regular, talented, beautiful people.
                And then...Leina, let me share your burdens with you. That despair, that hopelessness, that dreadful certainty that nothing will change. Let me bear it with you--because it's all I'd known until you gave me faith."))

        (("Banagher...Banagher! You can do this. I don't have to beg you, I know you need her even more than I do. But... Please, don't let her beat you! She's afraid that we don't have the power...have the power to make a new future! You have to show her, you have to show her that even when the whole world--even when your family and the entire Federation is against us, that we can't be ground down! That we can protect people like her, like Audrey, like you... If we can beat Leina, we can stop this, piece by piece!"))

<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Yumi has posed.

From the same relative location as Koji's, Sayaka's voice also reaches Leina from within the Banshee. It's the calm voice of a researcher, but not one without love and emotion. "Leina. This is not the first time I've believed in someone I saw struggling. It doesn't make my heart break any less to see it happen to you, though."

"I don't know how they did it, but they made a devil out of the feelings that lingered in Elpeo, and the ones you kept inside. What they did is unforgivable, but you're so much more than Puru-1, soldier of the Vist Foundation. You're Leina Ashta from Shangri-La, someone beloved to so many."

"And no matter how it happened, you have the power to overcome it. I know it because we all do, and I've seen it happen time and time again! And we will all be waiting as your family when you do so."
%As for Banagher and Judau, she shares a similar sentiment to them as well, granting them her passionate fighting spirit: "This battle might not be the end of your struggle or hers, but it will be the start of something new if you can reach her! Our machines might be torn down, but there's more than one way to fight... and we'll be there every step of the way after the fact. So don't back down, either of you!"

KTS: Christina MacKenzie has activated the Trust Spirit Command targeting Banagher Links
KTS: Christina MacKenzie has activated the Trust Spirit Command targeting Banagher Links
KTS: Banagher Links has activated the Rouse Spirit Command.
KTS: Banagher Links: Will Barrier Activates.
KTS: Christina MacKenzie has activated the Trust Spirit Command targeting Banagher Links
KTS: Banagher Links rushes into the attack!
KTS: Puru-1 enervates Banagher Links, reducing his Morale significantly.
KTS: Banagher Links partially guards Puru-1's Beam Magnum All-Out Barrage, taking 8295 damage!
KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Puru-1's Hands Meant For Holding activates, causing Deject!
KTS: Puru-1 completes the Formation attack!
KTS: Christina MacKenzie targets Puru-1 with Pass!
KTS: Christina MacKenzie has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Knight has deployed in Gridknight.
KTS: Knight targets Puru-1 with Demoralize!
KTS: Knight has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

"Ride the wave, or plant your feet: I know you know what to do next."

KTS: Puru-1 fails to react to Christina MacKenzie's Pass, taking 0 damage!
KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 35220
KTS: Knight demoralizes Puru-1, reducing her Morale drastically.
KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 35220
KTS: Banagher Links has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.

        Someone else is there, in the turbulent psychic ether--a big, burly young man with a shaved head, a Ra Mari II flightsuit, and flame-blue eyes. Liam, Subject 7-020, sits on a support gantry in the Nadesico, but his focus has been pulled elsewhere by the Psychoframes. His spirit is battered, and weary, and raw, but the awe of what he's experiencing--and the urgency of Banagher and Judau's determination--has breathed new life into him. He has only the vaguest idea of what's happening, but there will be time for questions later.

        This is a chance to help save someone's life, and it may never come again.

        "Banagher," he says, to the younger man. He's terrified for Banagher's sake, frustrated he charged off, but so, so proud. "I don't know what you just did, but I'm glad you did it. Get her out of there, and come back home."

        Judau gets his focus, next. Liam's presence becomes tighter as he speaks to the man who may well have saved his life, all those years ago. "I'm sorry I punched you," he says, as if Judau hadn't made that offer, Liam hadn't felt guilty at taking it up. "I know you helped us. And that's--that's Leina. I..." The words stick in him. Judau is still firmly rooted in Dublin, and Dublin is still lodged too deeply for him to address.

        So, instead, Judau gets feeling. Sorrow for a lost home, lost family, lost friends, lost innocence. 255:0:0]Anger for the cruelty of those in power. Love for those he's lost, and those he's found.

        Maybe knowing what he saved, once, will help him save Leina.

        Liam's focus falls, then, upon the raw, bleeding emotional knot within the Banshee. "Leina..." he says. "I know what you're telling yourself." His heart begins to open. "'It's all my fault. I deserve this. I'm horrible. I'm a monster.'" Liam's presence now feels like a raw wound, beating with grief and pain. But the warmth--genuine, honest warmth--is undeniable. "It's neat and tidy, isn't it? Means you don't have to hurt anyone else by blaming them. But you do it anyway, you just don't show it. You have to keep it together, right? You have to be there for everyone else. They need you, and they're hurting."

        "That's--how I thought I survived the Crucible," Liam continues. "And parts of that... did help. Kindness is resistance when everyone wants you to go numb. But what saved me wasn't just being kind. It was the bonds I'd made. The people who loved me, and what they taught me. Even in that hell, there were people who risked everything for me. They helped me keep myself, when everyone else wanted to destroy it." Deep, filial love permeates those words. A feeling. A name.

        'Father?'

        "And that's true for you, too, right now. Everyone's here because they felt your pain, and came running to help you. Even if you're in so deep you can't see it, we're here because of you, because the people who love you want you to be well. I know it feels... like things might never get better. Like you might never make up for what you've done. But you don't have to. You don't have to." He's soothing himself, as he tries to soothe her. "Life's not like that, Leina."

        "We'll see you on the other side of this. You've cared for so many people, Leina. Please, let us care for you."

KTS: Liam 7-020 targets Judau Ashta with Warn L1!
KTS: Liam 7-020 has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Ruri Hoshino orders an all-out attack, raising Judau Ashta's Skill!
KTS: Liam 7-020 warns Judau Ashta, making his next attacks more accurate!
KTS: Ruri Hoshino orders an all-out attack, raising Banagher Links's Skill!
KTS: Judau Ashta has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.

<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

Banagher looks grimly at the Banshee as Leina rages against the Unicorn's transformation. She believed in Possibility more than anyone, and now...

<"It won't end that way for me."> Banagher says, quietly, as Judau and Leina argue. <"And even if it does, I won't leave. I promise. I'm staying here, and I'm going to keep fighting for this world.">

Bringing a hand to clench at his heart, Banagher watches the Unicorn's shields fire on the Banshee. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." Attacking her like this is horrific. These untested weapons... Knowing how damaged and fragile Leina's body is... Tears drip down Banagher's face, catching in the crusty dried blood covering it.

How miserable will this be until it's over? The young pilot grits his teeth. More miserable than this.

Awareness flashes in Banagher's mind a second before the Banshee begins to transform.

<"Leina no--!"> He shouts, pulling his shields back to the Unicorn, even as the Banshee projects Leina's anguish forward.

The Unicorn folds her shields in front of her, as if to spare her pilot the negative waves rolling from the Banshee -- but to no avail. Banagher cries out in misery, sobbing, his voice breaking. Again and again, the Banshee used this trick to defeat him, and knowing the identity of her pilot has only made it more effective.

Banagher curls in on himself as the hands return, carrying her fear, her misery -- another anguished cry escaping the Key's throat. Gloved hands scrabble at intangible horrors, useless. Banagher's connection to the hearts of his friends grows faint, and the Unicorn catches one of her shields in her hand.

If her pilot is incapacitated, she'll fight her sister herself. The spare shield raises itself between the Banshee and the Unicorn, catching the first two of the Beam Magnum's blasts -- before it's forced to the side. The Unicorn blocks the remaining three, working in harmony with her I-frames, but it's a close thing. Her shield shatters into pieces, leaving behind nothing but bits of glimmering Psychoframe and white armor.

<"Yeah. Yeah, I will."> Banagher manages, shaking his head as if that would banish the grasping hands. <"I'll keep saying it! Until you see the truth again! Because -- none of this is you, Leina! It's what Murasame and Martha did to you! These feelings, this misery -- I'll keep fighting!">

Hands wrap around Banagher's throat, making him feel like he's choking. His voice is cut off.

<"You -- haven't --"> Banagher chokes out, his vision swimming with intangible, ghostly fear.

Right as his head begins to droop, a voice reaches him. Calm and confident as it ever is -- Kaworu. Banagher's eyes trace upwards, as if he could see his friend, and a little smile comes to his face. Kaworu is a kind person, but he isn't a liar. If this was impossible, Kaworu wouldn't have said these things. So that must mean--!

Banagher grips the edges of his pilot seat. Glimmering starlight builds around the Unicorn, motes of verdant glory shimmering into existence.

"Thank you--" He manages, as Koji's voice joins Kwaoru's. "I -- won't let you down --"

A party. Memories of Banagher and Leina's joint birthday party flash into his mind. The happiness of that day. The love, and connection he felt with her.

"I want to -- have fun together again--!" Light begins to creep into the cockpit -- or perhaps it was emanating from within the cockpit all this time, and only now is it powerful enough to fill that space with light. "I want to see her smile..."

BGM Change - Unicorn - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLiUwIFV_cM

"And nothing's going to stop me!"

With a cry, Banagher breaks free of the hands binding him, banishing their negativity from around the Unicorn. Surrounding him within the cockpit, a brilliant shield of light forms -- repeated just outside the Unicorn herself. Dim at first, then growing in strength, the Beast of Possibility and her Key begin to shine.

The last of the Banshee's grasping hands vanish from around him, and the young pilot breathes in and out heavily. <"That won't work anymore. I understand now. I know who you are, Leina Ashta, and I love every single piece. If you can't believe in the future anymore, I'll believe enough for both of us!">

Holding one arm out, the Unicorn opens her hand. Zooming from her pack of weapons, a halberd settles itself into her grasp. Brilliant green light ignites along its axe-edge and severe spear-tip. With her one remaining shield floating at her shoulder, the Unicorn ignites her thrusters and charges the Banshee, trailing green stardust.

<"All of us -- everyone! We can do this, together!"> Banagher's heart is light, shimmering as it never has before. <"This world can change! We just have to fight for it -- and hold each other close, so we can't be crushed!">

As the Unicorn reaches the Banshee, she spins her javelin, grasping it with both hands and stabbing forward, aiming to sever her sister's arm at the elbow. Coming out of the stab, she swings the weapon in a wide arc -- aiming next for the Lion's legs.

<"I believe in this world! I believe in humanity!"> Banagher glows against the battlefield, alight with determination. <"And so do you!">

KTS: Banagher Links has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Banagher Links has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
KTS: Banagher Links targets Puru-1 with Hyper Beam Javelin: Totality!
KTS: Puru-1 has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
KTS: Puru-1 has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
KTS: Puru-1 fails to Parry Banagher Links's Hyper Beam Javelin: Totality, taking 8520 damage!
KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 26700
KTS: Banagher Links has engaged Puru-1!
KTS: Banagher Links roots his unit, coming to a standstill and leaving him vulnerable.

<Pose Tracker> Judau Ashta has posed.

                YOU! GODDAMNIT! JUDAU! YOU - KNOW HOW IT'S GOING TO END FOR HIM AND YOU'RE JUST GOING TO LET IT HAPPEN!?

<"I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ANYTHING! I'M NOT SOME KINDA -- SPACE -- FORTUNE TELLER!">

Truer words, never spoken.

m-more to the point--

<"An' you sure as hell don't, either! Yeah, things went bad for us, real bad! Yeah, the Federation's a buncha fatheaded bastards whose heads keep on gettin' fatter an' bastardier every god damn year, but I don't care! They're not gonna out-fathead me!!">

Grappling with the Banshee, Judau feels it. The distinct swell. The malevolence they once thought was Elpeo.

<"I don't know or care what a Laplace is! The first time I heard that stupid name, I was pretty sure it was some kinda napkin holder!">

                ... lap... lace...

        lap lace

<"But I'm SURE AS HELL about to start lettin' a buncha shitty adults tell me what the future's gonna be like they have any damn idea -- especially when it comes to you--">

She's coming.

Armor segments swell and shift beneath the grip of the Double Zeta, revealing the glowing orange-gold psychoframe shimmer of psychic potential beneath.

And it floods

"ghkk--"

He knows Puru. He's felt her at her best, and her worst. But it was never like this. Like someone stripped away every bit of nuance, every complication in Elpeo, every thing that made her so messy, until all there was was the most vile feelings a human being could feel. Her pettiness. Her sadness. Her jealousy. Her fury.

The pressure of it all hits him like a truck. Opening up like this is a two way street; as much as he becomes an open channel for all the good of others to pour through... he's also an open door for all the bad of the Banshee to pour into every fiber of his senses. Seagreen eyes widen like dinnerplates; Judau grips at his chest as he goes pale, a brief, strangled, "puru--" escaping his lips. The surprise -- the overwhelming sentiment of it all -- is enough for the Double Zeta to lose its grip on the Banshee. The magenta-red of the Double Zeta's presence begins to dim within a storm of shadows and desperation.

And then--

        You're with her.

It hits him like a sucker punch. Sentiment rams brusquely into his soul, causing Judau to sputter out a "What the hell, Thickhead?!" in PURE INDIGNANCE -- but that familiar, surly presence reorients Judau within the morass. Seagreen eyes narrow. His hands tighten on the controls. Kaworu's reassurances -- the calm, gentle confidence of someone he doesn't know yet somehow sounds like he's known him all his life -- pushes his focus forward, pass the swamp of hands.

"Yeah, yeah -- I'm doin' it!!"

And shadowy hands burn away as the Double Zeta's aura bursts outward. Like a nova reminding the void of space:

<"I DO PLENTY OF BAD IDEAS ALL THE TIME AND I'M GONNA DO WAY MORE BEFORE THE DAY IS DONE, LEINA! YOU CAN'T TELL ME NOT TO!">

Even it is not absolute.

<"AN' MASHYMERE -- HAD SOME PRETTY GOOD IDEAS!!">

The Banshee's beam saber ignites, swings --

                If you can't be a little more responsible, you should at least listen to your big brother.

And meets the volatile, powerful edge of the Double Zeta's own hyper beam saber in a sudden BURST of particles and will. And some ego there's--

"Heh heh. Yeah! You oughta listen to me, Leina!"

Definitely. Definitely some ego. he's going to be insufferable when all this is said and done

And he knows -- there WILL be an after, when all of this is said and done. Because he refuses there not to be. Not this time.

Saber meets saber, again and again: the fury of the Banshee is such that even with glancing hits, it sheers off white armor from the ZZ, casting chunks of superheated metal out into the cold of space. But he matches it, blow for blow, even as he keeps that channel open for Knight to make his taciturn intent known -- for the familiar sensation of Koji and Sayaka to course through him, bringing a beaming smile to his lips as they bolster that defiant, debatably dumb drive of his to even greater heights. Always like kindred spirits. Always something he could rely on, even in the worst of their wars. Always--

"You hear that, Leina?! Even Sayaka and Koji believe in you! Believe in us!"

-- always family.

"And they do -crazy science bullshit- all the damn time!" He refuses to -not- make this a petty, bickering argument. He can't let go of that thread. Because it ties him to the Leina he knows is still deep down in there.

And it lets those emotions reach through all the clearer, like every conflicted-yet-resolute iota Liam brings to bear. Bringing with him a deeply personal level of connection, in so many ways, Judau's expression softens, even as the tiniest, roughest grin touches his lips. I'm sorry I punched you.

"But it worked, right?"

All of it emboldens Judau as he -shunts- the Double Zeta backwards, its optics tinging from green to pink and red as it yanks free its second saber. Red blades of particles ignite.

<"Leina... I'm sorry I left you, but I'm not sorry I left. Out there in Jupiter... it showed me somethin'. That even that far out, there's no running away from this. Maybe that's a hopeless feeling, I dunno -- maybe I'm too dumb to realize that. But it made it clear I needed to be here. ... That I needed to do -something-. I don't want to leave you, but I don't want you to feel like you can't be anything without me, either. Because you can be so much, with or without me. You know so much it makes me wonder how I could ever be the brother of someone so smart -- but that doesn't mean you don't need protecting... and none of that means I don't need you, either.">

Judau pulls back on those controls. Thrusters burgeon, tinging with red and pink.

<"I need you to protect me, and set me straight. Just like you need me, right now. Because that's what family does for each other, Leina. We look out for each other. An' that's how I -KNOW-... That -thing- in there's got NOTHIN' to do with any sorta legacy that matters--">

And it CHARGES after the Unicorn: as the Unicorn drives its spear tip forward, the Double Zeta comes in from the opposite side of the Banshee, looking to cleave through the backs of the machine's legs on its first past, before circling around--

<"--AN' IT SURE AS HELL'S NOT ELPEO!">

--and -swinging- those sabers in a double-horizontal drag across whatever thrusters at the back of the Banshee it can find as the host of souls who wish to save Leina makes it climb to greater, unfathomable heights. In the end, really, he doesn't have big ambitions. But for family?

For family, Judau can do anything.

KTS: Judau Ashta targets Puru-1 with Hyper Beam Sabers - Blitz!
KTS: Banagher Links has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Puru-1 fails to Parry Judau Ashta's Hyper Beam Sabers - Blitz, taking 6720 damage!
KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 19980
KTS: Judau Ashta has engaged Puru-1!
KTS: Judau Ashta begins a Formation attack!
KTS: Judau Ashta has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Puru-1 has posed.

        'I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ANYTHING! I'M NOT SOME KINDA -- SPACE -- FORTUNE TELLER!'

        For a moment, Judau can feel the weight of his little sister's gaze upon him, perhaps annoyed or disappointed by that level of self burn, "... ... ... Judau really?" She sucks in a breath before she just shouts back, "DOESN'T TAKE A TRIP TO SOME SPACE SCAM ARTIST TO PREDICT THE OBVIOUS!"

        And as if to demonstrate... Banagher...

        "It always ends that way." Puru-1 refutes Banagher immediately, "What do you think happened to Kamille? Did he ever TELL YOU what state he was in when he first came to Shangri-La?" And Banagher will see a flash, of that hollow eyed expression, the far younger boy seated in that wheelchair with no life in his eyes. "And Amuro? Your own HERO tried to KILL US! And you actually THINK it'll end WELL for you!?"

        She presses, she presses so hard, creating an emotional weight against him, a grasping clawing wall of teeming fingertips that grasp at him, and try to force him to give up. Yet, he doesn't, he pushes back.

        "THIS HAS ALWAYS BEEN ME!" She yells at him acerbically, "They didn't do ANYTHING other than give me the strength to do something about your INSANE QUEST! In the name of a Father who treated you like a LABRAT!"

        Judau really gets her out of that tear though with a simple, "Napkin holder? Napkin h- Lap... Lac..." That thought drifts off, into the void. Puru-1 takes 10 morale damage just parsing Judau's words even before she can get to his second point, "This has nothing to do with them! THIS WAS MY CHOICE!"

        When connection is established again, she makes a low snarl of a noise. Kaworu, she doesn't know him well. Though there's something strange about him this time, something odd that she can't parse that's different from before. She tries to, but only fails through these negative feelings she's conjured up. She feels his expression of faith, and only murmurs, "It's useless."

        When a voice comes from the Banshee itself, Puru-1 finds herself startled, "What do you think you're doing!? GET OUT!" Despite how scared Ruri always was of her, right now she can't be diplomatic, especially within that shroud of feelings. "Neurotoxin!? It was just a BLUFF! There's no such thing!" Has the Banshee told her about it? Apparently not! And the question might occur to Ruri, why hasn't it? "And you're a rude brat." She tells her back childishly as if accepting that she's a bad girl wholly.. They are words that Leina would never use towards Ruri in a million years under any other circumstances, "Who doesn't - UNDERSTAND - what the end of the road looks like for them! The only way OUT for them, is for me to take away their ability to FIGHT!"

        Knight, suddenly claws their way into her brain. And what the laconic human hearted Kaiju asks her sternly is simple, but all the same it shakes her. "You KNOW IT IS!" denial denial denial. She has no choice, "What- do you think is going to happen to them if I don't WIN HERE TODAY!"

        Does she really know that? Or is fear making a paranoid fool of her?

        Shaken by the thought that Knight implants in there, she's immediately forced to face Koji Kabuto, "Bad day. You think this is just-! I KNOW THEY'RE NOT INVINCIBLE! THAT'S NEVER BEEN THE PROBLEM!" The system is rigged, and it doesn't matter if a few fall, because so many more will replace them - worse people. And the loss of people like Martha Vist Carbine would only be used to metastasize the rot further, as an excuse to further exploit and pillage. Against the arm rest she pounds a fist down hard, glove fabric of her pilot suit rubbing audibly, "They're not the DEVIL YOU NEED TO WORRY ABOUT KOJI!"

        It was the girl you welcomed into your home.

        "Kind." She says softly, repeating it, the image of his father's words digging a deeper wound than Koji could know. It's perhaps no surprise at all when Sayaka joins him, as if she were being FORCED one by one to accept that they're all there. They're all coming, despite her best efforts to shove them away. "Don't. Don't say that about her! She just WANTS TO LIVE!" As she yells at her in abject denial, "She's not anything I need to OVERCOME! I-" Something about the love and validation hurts, and it seems to hurt the presence more. As if it touches a hot stove between Sayaka and Koji, wailing in retreat.

        The resistance reaches a crescendo as Judau burns that assault away, in that volatile burst of feelings and her anger just reaches a further boiling point in crescendo, "OBVIOUSLY I CAN! I TELL YOU NOT TO ALL THE TIME DUMMY!" She shouts at him before it shifts into a second clause that feels more like a sibling bickering match, "AND NAME ONE!"

        Okay is she actually challenging Judau to come up with one good idea Mashymere ever had???

A sharp spike of another feeling, and someone she knows, advice she knows well from Shelby. She knows what to do next. "What I have to do is sink! I have to sink." She tells herself, as if in forcible self-denial of even the most basic of urges to breathe.

        "Chris!" That memory suddenly fills her, and her expression spasms as if pained, "Don't-! STAY AWAY FROM ME!" She cries out as if afraid she's only going to get hurt. Tears spring to her eyes, at the idea of such a future, "It can't exist! It won't EVER exist! You're-!" Different? Is that what she was going to say? To someone she accused of being a terrorist! "... delusional." She tries to tell her. "What do you think is going to stop!? What do you think is going to end?"

        And as she's reeling, Liam sends another blow her way, "Stop." She whispers, "Noone - SHOULD NEED ME! I can't do anything but HURT PEOPLE!" Yet isn't she just validating what he's saying by offering that. The deep filial love he sends her way causes her to cry out in pain, as if building upon the wound Koji sent her, "STOP! STOP IT!" She seethes against those feelings, and in that moment Liam might catch a glimpse of something with awareness far beyond his normal senses.

        What are you doing wearing Daddy's jacket?! He could come back!

        A younger Judau, not even entertaining a response to that sentiment, as he leaps upon his motorcycle. Because both of them know, even if Leina was in denial. He's never coming back. In the end, it was never parental love that protected them back then. It was always the two of them. Just the two of them.

        "Care for me? That's not the point. THE POINT IS ME PROTECTING ALL OF YOU FROM YOURSELVES!"

        Judau however apologizes, and for a time, it steals her breath away, shoulders shaking, "Do something. Just. Something. That's, that's your answer. Your answer, to all of this." There's something crushing in her tone, like some part of her was expecting, hoping for MORE! "To the hopelessness of the world. The cruelty and the apathy." Eight years. She was hoping for something more, profound after eight years.

        "Just to... stay with each other, protect each other." There's something heartbreakingly sad within her tone there. As if part of her wants so badly to accept it. And part of her...

        ... knows it's never enough. "It's not enough." She says quietly, "IT'S NOT ENOUGH! How long. HOW LONG DOING 'SOMETHING' BEFORE YOU'RE A TARGET TOO?" How long before he's taken to some lab, before he's beaten by something like the Mu Gundam again and killed, "They didn't care enough LAST TIME! THIS TIME! THIS TIME!"

        The sheer depth of terror of something happening to him. Crushing him worse, in a way that eight years could not even begin to heal.

        Yet despite her stubborn denial, her erratic rejection. Even the forcefulness of the NT-D can't withstand this onslaught of feelings, with their assistance, Banagher breaks free from their grip. "YOU! JUST SUBMIT! GIVE IN ALREADY!" telling her despite it all that the world can change. That if they just fight, and hold each other close they won't be crushed. In the end, his belief in humanity shines, as she shouts, "You're- That's a LIE! WHO COULD EVER BELIEVE IN HUMANITY AFTER THAT NIGHT!?"

        A glimpse of a room as dark as the void of space, the white gloved hands. The hands. Why is that imagery something the presence within the Banshee adopts? It's something perhaps noone has time to contemplate, as Banagher comes in with the Hyper Beam Javelin, stabbing at the Norn's arm at the Elbow, swinging then for its legs. The Banshee brings up a Mounted Saber, skirting off the Saber as it strikes the elbow, before it tries to push away on the second strike.

        The Norn in that moment loses its right leg, at the knee.

        And there is a horrific wailing on a level deeper than sound, as Puru-1 shouts at him in shock. "BANAGHER!" There is anger in that moment, "STOP! YOU'RE HURTING HER!" Is it hypocrisy itself with her wanting to murder the Unicorn, that she shouts at him to stop? Even if legs are extraneous to mobile suits in space, could it cause pain to something within it?
        
        Freaked out, panicked, the Banshee suddenly puts away it's Beam Magnum long enough, to draw a second Beam Saber from its Armed Armor. Falling upon it as she tries to carve it to pieces, one rapid blow after another, before a strike feints, and a Mounted Saber suddenly sprouts to try and drive it into its right shoulder joint, and carve the arm right off.

        Even as Judau moves in, those burning sabers, charged with sheer Newtype power scream at its back thrusters. In that moment of extreme focus on the Unicorn, he carves off part of the Back Thrusters, the Norn twisting away from it far too late. "HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT! HOW COULD YOU!" There's a sudden whirling cleave as the Norn turns trying to catch the Double Zeta off guard with a sudden savage swing across its legs.

        "YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT WE'VE BEEN THROUGH TOGETHER!"

        In denial, she cries out, only to be faced by something. The orange haired visage of a childlike girl in front of the Double Zeta, arms outspread.

        NO! Leina! Don't hurt Judau! The two of you shouldn't be fighting!

        Doubt suddenly wracks her, as the Norn stills for a moment. The negative turmoil having receded just enough that she could manifest, manifest protecting Judau.

        He's right! That's not me! It's just something that was left behind in the Qubeley!

        Is it over? Surely she can't refute this, no matter what. Yet even as those feelings receded under that prior onslaught, there's this growing build, like something is dammed up, cracking, breaking- then bursts.

        A memory of two girls on a sandy isle. One with a pipe cinching the other's throat shut.

        This isn't you! You're just being used-

        "ENOUGH!" She shouts out erratically, as something slams open again, the negative rush of feelings causing the image of her to vanish. "That's low... that's low Judau. Trying to trick me." It takes a moment, to understand what's going on through the chaotic mess of her own rewired head, but then she says it outright.

        "IN WHAT WORLD WOULD SHE EVER TRY TO SAVE ME!"

        It makes perfect sense that she died for Judau. Perfect sense. But for her...? Those feelings rise again in a pervasive field of negativity, that guilt, that self loathing stronger than ever. That absolute sense of knowledge that she is a terrible person.

        And she must do this.

        The Armed Armor is replaced upon its back to be used instead of its tortured back thrusters, as the thrusters fire, and she rockets away, trying to get some breathing room from both of them.

KTS: Puru-1 targets Banagher Links with DESTROY-->SELF-SACRIFICE!
KTS: Puru-1 targets Judau Ashta with Beam Tonfas and Sabers Whirling Blitz!
KTS: Puru-1 has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

Banagher and Leina will both see a flash of the same boy, Fa by his side, slowly healing. The stars alighting in his eyes as he connects with Judau. The gentle, slow healing, gradual memories, a hand finally starting to reach back. Kamille holding Fas hand, running on the beach, his eyes shining again and the blood back in his cheeks.

Im sorry I never told you about it. But you need to remember that people heal. Even from the worst wounds. Life keeps going, and while you may think your pain will never end, you can live through it. Leina, you have to live!

<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.

        "Banagher." The blue energy which settles over Banagher's hand is entirely ephemeral -- Permanence Pasternak was reduced to nothing more than atoms, by Angelo's anguished rage. Even so, she's here. She echoes, still, in this space, and her energy is supportive as ever. "It's okay... I made my choice. It's been hard, you know? It's been so fucking hard... but things can get better. I believe in that, now. And you deserve a shot at it, kid. I wasn't gonna let Angelo's anger destroy you... that's what I wanted, in the end. I guess I didn't think it through, but that's not your fault, you know. It's just an occupational hazard, for old labrats like me." And she's grinning, even in death. "Come on, chin up. It's your turn."

        (The energy flits past Judau, briefly, and he receives his own assurance: "Soon as I see her, I'll check in. Make sure she's not too fucked up about all this." And who is 'she'? Perhaps she's sensing the ghosts all clinging to the Ashta's bones.)

        She does not cling so much as transmutes, to settle over Leina, now. Her hands settle, ghost-light, over her hands, and her own eyes have lost their individual colour as she looks to her. (She is blue, blue, blue.) "Leina... hey. Sorry I never got the chance to thank you properly... ha, I always figured I had more time, you know? But shit happens." Rueful as she is, she's smiling. "You really pushed yourself past your comfort levels for us, back then, didn't you? I appreciate it, but... I can't help but wonder if that made it easy for them to push you further, when they got to you. I know that's not our fault, but... shit, sorry, Leina." Permanence's head shakes, a gesture carried all in broad strokes. "I can't stand how you got tangled up in this... it's not fucking fair. I hear you saying that... you're not all wrong. But, look -- once today's over, there's a tomorrow out there. I'll give my tomorrows to you, but you gotta do some brave shit and trust the people around you. Let it be worth something... I broke a lot of hearts, with that little stunt. But I think you're worth it, Leina." Her fingers curl, around Leina's hands, though she can't truly squeeze them now. "I want you to think that, too--!!" And that blue energy flares around them all, for a moment, before it grows formless -- and flows around the Ra Mari II, into it, through it, that blue shine disappearing as her light spreads across such a vast mass.

        It's a wordless gesture, but they may feel it, still. Her final voyage... it's the Ra Mari II that will take her down the river Styx, and no other. She'll be with them...

KTS: Ruri Hoshino targets Judau Ashta and Banagher Links with Coordinate.
KTS: Ruri Hoshino has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Mineva Lao Zabi has posed.

From her position in the Ra Mari II's bridge, standing beside Zinnerman, she can see the battle in the distance. But as the glow sweeps over her, she doesn't need to. Their emotions are in vivid color to her... Distance holds no meaning. She feels Banagher and Leina as if they're right next to her. Their grief, their pain... she pulls her go stone out of her pocket. It's glowing in the same bright green as the Unicorn. Immediately, gripping the stone tight in her hand, she understands what this is.

This is the space where bonds rule. The space of miracles.

This is where they can get her back.

Her fear is palpable as she reaches out, knowing they might fail, that they might lose her, or Banagher... that they might just send Leina deeper into her brainwashed state... fear that she might be driven down the same road as Char was.

But her determination is palpable, too. Her stubborn refusal to give up, her love for them both...

Leina... I hope you understand why I don't give up, even if you can't accept it right now. I know I may not be able to change things. I know that the struggle may break me. But I know for sure that I--and so many others like me--would rather suffer the consequences of defeat than give in without trying.

We need hope. All of us. Even you. However badly you feel right now... I think you'd be in worse shape if you didn't have so many people fighting to bring you back. If you didn't have Banagher and I. I know there's some part of you that still wants to be with us, even now... a part of you that'd be crushed if we gave up, if we didn't still love you.

You may not understand, you may hate it... but I do still love you. And I'm not going to stop loving you, because I've seen the real you. Not the Leina who's been pushed to do terrible things, but... the Leina who kept things running when Sayla disappeared. The Leina who cares about others.The Leina who trusts me, who loves me enough to do anything for my sake. Even now, I see things about you that shine. The things I love.

I love you, Leina Ashta. No matter what happens, I won't stop loving you. And if you want to understand, really understand why I still do, even now... come back to us. I'll be waiting. I promise.

Judau. I want you to know that your little sister is the most wonderful girl I've ever met... I love her dearly. The real Leina, the one underneath all the lies they told her... I know you see her even better than I do, and I know she'll be grateful that you're with her. There's no way you'll give up, I know... and neither will I. I'll support you. I know you two can bring her back.

Her attention shifts to the Unicorn, to Banagher.

You're my rock, Banagher. You always have been. You ground me. Not just... here, like this, but you're the reason I don't give up. Because you don't, either. And I don't think you'd ever let me if I tried.

She pours all she can out to him, and to Judau. Her hope, her love, her determination, everything she is ripples out into the psychic phlogiston, and with it, her self thrusts forth, amplified, drawn, and focused by the lens of the Unicorn's psychoframe... in the Unicorn's cockpit, the faint outline of a person appears beside Banagher, indistinct at first--then unmistakable. Mineva--Audrey--seems disoriented, briefly, then lays her hand upon his, at the controls, while the other moves to embrace him. It's not a possessive embrace, but supportive, comforting, full of warmth as the spectral girl lays her head upon his shoulder. It's one of the things I love most about you.

I know you won't give up. So no matter what... no matter how long it takes... until she's back home with us, I'm with you. I'll be your rock right now, Banagher, so you can be Leina's. We'll remind her of who she is, and what she has to come home to. Together.

Aboard the Ra Mari II, Mineva's body collapses unconscious into Zinnerman's arms, her soul with Banagher in the Unicorn.
POT: Marida Cruz is no longer set observer.

<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.

The sensation of a psychic wave was more familiar to her; the brazen, lightly intrusive sensation of emotions that were not her own. A minor jolt of surprise, a minor set of the jaw as her grip tightened on the armrest. Resonance? Psycommu? There's no time to infer, no time to properly parse other than by pure gut instinct.

A deep breath.

L C Y H M I know you can hear me.
E A O E E I know you can listen.
I N U A ? So listen well.
N R
A
,

An expanse of nothingness, the sparkling stars blotted out one by one, overtaken by the dull sky blossoming from the Whispered girl. The sky that hungers for more, that seeks more, a horizon set aflame by the heart that sparked the abnormal dawn. There sits a girl in a sundress, pale skin and silver braid over the shoulder, the blue ribbon topping it all off. A utilitarian chair, one of many off the assembly line. Three other chairs sit across from her, one for each one so far away, so far above.

                         - and I am too. We're both towards violence.
                        /
I said you were a demon - and you still are one.
                        \
                         - and demons are meant to be exorcised.
                        
>I'm not going back on that word, Leina. Not now, not ever.< The girl smiles a forlorn smile. There are no words, only the bare thoughts of the girl.
>I refuse to believe this is what you want.<
>This is a cowardly thing to do.< Running away. Scurrying away. Weighing everything on her own shoulders. There's a pang of internal recognition that she refuses to look at.
>I can't stand to see you like this.<
Statement upon statement from one girl to another. The intersection of the two others in combat barely register.

'What do you think bravery will GET YOU!?' The silent echo of that question whisks across the mental field. The girl's smile only brightened. >Just bravery will get me nothing. Nothing at all.< Just being brave...Solves nothing. The question weighs down, even if she barely knew the context. Will the world care? >The world won't care if someone dies.<

The gaze of the girl hardens, ashen eyes shimmering as the world creaks, white flooding in. The slow cooling. >The world doesn't care.<

BUT I DO. The sky alights back into force, shining a clear blue downwards from the heavens. The braid slowly unravels as the girl firmly stares at the Banshee Norn. Even if Minerva didn't care. Even if Banagher didn't care. Even if Sayla didn't care. Even if the *impossibility* of those events were true.

I care.

             - and yet, we're both still just teenagers.
            /
I said you were a demon - AND I DON'T CARE.
            \
             - AND I'LL DRAG YOU BACK DOWN TO EARTH LIKE ONE.
            
The azure sky flickers. The azure sky ignites. The silver hair of the standing girl flows freely past her waist, sparkling in the ambient light. The chairs are nowhere to be found, flicked aside into the void.

The heart is aflame with emotion. The blackened, shriveled coal at the center of the girl dripping something onto the brazen facsimile of a floor, sinking, disappating into the cerulean darkness. The Tuatha de Dannan glides below that surface.

The girl's smile only widens.

I can't see my friends debase themselves like this. Just...Come back. We're not normal people. I know that. We're never going to lead normal lives. But at the very least, I want to live a life with people I care about.

That includes you. If that makes me targeted by Vist, so be it. I'd see the world crumble before I see the person who helped me so much die a fate worse than death.

The world shines silver.
The world heats to white.
The world burns blue.
The world chars to black.

The Captain lightly jolts in place, casting a look towards where the Unicorn and the Banshee are clashing.

Most of all, be safe. Banagher, Judau.

Go.

KTS: Teletha Testarossa has activated the Attune Spirit Command targeting Judau Ashta
KTS: Teletha Testarossa has activated the Foresee Spirit Command targeting Banagher Links
KTS: Mineva Lao Zabi targets Puru-1 with Shock!
KTS: Mineva Lao Zabi has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Mineva Lao Zabi has activated the Enable Spirit Command targeting Judau Ashta
KTS: Mineva Lao Zabi has activated the Foresee Spirit Command targeting Banagher Links
KTS: Mineva Lao Zabi shocks Puru-1, reducing her Morale significantly.
KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 19980
KTS: Teletha Testarossa has activated the Attune Spirit Command targeting Banagher Links
KTS: Banagher Links has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
KTS: Banagher Links has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
KTS: Teletha Testarossa targets Puru-1 with Shock!
KTS: Teletha Testarossa has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Marida Cruz has posed.

         Marida lays in the medical wing of the 'Garencieres Junior,' an IV hooked up to her arm. Thankfully, she had come out of her encounter with the Banshee with no truly major injuries, but she had completely exhausted herself both mentally and physically. She groans and cracks her eyes open as the resonance of the two RX-0s spreads out.

         Banagher...We've been through so much, haven't we? I wouldn't change it for the world. Once we take care of the Banshee, the Box will be in reach. I had honestly nearly forgotten about it with all this. And frankly, I don't know how much I care about it anymore. I've gotten so much more. Marida Zinnerman...it still doesn't feel real. Banagher, I know you can do this. Every one of us is counting on you.

KTS: Mineva Lao Zabi has activated the Attune Spirit Command targeting Banagher Links

<Pose Tracker> Ennil El has posed.

Something rings across the battlefield, capturing a Doven Wolf still picking at the retreating Federation forces. Dawnlight curls around the Skoll, jealously, doing its best to drag Ennil down - But she knows these feelings, these hearts, and she refuses to turn away from them. The Skoll pulls at her, demanding she fight or flee. But she grips the controls and simply... draws back, giving the Federation suits space to retreat.

Please, this time... Let it be her voice they hear!

"Leina... you're right, I couldn't stay away. I'm selfish, and jealous, kinda clingy, and I get mad over stupid things -- and somehow, I still got to be your friend! After all the times I ran away, I don't even know if I deserve to be here... But I just don't want to see another friend disappear. I don't know what happened between you and Elpeo, but in the end, she just wanted the two of you to be happy together, as sisters, right? That's what you told me! So, come on... Start running towards that happiness! That's the best thing you can do for her, and everyone else who cares about you!"

She smiles, and the feelings that reach out to Banagher in turn are as cool and shimmering as a cloudless ocean...

"Hey, Banagher. You can feel how scared she is, right? Crappy miracles that come at your own expense are just going to make her feel even worse. You can do better than that, can't you? Trust the Unicorn to protect you, and... Banagher, for Leina's sake... show me you can fight to win, without losing anything!"

KTS: Teletha Testarossa shocks Puru-1, reducing her Morale significantly.
KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 19980
KTS: [Spirit Defense] Puru-1's Never Let You Go activates, and her spirit endures.
KTS: Mineva Lao Zabi has activated the Trust Spirit Command targeting Banagher Links
KTS: Banagher Links parries Puru-1's DESTROY-->SELF-SACRIFICE, taking 1095 damage!
KTS: Puru-1 has engaged Banagher Links!
KTS: Puru-1 roots her unit, coming to a standstill and leaving her vulnerable.
KTS: Ennil El: Will Barrier Activates.
KTS: Ennil El targets Banagher Links with Prospect!
KTS: Ennil El has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Roux Louka has posed.

It is chaos in the Ra Mari II. Having been carved out of the cockpit block, Roux was all but rolled onto a medical stretcher. A cursory exam revealed that she had no fatal injuries, and after positioning her with several other injured people on that same stretcher, lashing a splint to her broken left forearm, and attaching an IV bag of saline...

She was by herself in a room of the wounded, without even a window to look at the stars.

Herself? There were others, but Roux was alone. (The painkillers and anti-inflammatories didn't hurt.)

Laying there, throbbing, Roux mumbled to herself. Part of her wanted to get up, to turn around, to run, but it hurt, and

"And maybe they're all right," Roux says, "maybe it is all hopeless and we're stupid to resist it and everything but... but I don't want to live like that. I was in middle school, actually, the handball coach talked to me when I was trying to be too -- too -- I forget the word, too much trying to set up a big shot, and he told me, he told me: You miss all the shots you don't take."

"Maybe it is doomed," Roux says, "and maybe there's only the tiniest chance in Hell, but if we - we -"

Roux's throat tightens.

"I didn't want to fight any of these stupid wars and I don't think you did either and the way you stop doing it is you stop DOING it, oh, God, Leina, please-- don't -- ugh. UGH."

"JUDAU" Roux thinks, or says with her heart.

"... You didn't give up on her even for a moment. I was too quick. I was wrong; I--"

"Just-- just snap her out of this! They did this to her! They found the insecurities, the weak spots... Whatever they did, however they did it, she doesn't deserve --"

Her eyes spill over with tears as she stares at the metal ceiling and she cries out, "Banagher! Come on! She's trying to fight it, I could tell -- I couldn't get her out BUT YOU AND JUDAU CAN!"

KTS: Roux Louka has deployed in MSZ-006-3 Zeta Gundam 'Strike Zeta' <Mobile Suit>.
KTS: Roux Louka has activated the Resupply Spirit Command targeting Banagher Links
KTS: Roux Louka has activated the Resupply Spirit Command targeting Judau Ashta
KTS: Roux Louka's MSZ-006-3 Zeta Gundam 'Strike Zeta' <Mobile Suit> has been disabled.
KTS: Ennil El has activated the Resupply Spirit Command targeting Banagher Links
KTS: Ennil El has activated the Resupply Spirit Command targeting Banagher Links

<Pose Tracker> Naoko Suzuki has posed.

In the Ra Mari II's medical bay, Naoko Suzuki, a.k.a. Nova Stellar, is still unconscious following the battle with Angelo Sauper's Krake Zulu. She doesn't appear outwardly injured, she's just... not waking up, following the extreme mental exertion that was needed just to get out of there alive. All anyone can do for her right now is let her rest, and hope she'll awaken with time.

One element of concern therein, and one that is being carefully monitored, is that though she may be appear to be resting peacefully, her brain activity is off the charts. This is because even in her present condition, she senses that clash, the explosion of feelings - and it registers to her as what it is. The resonance of Psychoframes, and the trio at its center. She recognizes it as an opening through which her words can reach, even now. There's still something she can do to help. And so, she must.

Sharing her honest feelings may also answer some questions, as to what made this perfect stranger to Leina decide to intervene. Why there was no way that she could ignore this. In truth, she'd never even considered there was brainwashing involved. The way she sees it is...

...She's just like I used to be.

She thinks she has everything figured out. That she has an understanding no one else has. That there's no point in listening to anyone, because they're not thinking on her level, and never will.

'There's no one you can connect with, no one who could ever see things the way you do. That's just the way it is. It's your fault for being different.'

That loneliness... is not something anyone should feel forced to bear. But she can't escape that spiral. Not unless someone helps her. Helps her see that her worst enemy... is her own brain.

Rather than thinking things through better than most, she's overthought things. Drawn the wrong conclusions. Lost sight of the fact that it's actually the most simple line of reasoning, dismissed out of hand because things couldn't possibly be that simple... that is most often correct.

So, teach her the lesson that I needed to learn. No one deserves to be alone. Never stop chasing the greatest miracle of all: the miracle of happiness.

What follows... may be a bit unpleasant for Banagher, likely doubly so for Judau. Generally when people use the term 'math brain', it's not as literal as this: a flood of raw information, fact and theory criss-crossing with no clear pattern. All in the form of numbers, formulas, equations, calculations. And it all has one thing in common. The Banshee. These are all observations and considerations where it comes to fighting the Banshee.

There's no way to consciously process all of this. The best anyone can do is let it wash over them, and attempt to let their unconscious sort it out. Though this may be a terrible momentary distraction, it was meant with the best of intentions. Her brain just... works like that. This is the way she perceives things, all the time. And it's the only way she knows how to communicate something as abstract as 'the Banshee's general capabilities' in such a short time.

With this, she's done all she can. It's up to those who are closest to Leina, now. Just like it should be - like it would be in any good anime, in Nova's estimation.

<Pose Tracker> Naoko Suzuki has posed.

In the Ra Mari II's medical bay, Naoko Suzuki, a.k.a. Nova Stellar, is still unconscious following the battle with Angelo Sauper's Krake Zulu. She doesn't appear outwardly injured, she's just... not waking up, following the extreme mental exertion that was needed just to get out of there alive. All anyone can do for her right now is let her rest, and hope she'll awaken with time.

One element of concern therein, and one that is being carefully monitored, is that though she may be appear to be resting peacefully, her brain activity is off the charts. This is because even in her present condition, she senses that clash, the explosion of feelings - and it registers to her as what it is. The resonance of Psychoframes, and the trio at its center. She recognizes it as an opening through which her words can reach, even now. There's still something she can do to help. And so, she must.

Sharing her honest feelings may also answer some questions, as to what made this perfect stranger to Leina decide to intervene. Why there was no way that she could ignore this. In truth, she'd never even considered there was brainwashing involved. The way she sees it is...

...She's just like I used to be.

She thinks she has everything figured out. That she has an understanding no one else has. That there's no point in listening to anyone, because they're not thinking on her level, and never will.

'There's no one you can connect with, no one who could ever see things the way you do. That's just the way it is. It's your fault for being different.'

That loneliness... is not something anyone should feel forced to bear. But she can't escape that spiral. Not unless someone helps her. Helps her see that her worst enemy... is her own brain.

Rather than thinking things through better than most, she's overthought things. Drawn the wrong conclusions. Lost sight of the fact that it's actually the most simple line of reasoning, dismissed out of hand because things couldn't possibly be that simple... that is most often correct.

So, teach her the lesson that I needed to learn. No one deserves to be alone. Never stop chasing the greatest miracle of all: the miracle of happiness.

What follows... may be a bit unpleasant for Banagher, likely doubly so for Judau. Generally when people use the term 'math brain', it's not as literal as this: a flood of raw information, fact and theory criss-crossing with no clear pattern. All in the form of numbers, formulas, equations, calculations. And it all has one thing in common. The Banshee. These are all observations and considerations where it comes to fighting the Banshee.

There's no way to consciously process all of this. The best anyone can do is let it wash over them, and attempt to let their unconscious sort it out. Though this may be a terrible momentary distraction, it was meant with the best of intentions. Her brain just... works like that. This is the way she perceives things, all the time. And it's the only way she knows how to communicate something as abstract as 'the Banshee's general capabilities' in such a short time.

With this, she's done all she can. It's up to those who are closest to Leina, now. Just like it should be - like it would be in any good anime, in Nova's estimation.

KTS: Naoko Suzuki has activated the Attune Spirit Command targeting Banagher Links
KTS: Naoko Suzuki has activated the Attune Spirit Command targeting Judau Ashta
KTS: Naoko Suzuki targets Banagher Links and Judau Ashta with Insight L1.
KTS: Naoko Suzuki has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Ruri Hoshino coordinates maneuvers, raising Judau Ashta's Piloting!
KTS: Naoko Suzuki shares insight with Judau Ashta, making his next attacks more accurate!
KTS: Judau Ashta blocks Puru-1's Beam Tonfas and Sabers Whirling Blitz, taking 2600 damage!
KTS: Puru-1 has engaged Judau Ashta!

<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

Kamille -- or the shell of him -- looks out at Banagher from Leina's memory. The young pilot startles, his eyes wide. What is this? He's never pushed Kamille to talk about his past, but he knew something terrible happened. But this...

<"You know it -- wasn't Amuro's fault!"> Banagher shouts, clearly shaken.

Despite the glowing barrier surrounding the Unicorn and her pilot, Leina's emotions echo into Banagher's soul through their bond. He ensured there could be no barrier between them -- and now it's being weaponized against him. Banagher gasps, gritting his teeth against a ragged sob.

<"My father --!"> Banagher remembers the blood tests. The results Alberto threw in front of his face. Cyber Newtype experiments, starting at the very beginning of his life. <"Even so! Even if he did this to me -- even if I'm a lab rat -- this 'quest' belongs to me now! It's my decision! Even if I fell into this Gundam, she's a part of me now!">

The Unicorn shimmers, flickering with ever-growing starlight, as if showing her agreement with Banagher's decree.

<"And I'm going to see it through until the end!">

Impossibly, the Gundam flies faster, soaring across the battlefield. Banagher gasps in pain -- the G forces tear at him despite the injectors' assistance. Leina's worst memory echoes through their bond, and Banagher reaches out to her, offering his open heart in exchange.

<"Because that isn't all of humanity! Those people were horrible, but -- there's so much more to humans than those elites!"> He pants, feeling blood trickle down from his nose. <"Everyone -- everyone reaching out to you! Aren't they just as human?! They matter -- just as much!">

Refuting Leina's words, Kamille's memories flash before Banagher's eyes. Understanding dawns -- no matter what Kamille experienced... He's okay. He healed, even if it took a long time. Gasping again, Banagher can't help but sob in relief and joy, feeling Kamille's healing echoed in his own heart.

<"Kamille -- he's okay! Listen to him, Leina! If anyone would understand, it's him! If Kamille could heal, then so can I! No matter what happens!"> Banagher pauses, bringing the Unicorn into a twisting barrel roll. <"And so can you!">

Blue light melds with green. Immediately, he knows who this is. He's felt it once before -- when Wira enabled the Miracle that saved the Garencieres. It only makes sense that... She'd be capable of the same thing.

"I'm so sorry." Banagher chokes out, tears squeezing from his eyes, shut tight. "Permanence, I -- I'm so --"

Permanence smiles. Banagher opens his eyes, trying to memorize the sight.

"I'm going to find your siblings. I'll tell them -- everything." The young pilot manages a tiny smile for Permanence, even as she begins to fade. "Thank you. I promise, Permanence. I won't let your sacrifice be in vain!"

Tessa's words -- simple, to the point, as ever. They bring him back to reality after the ephemeral experience with Permanence. In response to her command, Banagher yells, charging forward once again.

"Miss Marida--!" Another breathless laugh at her new last name. When did that happen? "I won't let you down! I can -- I can do this!"

Since he first bonded with the Unicorn, Banagher has felt the pull of the stars. The freedom that comes with flying with his partner. More, always more, just beyond his reach...

It feels closer than ever before.

"I can do this." Banagher whispers, as Ennil's voice wraps around him. "No one else has to pay the price, not ever again. The Unicorn and I -- nothing can stop us. We're almost..."

Radiant light shimmers around the Unicorn. Green starlight goes chromatic, climbing through the hues of color. Blue, pink, green, always so much green. Banagher tilts his head back, breathing out, relaxing into the speed the Unicorn gives him.

"I can feel it... There's something more, waiting..." Bangaher's eyes glitter with light, his awareness expanding, feeling the movements of Judau, of Leina -- so clearly, as if he was making them himself.

Roux -- she's crying, she's hurt. Why? "It's okay." Banagher murmurs to her, his eyes closed, seeing purely through the Unicorn's spirit. "It's okay, Roux, I won't give up. Not ever..."

Cradled by noble white armor, something within the Unicorn's heart... changes. Her Psychoframe seems to expand, though she's already transformed. Crystalline structures glimmer into existence... ever so slightly.

Numbers. Information. Formulas. In this state, it makes sense. Banagher's always understood the language of math, and here, it's almost comforting. With a laugh, the Key to Possibility looks on the Banshee, Nova's gift clicking into place. It makes sense! If he can just disable the machine--

But Leina screams (and something else screams, too -- what is that?), as the Hyper Beam Javelin severs the Norn's right leg. Banagher gasps, falling back to reality. <"Leina!">

With Nova's information, Banagher can see the way the Banshee's going to strike just before it lashes out -- moving his javelin to turn the attack away with the simplest gesture.

She's retreating. No. They can't lose her! Not again! Desperation chills the young pilot's heart, and his connection to his Gundam stutters. "No, no--" The Unicorn soars after the Banshee, trying desperately to keep pace.

You're my rock, Banagher.

"Audrey." Banagher closes his eyes, feeling her love and grace wash over him. Her head falls against his shoulder, her hand lays across his. "Audrey... If you believe in me this much..."

A breath. Another. Banagher reaches to the Unicorn, offering her his soul, offering her all he is. The Gundam takes hold, and--

Trailing crystalline fragments, the Unicorn overtakes the Banshee. Arms reach out, wrapping around the Lion -- and Banagher feels Leina's machine as if he held it himself. Cutting his momentum leaves the two of them spinning, the Unicorn... Banagher... neither giving up, neither releasing their hold on the Banshee. On Leina.

<"I've got you, I've got you..."> Banagher's voice sounds faraway. Psychoframe shines brilliantly, brighter than the stars. <"Leina. I won't give up. I love you. I've got you.">

Simple words, repeated again and again. If he can just reach her spiritually -- she's so close, just a little more!

KTS: Banagher Links targets Puru-1 with Pass!
KTS: Banagher Links has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Puru-1 fails to react to Banagher Links's Pass, taking 0 damage!
KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 19980
KTS: Christina MacKenzie's RGN-78AN-02FA Gundam Tristan <GN Failnaught> has left
KTS: Ruri Hoshino coordinates maneuvers, raising Banagher Links's Piloting!
KTS: Ennil El assesses Banagher Links's prospects, increasing his SP!
KTS: Naoko Suzuki shares insight with Banagher Links, making his next attacks more accurate!

<Pose Tracker> Judau Ashta has posed.

What do you think happened to Kamille?

Kamille Bidan, the young, catatonic man Judau Ashta shares such a profound connection with, despite having never truly met. Kamille Bidan, who literally had his soul crushed.

Kamille Bidan--

<"An' even like that, he was with me to the very end, Leina.">

--who opened up Judau Ashta's eyes in a way he never thought could be possible.

He feels him. The memory of him, healing. Happy. Paptimus Scirocco, the Man From Jupiter (the First) did everything in his power to decimate the Kamille's spirit.

But people heal.

<"He's still here, with us. Banagher's still here. -I'm still here-,"> repeats Judau Ashta, his voice full of fire that will not ever be quenched.

<"And so are you, dammit!!">

-She can heal-.

For now, the finer points of Mashymere Cello are set aside; this is not Judau running from an argument he can't win, because he can absolutely totally win this argument no questions asked and he didn't just impulsively spit it out like he does most things -- no. It's a matter of necessity: the Banshee lashes out, echoing the frantic cries of its pilot. The darkness within it slithers within Leina's terror; Judau can feel it. What they've convinced her that thing is. He knows why she's so protective. The last time Leina saw Elpeo...

Dakar was burning. Leina was bleeding. A pipe at her throat. Elpeo shouting.

        I don't have parents or siblings, so that's why I want Judau!
                Now it's my turn to be happy!

But that's...

                IN WHAT WORLD WOULD SHE EVER TRY TO SAVE ME!

The Norn's sabers swing outward in a perfect flourish of volatile violence. They aim for the Double Zeta's legs; newtype instincts, experience, and the bolstering presence of all those congregating hearts strengthening him - strengthening -Banagher- - to save Leina make Judau -shunt- the ZZ back and down across the z-axis of space. Fast, but not fast enough, its left forearm raises to catch the beam sabers against its wing shield defensively. The Norn is strong, though: psychofield and wing shields alike are shorn through like butter, barely riding out a defense that sees the Double Zeta carried up and -flung- aside before its wing shield shatters along with half its forearm, rendering the entire limb useless. Judau's head knocks back, biting into his tongue with a sharp shout of frustration as he feels his vision swim, and blood swell in the bed of his mouth. The visor of his helmet hisses open as he swipes his lip, leaving a bloody smear in his wake. The Double Zeta can't take this much sustained abuse...

But he keeps that channel open. He keeps it open, -feeling- sentiments conduct through him, amplify via the catalyst of his soul, and push past Puru-1's - LEINA'S - defenses. Blood dribbles at his lip as he feels someone dignified, someone familiar, speaking through him -- speaking through Banagher. With her own complicated history with Zeon...

... and her own, straightforward, earnest feelings with Leina.

"Hah," exhales Judau, visor swinging downward once more. "She's a pain in the ass, princess!" A grin touches his bloodied lips.

"An' I wouldn't trade her for any damn thing in the world. I'm glad you're here to help remind her what she really is."

Tessa brings sentiments in triplicate for Leina, a complex web that Judau can see the intent of clear as day. Her sentiments for Judau and Banagher are much more straightforward. The ZZ's ruined arm falls limply, sparking at its side as it grips tighter onto its beam saber with the remaining one.

"Not really all that great at that," is his honest answer.

"But I'm gonna do what I wanna do, the way I know I need to do it, an' nothin's gonna stop me!"

And then--

                JUDAU!

"Roux--"

I was too quick, she says. I was wrong! I--

"Hey. What the hell? You're still here. You're still trying, Roux. C'mon. You've got all that fire I love the most about you burnin' and you don't even know it. She's gonna give you a real strong lecture when you get back, y'know that?"

What comes next, though -- are two sensations he is completely unfamiliar with. One addresses him directly. And despite the fact that they've never met--

"Permanence...?" Judau feels like he -knows- her. He blinks. He hears her words. ... And his gaze softens, his gaze drifting to the side.

"... Yeah," he murmurs, a sentiment as much as it is spoken: "... Thanks."

There are many ghosts clinging to the elder Ashta. ... more than he'd care to admit.

But he carries all of them with him. Because they were real. They were people. And they deserved more than what they had.

Just like Leina.

The rest, well--

"GOD DAMMIT WHAT ARE THESE NUMBERS--"

h-he could probably have taken that better.

But Nova's intent is clear. She wants to help. She wants to help, because she sees a kindred spirit. And as much as SCHOLASTIC KNOWLEDGE and MATHEMATICAL FORMULAE might as well be whispering the Devil's Curse directly into Judau's ear, he can see it, if not in numbers, than in -intent-. Patterns. The Norn's patterns. A way to--

"Yeah yeah! Okay! Sometimes math is okay! God!"

The sacrifices he makes.

All of this -- all of this makes the Double Zeta reassert itself. One arm useless, the other -snaps- out to its side. Pink crackles along the edge of its beam saber as sentiments flow past Judau and into Leina...

... and as a familiar, warm presence makes its way into the Double Zeta, too. Judau blinks, twice. "El--" he begins.... before his head ducks. Those ghosts. They were all people. All of them.

<"... Mashymere believed in people, Leina,"? he murmurs. <"He believed in carrying himself with an open heart. He wanted to live up to an ideal that Haman mighta never been, but -could've-. Maybe it blinded him. ... But he saw the best in everyone around him, even to the point that he'd... he gave everything.">

What Mashymere did, how far he went. Maybe that wasn't a good idea. But he wasn't just that. He wasn't just a Cyber-Newtype's madness.

<"Elpeo... she could only express herself the only way she was taught to -- the only way Glemy hammered into her. But she was bright and full of life an' -- she had so much potential even despite everything Glemy tried to do. She was jealous and petty and angry... but she was faithful an' devoted to anyone who would actually take the time to try to reach her, to try to see her. Leina... I told you. Ill play dirty if it means beatin' you in an argument. I don't have a chance otherwise. But that isn't Elpeo. Mashymere was so much more than the worst parts about him--">

And as Banagher reaches out to Leina, as the Unicorn grips into the Banshee, to pour that sentiment into her.

<"--AN' SO WAS PURU!">

The Double Zeta's beam saber BURSTS into a massive saber of pinks and reds, of emotion.

Of memory.

It swings. And it doesn't matter how far the Banshee tries to go -- that sword of fervent intent will EXTEND to vast lengths to reach it, to cleave into Unicorn and Banshee alike, not on a physical level --

--But an emotional one. With a single stroke, it translates memories to life for them. Memories of Elpeo Puru.

Memories of eating parfaits. Memories of violence committed in the name of mischief. Memories of all the times Elpeo sabotaged Judau out of jealousy. Memories of how hard Puru worked to help the rest of the Argama.

Memories of the night Dakar burned. Memories of a pipe, a stick, a demand.

                And now we're together. We can all be siblings!
        Can't we?

A compromise.

                        The three of us are going to be together!
                                Aren't we?

Memories of Judau, lashing out at Elpeo when he thought Leina was lost. Memories of Elpeo, acting as the only pillar of support he had.

Memories of Elpeo, giving her life not just to save Judau -- to save everyone in Dublin she could.


                You don't need to hate yourself.
                You don't need to fear each other.
                You don't need to feel guilty anymore, Leina.

Judau's sentiments come through, crackling in bold colors, flaring like a supernova. And...

                She was so much more than this. You know that.

Someone else joins him. A cheerful, warm, energetic presence flows in through that shared wavelength between siblings. After all... She gave everything and more. To save them. To save Puru-2.


                        And YOU are so much more than this!

Why wouldn't Elpeo do the same for her sister?

KTS: Judau Ashta targets Puru-1 with Sword of Fervor!
KTS: Puru-1 has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
KTS: Puru-1 has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
KTS: Puru-1 fails to Parry Judau Ashta's Sword of Fervor, taking 9960 damage!
KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 10020
KTS: Judau Ashta has engaged Puru-1!
KTS: Judau Ashta completes the Formation attack!
KTS: Judau Ashta has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Puru-1 has posed.

        "Does it matter? It was the result of Axis, all the same." Puru-1 replies to Banagher, with a harsh edge, thoughts of Full Frontal. Full Frontal, perhaps in part the source of her desperation to stop him before he got there. The knowledge of where he's been, what he's seen, "If your path leads to the same place. No amount of 'Even so' will be enough, Banagher." Another 'Even so' in regards to his father, it's painful, hearing it. The denial. The assertion that it's a part of him- "I know." She admits, "I know! And that's why-" She rasps, before her volume reaches a fever pitch, "THAT'S WHY I HAVE TO MAKE THE DECISION TO TAKE IT AWAY FROM YOU!"

        Judau however raises the fine point about how people can heal. Amuro did. Kamille did.

        "You're still here." Puru-1 concedes the point after a moment, but the heat grows after a moment, "But you're SURE AS HELL NOT OVER IT!"

        And neither am I.

        "That's my fault. My fault. I pushed you- into it without thinking. Saw an opportunity. And I MADE YOU DO IT!" Judau may think it was the best thing for him, that he left Shangri-La. That he got away from assholes who ran Junkyards and exploited gangs of teenagers.

        But all she can do is see the harm. Feel the guilt. Her own culpability. For the wounds the war inflicted upon him. For the damage that was done that took him away from her for so long. Is it any small wonder she doesn't want to see it happen to anyone else?

        The Unicorn flies after her, but the thrusters of the Norn are strong, it takes time for them to catch up, her mind readying all sorts of attacks, even as Banagher tries to entreat to her.

        She wished on some level that she could keep them all away. Each time they show up now through that connection, it's becoming less and less a surprise. Something has eased off her disbelief, even as much as she tries to shore up those negative feelings like a wall. "Fa... Kamille..." She wants to look away, she can't. She can't! The validation, despite it all. "How-! How can you tell me to just LIVE! I worked with the man who put you through hell! The reason you lost her! I DID THAT! WILLINGLY!"

        A connection, such a thin thread. From someone she saved, Permanence. Her name was Permanence. She wishes she'd spoken to her more. She wishes... she doesn't deserve to make any wishes regarding her. As those ghost lights settle over to her. "Don't. Apologize to me, idiot." She tells her, rasping, something staining her eyes. "It's how it always ends." She tells her quietly, "Second chances stolen, given to someone less deserving."

        What she accuses her of though is true, despite how much her denial might be. "Please... don't. Don't!" As she offers her her tomorrows, "I-!" A sob wracks her, because in the end, part of her believes irrationally, and always has. That she shouldn't have survived that day. That the second chance she got, she doesn't deserve. Especially... especially since hers was stolen away. As if, it went to her, instead.

        Head swimming in grief, it is that moment that Mineva connects, and despite her desire for no comfort, her presence is an immediate comfort. Whether she wants it or not. It's there, and part of her leans against it without even realizing it. Like it's instinct. She's so tired, physically and mentally.

        And despite the moment, she can't reject it one thing, "I love you too." A quiet whisper, she can't reject that she loves her, that she loves Banagher. That she loves and cares for so many people. In the end, whatever twisted logic her head has warped itself around, they couldn't take away her love and care for everyone else.

        Mineva might feel a surge of hope, "But I can't... I can't. Come back."

        Because I love you.

        "I wish, you could understand."

        The sudden psychic wave strikes her, it's strange resonance one she's not used to it. It feels like some part of her is sinking into it, like she's being drawn into that expanse.

           T
          E
         S
        S
       A

        For a moment she's in a place that isn't exactly beyond time, yet one might still say it takes place in between the ticks of the second. In her own conception of self now, she's in the Banshee pilot suit, the red shaded faceplate reflecting the girl in the sundress.

        N
                O e n o
                        W v
                                O r s
                                        R e t
                                                D s y a w a
                                                        S e y o u l l o ng e r
                                                        P d i
                                                A v
                                        S y e
                                S o
                B e t w e e n u
        m e h t ^
                                                                         |
        Yet something is still conveyed between them. The faceplate of the pilot suit tilts, and there is a reflection, something akin to sorrow. Before she turns away. As if she thinks despite Tessa's validation, her acceptance. Her firm belief that she'd rather live this way. That she's protecting her.

        Marida's presence is there, and Marida doesn't say anything to her. It's only understandable. In some ways, it's a profound relief to her. Instead it's Ennil, and the the light of the dawn causes profound, surprising pain. "I can't- that can't be true. It can't-!" The possessive grip of the feelings is strong, as if jealously trying to guard her from the Aura of the Dawn, as if not liking her 'playing' with a kid on the bad side of the neighborhood. "How can you say that!? You're trying to end intelligent life, but you want-!"

        Yet some part of her understands, that Char. Even Char spared Sayla the touch of the dawn. Perhaps he would have killed her later. Perhaps. But she doesn't KNOW that.

        "You want... that."

        It shouldn't make sense, but on some level. It does. Her throat tightens as the channeled connection shifts to Roux, her eyes stinging as they close for a time, "Why! Why can't you!? Why can't any of you! Why!?" Despite her best efforts, her eyes just sting, this despair flooding her. "All for that miniscule chance in Hell! You'd-! Why! Why can't you and Judau just-!"

        Live in peace!
        Stop fighting!
        Find what happiness you can!

        Perhaps Roux knows what she means, more than anyone here. Just this desire for her and Judau to-! "For that infinitesimal chance. You'd- hurt yourself, over and over again. Damnit- DAMNIT!" Rage, hopelessness the futility of her quest for some is truly sinking in, despite how she insulates herself from it. Some just won't stop, no matter how much it hurts to watch them dash themselves against the futility of it, again and again.

        To some extent, Nova has the right of it. She has shared her feelings before. She knows to some extent Judau feels the same thing, and yet he's too- TOO- NNGH to quit! She knows plenty of people out there draw the same conclusions as her, yet the people she needs to understand her feelings the most- won't quit, haven't learned the same lessons. Believe things will be different.

        In the end, Nova seeks them out, yet the feelings are conveyed anyway. And in the orange hue of her cockpit, through the ephemeral haze of intangible hands, Puru-1 says simply, "I do deserve it." So quietly, so pathetically, as if stubbornness were all she had left to her.

        (Is her reaction better than Judau's? Absolutely not. Is it less embarrassing-? Absolutely! She wanted you to go attend those math classes for a REASON JUDAU!)

        And then as if to prove otherwise, the Unicorn catches up to her, crystalline fragments in its wake, as it grips ahold, jarring her out of surprise. "Let go! LET GO!" And despite it all, that miasma seems localized almost entirely over the Norn, as if it has trouble right now, trouble affecting anything but its immediate vicinity, as if it's reach had dimmed or rather...

        "You're scaring HER!"

        The Norn squirms within the grip, trying desperately to beat him off, its head turning as it ineffectual spits vulcan fire right past Banagher's face, using the muzzle flash to try and blind his optics. Even as Judau finally addresses the question. It had been said with a sort of bitter, rhetorical quality. Never expecting an answer, yet Judau answers it. He answers it for more than him. For Elpeo too.

        She knew that, some part of her always knew that, from the first moment she saw her running through the hallways of Axis, to glimpses of her carefree lifestyle, her joy. In life, in death. Even as she bade Leina to try and bring her 'siblings' back together. Mired in this understanding, this agreement with Judau, this sensation and contradiction of wrongness. "I-" The blade comes down in pinks and reds. The sword extends past those vast lengths, chasing after her, no matter how distant she tries to be emotionally.

        And bears down with all of that emotional fervor. It cleaves through the emotional defenses it's wrapped itself around, with memories, memories. So many memories that aren't hers. Mischief and parfaits and sabotage. Memories of her AFTER Leina knew her, when she'd only heard second hand what her time on the Argama was like, better or worse.

        Something stings within her eyes, in that reminder. That reminder. That idea that she was so much more than someone who treated her badly, someone who acted like she hated her. Someone who simply wanted to be her. For a brief instant, she knew her as family...

        ... and then she was gone. Her second chance stolen away, by a battle that didn't need to happen.

        Those crackling bold sentiments get through, really get through. Including hers.

        It's not so simple, Judau.
        I wish. I wish-!

        It's like she's almost there, on the verge, and then abruptly that wish becomes something else...

        myturnmyturn my turn myturnmyturnmyturn
         GUILT REGRET SHAME EMAHS TERGER TLIUG
                 T O B E H A P P Y
        
        I SHOULD HAVE DONE MORE FOR HER!

        She was on the brink, and then it is as if all those feelings were simply, dyed again in those horrid emotions, that keep dragging her back into it. It rises again. For every feeling of guilt, Judau will get the impression of a time she failed to connect. To talk to her. To see her as anything more than someone.

        Dangerous. I called her dangerous. A weapon. I told her to STAY AWAY FROM YOU!

        It's such small things, such small things, things that can never be taken back. That all piled up to this dangerous, pervasive guilt. Blaming herself for things that happened even when Elpeo was trying to manipulate her. To murder her.

        It's irrational, but does it matter? The guilt, is still hers.

        "She deserved better! Deserved MORE!"
        
        Than a wretched sister like me.

        The Norn suddenly brings its Magnum down in the Unicorn's grip, the cylinder turning, as it angles backwards to fire missiles at the Unicorn's feat, before swinging up to. "The only thing- the only thing I can do for her now is-!"

        What? What does she thinks he's doing for her?

        The Double Zeta is suddenly facing down a charging Beam Magnum shot, a spherical burst, charging at this range, in this paranoid state, she only has just enough sense to angle it so that it doesn't fire at the Double Zeta head on, instead trying to catch its left arm in that scarlet beam that lances out, alit by a column of auroral blue.

        Its times like this that Judau Ashta might ask, what the hell did they do to his sister?

KTS: Puru-1 targets Banagher Links with Revolving Launcher BOP Missile Salvo!
KTS: Puru-1 targets Judau Ashta with Beam Magnum Shot!
KTS: Puru-1 has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Tetsuya Tsurugi has posed.

Tetsuya Tsurugi is not a complicated man. He is, as he has ever been, a creature which sees the ills in the world and goes forth to smite them with every mote of strength he can leverage. It had been that way so easily for so long. Tetsuya loves problems that he can simply punch in the face, and so it's no surprise that he was the Great Hero of the Mycenaean War. After all, the Mycenae have not just one face to punch, but two. Sometimes, even more than that!

But this-- This is different. This has been a problem that cut straight to the heart of his family-- and one that he had been largely unable to do anything about. It is a rare and awful thing for Tetsuya Tsurugi to feel... Useless. He hates it. He loathes it as much as he loathed being trapped in bandages at the end of the war. He despises it even more than he despised, in that moment, surviving that war. It should have been the end of it. Everything. Himself. An end to the pain, to the existence of carnage and bloodshed that was Tetsuya Tsurugi.

And yet, he survived.

Loved ones gathered around him. He made a family, married a wife, and now--

The child in his arms yawns sleepily at his father's worried expression. Gai doesn't have a care in the world. He's a baby. He eats, he sleeps, he occasionally crawls around. Sometimes he almost gets up on two feet. It's been a miracle to watch. "You're going to scare him if he wakes up and sees you with a face like that," a gentle voice says at his ear. Jun leans against his shoulder, resting her head into the crook of his neck. "...It's been so long since we've seen it lived in, hasn't it? The Fortress is coming alive again. I'm sure father would have been overjoyed to know it could help his family again."

"...Mm," Tetsuya nods, turning his gaze from the fortress in the distance. They were camped on a hill nearby, a quiet family getaway in a stressful time. And yet, though he was present, he couldn't really be here. His mind wandered. "...I'm worried, Jun. There's something in the air, I can't quite place it."

Her expression turns serious, hand moving to her leg-- to the gun she'd hidden beneath her dress. "Are we being watched...?"

"No, it's not that," Tetsuya shakes his head. "This... it reminds me of..."

The breath is drawn out of his chest. Jun's gasp echoes his. Across the gulf of space, the Miracle radiates. Finally, it reaches them here on earth. And together, they rise, they see...

Three souls, two familiar and one not. ((Leina? Judau...?)) Jun's voice reverberates. Awareness dawns-- they're fighting. They're fighting to save the young lady's life. ((What's happened to you? This sorrow... doesn't suit you at all, Leina. Please, come back to us.))

((This... is this how I'm to be of help, then? Just a voice in the void? I don't know how Amuro does it...)) Tetsuya. His voice is tight, the fury that he'd been burying boils up, but still-- this is not a problem he can simply strike at until it goes away. Jun senses his fury, and lays a hand against his arm. Or, what passes for an arm in this strange world. He calms-- mildly, but enough to retain reason and presence in this unphysical place. ((Leina... You'll always be a sister to us, you know? Even though things between you and Shiro may not have worked out--)) That hand at his shoulder turns into an elbow to his ribs. Somehow, the 'presence' that is Tetsuya winces. He pauses, collects himself, and... Opens. Just a little. As much as a man like Tetsuya Tsurugi can open up.

((--The point is... Please, don't make the mistake I nearly made. Don't turn away from the ones who love you. To give into the darkness when all seems lost means that you'll never give tomorrow the chance to be a brighter day. You might find all kinds of wonderful things waiting for you there. Love. Family. They are worth it. Worth it enough to rescue a miserable soul like mine from the pit. So... Someone like you? You could-- absolutely-- find an amazing future for yourself. And if not, and if you can't go home to your brother for one reason or another-- heaven knows I know the feeling-- we'll be there.)) Another presence-- a third one, glowing warmly, brightly, innocently, curiously. He shines in his parents' arms when they catch him, blazing with the light of infinite possibility and bubbling with laughter. ((All three of us. We're waiting for you to come back and visit again, Leina. Little Gai is looking forward to meeting his big sister.)) ((And I guess Judau can come too. As long as he doesn't eat us out of house and--)) Jun radiates menace. Tetsuya wisely shuts up.

((And as for the two of you...)) Jun's Dread Presence turns upon Banagher and Judau alike. ((You'd better bring her back safe and sound if you know what's good for you.)) The menace fades, and all that's left is a resolute warmth. ((We're cheering you both on as hard as we can.))

((This isn't a battlefield we can stand on, so we're counting on the two of you. Remember, it's always darkest before the dawn, and even in the most terrible storm, the path forward may reveal itself when lightning strikes. Fight like hell, and when you see the right opportunity, seize it with all you've got!))

The trio smile, their love and prayers passing across the gulf of space and time. When the miraculous instant passes and they finally fall out of that unified world, Jun and Tetsuya stare up at the stars together. Somehow, they know just where to look.

Gai... clutches tightly at his parents' fingers, joining the three together as one. It may not be the miracle of the psychoframe, but to these two, it's a miracle nonetheless.

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

- In Tsutsujidai... -

Somewhere far away the light of Psychoframe resonates, spreading out and connecting hearts.

...Including the healing heart of a girl, quietly passing the time as she assists her girlfriend in taking care of the junk shop she calls home. Her eyes open wide as the sensation hits her, washes over her.

It's familiar. But it isn't the forced, enhanced connectivity used to focus her into a weapon. This - this is a connection of hearts, of bonds... and right now, she can sense three of those hearts locked an in intense battle. The broom she was holding clatters to the floor and, abruptly, Rikka reaches for her apron, struggling to pull it over her head and toss it aside even as she races for the back door.

"S-sorry, Akane! I'll be right back, something's come up..." Rikka excuses herself.

Outside, Rikka looks upward, gaze tracking through the sky. The sky above Tsutsujidai is artificial(and always has been, in a sense), but that is not the sky she's seeing right now.

Right now, she can see them.

Leina, Banagher, Judau...

They're so far away. But right now, they feel so, so close. Like all she has to do is just reach out and...

Bare her heart.

"Leina." Rikka speaks - not out loud, but through her mind, her heart. There's no hesitation - no wondering if she can reach. She knows - despite the distance, in this moment, they're connected.

"...I can feel it. You're fighting them, aren't you? Banagher and Judau. ...Listen. I know you blame yourself for what happened, but... I'm getting better. Slowly, but surely, with everyone's support... So, it's alright, okay? I'm alright." Rikka hesitates for a moment, working up her courage to continue. "...There's something I told Akane a while back. 'I know the world can be so, so cruel, but it's better with you in it.' That's... something I had to relearn, but despite everything, maybe even more than I did back then, I still feel that way even now. About her. About me. ...And even about you. The world is better with you in it, too. So... please don't leave us just yet."

Next, she focuses on who she's fighting. Banagher and Judau... she knows how much they love her. She wishes she could help them more directly. Sitting and watching as another fights and risks themselves has never entirely sat well with her - but she knows the condition she's in. And she knows that it's okay to put her faith in someone else.

"Judau... It's me again. It's been a while, hasn't it?" The last time they spoke, it had been Dakar - but the circumstances then were far different than now. "Banagher... I'm glad to see you're still fighting so hard."

There's another memoment of hesitation.

"...Sorry to put this all on your shoulders, you two, but... right now, this is something only you can do. And I know you can do it. Your feelings are blazing so brightly right now. So... show her how much she means to you - how much she means to the world. Bring her home."

For now... she'll trust them. With all her heart.

KTS: Rikka Takarada targets Judau Ashta with Heart!
KTS: Rikka Takarada has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Rikka Takarada has activated the Enable Spirit Command targeting Banagher Links
KTS: Rikka Takarada has activated the Enable Spirit Command targeting Judau Ashta

<Pose Tracker> Kikka Kobayashi has posed.

Even as a Newtype, the shimmer of the resonating Psychoframes is a bit beyond Kikka - who's only really oriented herself with One Year War technology.

What doesn't escape her is that this is a chance - to finally reach out, in a way that the her who refused to get into a mobile suit never had until now. So she closes her eyes... and hopes for the very best.

"Hey Leina," she reaches out, casually. "It wasn't until I became Spade-8 that I realized how much you were putting your life on the line, honestly." She admits. "If I could help you share even a percentage of the burden... I think you deserved a rest a long time ago."

"But I don't want to talk to you as Spade-8! I want to reach out to you as Kikka Kobayashi... and I want you to know you'll always be welcome with our family - since you helped that house feel less empty time and time again. So... come back safe, okay? Eeryone is waiting for you. And I doubt it's just me who can contact you this way."

She reaches out to the Unicorn, entangled with the Black Lion. "Banagher, I don't know you very well. We've only met a few times. But I do know Leina loved you -- and that you're almost there. Just a few more pushes... and you can do it!"

Judau feels the shimmer of her spirit next. The way they met was... awkward. But it feels more relevant than anything. "You and Leina are each other's closest family, right?" She imagines for a second, what it might be like if it was her and Letz fighting.

"Losing family is one of the most painful feelings in the world. And.. I know my father sacrificed himself to save you." Sometimes Newtype connection brings forth painful feelings, and yet...

"I don't hold it against you. He knew what he was doing, I like to think. But.. the the last thing I want is for you to lose a little sister, too. So please, keep going and stop her! It doesn't always have to end this way, I know it!"

KTS: Eight York has deployed in Zentradi Monitor 'Ra Mari II'.

<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.

The bridge of the Ra Mari II is an island of calm on a ship that is still calming down. All over the ship, people are putting out fires metaphorical and literal, but here, where Enba Rezza is in command, there is room for Zinnerman and Mineva both. Licia Chovan remains at the helm, holding the ship in place. Gidon Kall holds onto the Operations console, having turned the battle onto the main screen. Itsuki Kazama is busy ensuring that no one else fires on them without being noticed. And Tempo Astelian is watching, hoping.

Eight York is in her office, off the bridge. After the battle with the General Revil ended, she went to be alone for a time. And now, in the midst of these feelings, in the midst of a strange moment of togetherness...

"Leina." Eight's voice settles around Leina's shoulders, in her cockpit. Leina will have the sensation of Eight, in her office, alone--she has been crying. Her eyes are red. Despite this, her voice is calm, and even, and strong. "...If people hadn't fought for a better world--hadn't gone on, despite how hopeless it looked--I wouldn't be here now. You say it's pointless, but it made me. And if I can help even one more person like me, I will. ...Today, that's you. Today, that's my friend, who wanted me to distract her from her worries, who wanted to know everything. Live, Leina. Live. I know they'll be so happy to meet you, if you can only live." There's a pause, and before Eight's words fade, "...You already gave that chance to someone important to me. Now it's your turn."

"Banagher." Banagher may see a flash of Eight's face, in the moment--red-eyed, with the tracks of tears ruining her otherwise perfect makeup, in a dark office--alone, but not alone. Despite those tears, there is a nobility to her in the moment, a certainty. "We've done what we can. It's up to you, now. Show her how you feel. Show her the depth of your resolve... of your love. Remember that in a Gundam or not, that love is a miracle that binds you every day. An 'everyday' miracle. That's what tells me over and over that this world is worth saving... And it's why I know you'll come back to us with her."

She doesn't know Judau, not really. But Roux is her friend, and perhaps that connection is enough for the barest moment, for the support of the Ra Mari II's Captain to manifest in just a mote of red courage for Judau.

Another voice echoes for Leina. "My father was one of the tutors in Glemy's regime. He kept me far away from you. He didn't want me involved." Licia Chovan's heart opens to Leina, too, for how she wished she could have done more when Leina was with them. "And then I made the same mistake, while you were on the ship. I thought you wouldn't want the reminder of those days... But I see now, that pretending those things don't exist doesn't heal our hearts at all. You probably don't even know who I am... But that's all right. I'm just one more person who wants to know you. One more survivor of the days of Zeon, who believes in you."

"Come on," Licia murmurs, back aboard the bridge, even as Tempo looks in alarm to Mineva falling into Zinnerman's arms.

"It's fine," Licia says. "She's just doing her part." Enba inclines their head. After a moment, "We have to rely on those two, now," the Acting Captain says. "So we will. And we'll hold the fort until then."

And in the meantime, Eight wipes her eyes and starts to clean her face.

When--not if--when they come back, she must be ready to greet them.

Somehow, it feels easier than it did a few moments ago. Like she's not alone in this office after all. And soon, the office door will open, and...

KTS: Eight York targets Banagher Links and Judau Ashta with All-Out.
KTS: Eight York has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Eight York has activated the Enable Spirit Command targeting Judau Ashta
KTS: Eight York has activated the Enable Spirit Command targeting Banagher Links
KTS: Lucine Azul has deployed in Dianthus Mk. 3.

<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

A feeling ripples out from the heavens. Lilith Aiden is sitting in a room assisting with psych profiles when she feels it. Psychoframe.

The Banshee's last stand, hopefully. Now only if the pilot can make it... as she resonates.

Her appearance isn't a raging berserker or a bitter adult. It's a calm, smiling woman, who looks straight at Leina.

"Hey. You have somewhere to be, don't you? Why do you keep fighting the ones you want to be with? Hurting them, giving into 'inevitability'... is that what you want, or what you feel you must do?"

"Follow your heart, Leina Ashta. Life's too short to serve another, when you can love and laugh and live on."

<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.

        Alongside this last push of hearts called to this battle, a spectral version of Lucine floats in this dark sea, the bottom section of her shoulder length hair floats around her head like a halo. She still feels Liam's presence as if he was still physically right there beside her, and as her awareness of the field expands, she sees the connections and bonds between all of them, like streams converging to a river, or the wind that sways the petals of a spring meadow, leading towards the ocean. It's like when she shook hands with Leina, and briefly saw that field of stars like a curtain of diamonds set against matte black.

        ".... Banagher. Judau." She knows the former, but the latter is someone she's only heard of through other's mentions of him, as well as through his actions in finding out the identity of the pilot of the Banshee. She places her trust in both of them, first focusing on Banagher.

        "Banagher, I..." Her words still. What could she say that Banagher didn't already know, about Leina? ".... I'm lending both of you the little bit of foresight I have. I can't see the future, but... let me give you a nudge so you can reach yours. The two of you..." --must break Leina's spiral. She narrows her eyes, slightly. No, it's not quite like that. "... You two _will_ help Leina break her spiral. That doctor... his meddling couldn't account for a miracle. You've done a miracle before... So let's set the stage for Leina's."

        Lucine's mind centers now towards Judau, this brother of Leina's. She reflects on the sadness that plagued Leina during one of their talks, and even in that last fight: how Lucine knew the love of her parents, when Leina and Judau never did. Even at Lucine's lowest point during the invasion, she at least was able to lay her head on the edge of her mother's hospital bed, knowing from that connection that her mother was still inside that body, slowly coming to the surface of consciousness. Most of the family Lucine knew, by blood and bonds, may have been gone, but she still knew them from her earliest memories as a child. Leina, right now, must feel a greyness even deeper than that, with no string to bring her towards the surface of that lake of despair.

        "Judau... Leina told me about you." There's a pause, as Lucine considers how to voice her surprise at how loud and hot-blooded the man is, but it matches much of what Leina's let on. Instead, she smiles. "What you said... Never let her forget that. Not only are you her brother... you're part of the family she's chosen, along with Elpeo."

        With some trepidation, Lucine focuses now on Leina. The disembodied hands, the cacophony of empty clapping... those had always been a part of Leina before. No wonder the brainwashing had gone so deep- all Murasame had done was take what was already there and shape it, like a cursed bonsai tree.
         Sometimes the most direct way to form a fast connection or bond with another Newtype is just to reach out, and take the other party's hand. That touch, and the feelings behind it often form those types of connections. What you saw is...
        "... Leina. I told you how I feel, and I still stand by it. If some part of Elpeo Ple is there with you... the two of you deserve more than this. Listen to everyone's words, and feel their connections to you."

        "....Look at this field.... and know all these blooms are for you!"

KTS: Lucine Azul has activated the Foresee Spirit Command targeting Banagher Links
KTS: Lucine Azul has activated the Foresee Spirit Command targeting Judau Ashta
KTS: Banagher Links has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
KTS: Banagher Links has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
KTS: Banagher Links fails to retreat.
KTS: Banagher Links successfully evades Puru-1's Revolving Launcher BOP Missile Salvo
KTS: Eight York orders an all-out attack, raising Banagher Links's Skill!

<Pose Tracker> Sousuke Sagara has posed.

The Lugh is retreating at all speed. Ultimately, realities had to prevail. The team they brought, the weapons they had, were not capable of completing capture of a machine like the Banshee Norn. These things happen. For it to happen with no losses is virtually a miracle on its own. Sousuke Sagara is there in the hangar - still on standby, even with Arbalest down an arm. Just in case.

Light erupts out the hangar windows, explosions of unearthly colors erupting in the black. He watches from the retreating Shuffle Alliance vessel. He feels the old, familiar anxiety of a battlefield he isn't on, with friends he can't reach.

<<She is fighting,>> AL says through the Arbalest's loudspeaker.

"Yeah," Sousuke says, as light dazzles in starbursts. "That's the same kind of reaction we saw in Khanka, when the lambda drivers clashed."

<<Similar, yes.>>

Silence. Colors flash, reflecting in Sousuke's steel gray eyes, his fingers slowly curling.

"With a reaction like that...can they hear us?"

<<I do not know. The Arbalest's receptors are not designed for that kind of detection. But based on reports from similar phenomena, it is a possibility.>>

Sousuke places his hand to the glass and says nothing.

In the Arbalest's open cockpit, a single monitor zooms in as far as it can on a feed of the distantly clashing machines.

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

Physically, Sayla had been on the bridge of the Tausendfussler 'Lugh', a coat thrown over the mobile trace suit she had stepped out of the Shuffle Heart in. As Tessa had pulled them from the battlefield, she had been monitoring what comms traffic she could intercept on a spare station. Anything for word of Leina.

Now, though, her body stares blankly at the monitor, her eyes glazed over. Her soul is somewhere else right now.

From here, she could see the battlefield up close. She could see the three of them, the Banshee, the Unicorn and the Double Zeta, the latter fighting
desperately to save the former from itself.

She could feel herself drowning the sea of negative emotion that eminated from the Banshee. She could feel all that self hatred, drawn out and weaponized against Leina. All those feelings that had always been there, but made so, so muich worse. She could feel the cruelty so fully. So loudly. It hurt, even from here.

But she could feel something else too.

She could feels everyone's hopes as they rushed past her. Some presences were familiar- Akane's desperate trust. Knight's straightforward question. Koji and Sayaka steadfastly sharing their support. Chris' heartfelt wish to share Leina's burdens- sharing that canvas she normally can't.

Tessa swearing to bring her down to earth, even knowing normalcy isn't for them. Roux's desperate plea to Judau to do what she couldn't. Mineva's heartfelt declaration of love.

Tetsuya and Jun calling to her from a hilltop. Rikka apologizing for leaving it all on their shoulders, asking Leina not to leave. Kikka, sharing what it means to lose family. Eight, insisting on helping someone like her. Lilith, asking why she's fighting her loved ones.

Ruri's voice, somehow speaking through the Banshee. Even Sousuke and AL, asking quiet questions somewhere she shouldn't be able to hear.

A girl, with orange hair, that cheerful warm presence. Leina's sister, that she barely had a chance to know in life. The girl's true spirit, not the false ghosts that Murasame and Vist had made grasp tight to Leina's soul.

They all fly past her, towards the battle for Leina's heart.

And yet here she was, separate from all of them, watching from afar as a miracle threatened to happen. Judau and Banagher, their souls bright against the darkness fighting against Leina, trapped in the grip of false memories. Psychoframes clashing, with those she loves on the line. But when Leina invokes that name, with so much hatred and anger- it galvanizes something in Sayla.

She won't let things go like the last time such a miracle occurred.

She won't just sit here and hope. She could see everyone else's hopes- and she could follow them.

Her soul moves on will alone, into the fray.

Banagher, I'll believe in your hope. None of this means anything if you don't all come back safe. So make sure you do. I'll be waiting with open arms.

She had never been able to move so freely here. This world had always been a place where her steps were difficult and slow, if she could . Was this how it had felt for them, so long ago?

Could she reach Leina this way? She had to try.

We're bringing her home, Judau. Here and now. We won't lose her. We won't give up on her. Not now, not ever. I'll do everything I can from her.

And to that third presence, warm and energetic, Sayla gives a soft smile. What can she say to her daughter's chosen sister- a girl she never got to meet, and wished she could have. Someone she could have, if she'd been there a minute or two early. Eventually, she settles on two words. Thank you.

And then she pushes forward, over the Unicorn's shoulder, casting Banagher and Judau a hopeful look before disappearing into the Banshee's cockpit.

Inside the horried machine that they'd used to take Leina's future. Her hope. Even her sister.

Today it would give them back- or they'd take them for Leina.

Leina. Her 'voice' was soft and quiet, even calming. There's so much I still need to say to you. So much more I want to share with you. I don't want to say goodbye to you yet. I want a world with you in it, more than I want anything else. I want our conversations on the verandah as the sun sets. I want to argue with you about what a scene meant. I want to watch your next play from the front row. I want to see the person you're going to become, I want to be there to support you when you struggle, and celebrate your wins. I want to cheer for you when you graduate, I want to cry at your wedding and I want to wait nervously to meet the child you want to bring into this world. I want to be a part of your life for as long as I can, and I want you to be a part of mine.

She reaches forward, and tries to push past that miasma, the ever grasping hands, the twisted memories that weight down Leina's soul. She pushes so desperately against all that, as she tries to wrap her arms around Leina- to hold onto her as tightly as she can, spectral as she is. To try and place a hand behind Leina's head and guide her to Sayla's shoulder, like Sayla always did when it got too much.

Maybe this time, with Judau and Banagher, she can reach her.

Maybe this time, with everyone's thoughts and wishes, she can use the cosmic glow to save someone else.

Maybe this time, that fervent wish of her own heart will pierce the darkness that surrounds Leina.

Come home with us, Leina. Let's see our futures together.

Sometimes, perfect communication can simply be sending one thought more important than anything else.

KTS: Sayla Mass has deployed in Shuffle Heart <Mobile Fighter Mode>.
KTS: Sayla Mass targets Judau Ashta, Banagher Links, and Puru-1 with Caution.
KTS: Sayla Mass has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Sayla Mass suggests caution, raising Banagher Links's Intuition!
KTS: Rikka Takarada bares her heart, letting Judau Ashta deal some extra damage!
KTS: Eight York orders an all-out attack, raising Judau Ashta's Skill!
KTS: Sayla Mass suggests caution, raising Judau Ashta's Intuition!
KTS: Judau Ashta fails to react to Puru-1's Beam Magnum Shot, taking 5200 damage!
KTS: Sayla Mass suggests caution, raising Puru-1's Intuition!
KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 10020
KTS: Rena Lancaster's Mobile Stage has left

<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

As the Unicorn clings to the Banshee, Banagher becomes aware of Judau winding up, swinging his sword -- he isn't afraid. If this is what has to happen to save Leina, so be it.

But when the blow comes, it isn't physical. Memories pour through the connection between the three combatants, and Banagher watches in awe. Some of this, he's seen before. Some of it is new. The Unicorn's arms tighten around the Banshee, as if embracing her sister. Supporting her through the terrible visions, and the joyful ones.

A new voice rings out. Banagher has never met this girl, but he knows her all the same.

Elpeo. I knew it couldn't have been you inside the Banshee. Thank you... Please, help us save her.

With his awareness so over-tuned, Banagher feels as though he could reach out and touch the orange-haired ghost of a child. Instead, he offers her a smile.

I'm so happy I got to meet you.

Brilliance shimmers around the Unicorn. Leina rages, invoking images of Full Frontal -- and Banagher stiffens, flashes of violence dancing through his mind. His skull forced to crash into the Gundam's armor again and again, the blood still covering his face. Shaking his head, the young pilot banishes the memory.

<"I'm not Amuro! This isn't Axis!"> Banagher's voice echoes, underlaid with something radiant. <"Leina--!">

By the sound of her voice, she can't take much more. Fear jolts through the young pilot's heart. <"Judau!"> He calls. <"We have to end this! I have an idea!">

Transmitted to Judau is a battle plan, plotted out as if designed on engineering paper. Equations, measurements, everything necessary. Probably more than is necessary, really.

Crystals continue to form across the Unicorn. Psychoframe spontaneously creating itself, perpetuating its existence beyond where it belongs. Banagher squeezes his eyes shut against the flash of the Banshee's Vulcans -- again relying on the Unicorn's senses instead of his own. Though the Banshee struggles and fights, he clings to her, head falling back against the pilot's seat.

<"It's not her, Leina. It never was."> Banagher breathes out. <"Let go. The real Elpeo is right in front of you. She's calling you, just look--!">

Accompanied by the tell-tale buildup of magenta energy and sound, the Banshee's Beam Magnum fires. Banagher allows his Gundam to push away from the Banshee, cleanly dodging the attack, though losing his hold on the Lion.

More voices swirl around the young pilot. He can see them, now -- no longer disembodied hearts, but full spirits of the ones who love Leina. He lets his spirit float up with them, drifting from one source of strength to the next, glimmering brighter with each turn

"You're... Tetsuya. And Jun, and baby Gai." He knows, somehow. "Thank you. We're coming home together. Count on it."

The opportunity shines before Banagher, as if summoned by the little family encouraging him. With a mental apology to Takuya, Banagher's hand twitches within the Unicorn. One of the Unicorn's fuel tanks dislodges from her back.

"Kikka. Thank you -- for loving her. I'm bringing her home, I promise."

With an acrobatic movement, the Unicorn flips in the air, planting her feet on the long fuel tank and propelling it toward the Banshee.

Banagher reaches out a hand to Rikka, spiritually, his physical body mirroring the gesture. "I'm so thankful you're healing, Rikka. You're so brave. Thank you -- thank you for helping me. I'll keep fighting, until the very end!"

Raising an arm above her head, the Unicorn summons her sole remaining shield. It flies ahead of her, hidden behind the silhouette of the fuel tank. The Unicorn floats, waiting, time marked only by her pilot's heart beating.

"Captain York -- no, Eight. You've always protected me. The everyday miracle you showed me... I'll show her now. It's waiting for us, I can almost --"

Possibility swirls around Banagher. It's too indistinct to make out, but he knows Leina's soul by heart. They're bound together in the future as much as the present, and the thought brings fresh tears to his eyes.

"Clear space in the hangar, please."

Impossibly, miraculously, the Unicorn shines more brightly, near-painful to look at. As she brings her arm down, a glimmer of light, a faint trace -- passes from herself to the ejected fuel tank, suffusing it with power.

"We will." Banagher repeats, to Lucine. "We will. A Miracle... All that I could ask for is bringing her home with me. Leina's about to create a Miracle of her own..."

The physical world feels so distant. Faster and faster, possibility twirls. Snippets of visions and stolen words brush through Banagher's mind. His eyes stay closed, but he can see so much. Again, crystalline structures form on the Unicorn's armor.

"Sayla. We're coming home!"

The Unicorn's hand closes into a fist. Her shield fires a single missile -- not at the Banshee, but at the fuel tank, now hurtling into the Lion's face. The explosion is cataclysmic -- most of the fuel within the tank had been used, leaving behind highly-reactive fumes. It's a devastating sight, but Banagher knows what a Beast of Possibility is capable of.

<"JUDAU!"> He shouts, heart pounding.

One.

Two.

Three.

Now.

Banagher's spiritual form propels itself forward, and the Unicorn mirrors him. Judau's had the time he needs to attack. With one hand, the Key to Possibility brushes through the explosion, reaching out to the Banshee.

Leina, take my hand!

KTS: Banagher Links has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Banagher Links has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Banagher Links has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Banagher Links has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
KTS: Banagher Links targets Puru-1 with Full Armor Unicorn Hyper Bazooka: Fuel Tank Detonation!
KTS: Puru-1 fails to Evade Banagher Links's Full Armor Unicorn Hyper Bazooka: Fuel Tank Detonation, taking 8360 damage!
KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 1660
KTS: Kaworu Nagisa's Evangelion Unit-00 has left

<Pose Tracker> Judau Ashta has posed.

What the hell did they do to his sister?

It's something he asked the very moment he figured out she was the Banshee's pilot.

It's something he wondered even after Akane explained to him the harrowing, clinical details of how they shredded his sister's soul.

He asks it now, feeling the thousand grasping hands of guilt cling and drag her back from the precipice.

... And he'll ask it still, even when they get her back. Because they -will-.

But right now, what matters most is she's here. Right now, what matters most is he can feel her -- the real her, so close. He'll never forgive the people who did this to her.

That's my fault. My fault.

<"To hell with that!">

But he knows from experience: no one will ever get anywhere, miring themselves in grudges and hatred. And he certainly won't be able to do anything, if he can't even focus on what matters most right now.

A blade of fervent wishes and unvarnished memory flickers and dissipates, feelings drizzling out into a thousand thousand little stars in the deep dark of space. But even if the sword dwindles and dies, the fire in Judau's heart does not; it just burns BRIGHTER within the kindling of dozens upon dozens of connections reaching out across the vastness of space, pulsing electric ripples of earnest conviction.

<"You made me? You think you can make me do anything I don't want to?? Or, what -- you think maybe you manipulated me or something? That's bullshit! After we lost our parents, I was so wrapped up in us I never bothered thinkin' about the world around us! Maybe if it weren't for you we wouldn't have been dragged into the AEUG's war -- but why the hell do you need to feel guilty about that?! We lost people, but we saved people, too! I've still got my own problems, I know that -- but out there on Jupiter, I realized that. That I accomplished things that I never thought I could or would! I helped people I never woulda bothered with! An' I never could've become that kinda person, if not for you! You didn't scar me, dammit! You saved me!">

Fingers of one hand trembling along his controls, Judau presses the other hand to his chest as he calls out.

<"Leina... if all you do is see the hurt, all you're gonna do is undermine all the good you've put into this world!">

It's the last thing he says, before the Beam Magnum of the Norn swings once more upon the Double Zeta. Leina rages -- that shell of an impression of Elpeo Puru grips and grabs at her, and he can -feel- it.

        Dangerous. I called her dangerous. A weapon. I told her to STAY AWAY FROM YOU!

        You're more than that!

        She deserved better, more, than a wretched sister like me.

        You're more than that too, dummy!

<"Leina--">
        Leina--

<"You're both more than the worst moments of your lives--">
        So please accept yourself--

The Magnum fires.

A sphere of energy, framed by hazy blues, rips across the black of space. It illuminates every piece of scrap and wartorn debris from battles as recent as today and as far back as decades prior as it collides with the shimmering field of the Double Zeta's psychofield... and PUNCHES through.
5rWithin a moment, there is devastation. Within the next, only its aftermath. The Double Zeta, one arm useless, the other simply gone along with a good fifth of its upper torso, floats through space, optics flickering, its nova trembling.

Within the cockpit, warning signs sound off in Judau's ears. They're fuzzy, distant things; blunt force trauma has done wonders to his ribs, a flattened out airbag spilling across the front of the control console as Judau hangs limply forward. Blood congeals at his lip, dripping onto his visor.

"... hah..." he exhales. "See? I'm... fuckin' terrible at safe..."

His consciousness swims through the ebb and flow of all consciousness. It's so strange. Like he can feel himself, outside of himself. And no matter how much he reaches, he just keeps slipping further away. Maybe--

A droplet of red courage falls through his mind.

Judau's eyes widen. He jolts with a suck of a gasp.

We're waiting for you to come back and visit again, Leina. Little Gai is looking forward to meeting his big sister. And I guess Judau can come too. As long as he doesn't eat us out of house and--

"Jun... Tetsuya...? ... I'll eat... w-whatever I wanna eat, dammit..."

As his senses return to him.

Judau... It's me again. It's been a while, hasn't it?

"R-Rikka... hah. Way too long. We n-need some... happier memories, huh?"

With every heartfelt sentiment.

And.. I know my father sacrificed himself to save you. I don't hold it against you. He knew what he was doing, I like to think. But.. the the last thing I want is for you to lose a little sister, too.

"... I..."

Urging him onward, despite the failures he sees in himself.

Not only are you her brother... you're part of the family she's chosen, along with Elpeo.

Putting their faith in him, even when they don't know him.

                We're bringing her home, Judau. Here and now. We won't lose her. We won't give up on her. Not now, not ever.

"... hell yeah we won't!!"

... And family, reminding him.

He's so much more, too.

                        <'Judau! We have to end this! I have an idea!'>

<"Me too!">

Judau yanks his head up, grin fierce. His arms burn in protest as he grabs onto the Double Zeta's controls in stubborn, stupid defiance. But what else can he do? After all--

                <"LET'S DO THIS, BANAGHER!">

They're both just too dumbass to give up. Aren't they?

Banagher, of course, is a dumbass with actual education and an engineering major who can make equations and measurements that just make his head spin but --

<"Pretty sure I got the gist of it!!">

And as the Unicorn flies into action, the nova around the Double Zeta -burns- with new life. Fragments of what was once its arm are seized, flying back to its shoulder joint; tendons of crimson and magenta connect them all together in a floating webwork of a limb; shattered fingers flex and clench as the other rolls its shoulder with newfound life.

Optics, thrusters. Everything bleeds a cosmic swirl of reds around the ZZ Gundam as that Biosensor expands, riding on the budding Psychoframe generated by Unicorn to reach towards all those who have reached out to Leina. All of the people who heard their call for help. -Everyone-.

The Double Zeta floats higher and higher, a red star in a sea of dark. Sentiment. Belief. Conviction. Courage. Care. Hope. Love.

It gathers towards the massive barrel built into the forehead of the Double Zeta until it shines with brilliant, refracting-white radiance. He can feel them all. Their belief is power. Their belief in Leina is HER power.

The fuel tank explodes.

                <'JUDAU!'>

And within that rippling, expanding plume of devastation--

The Double Zeta fires the High Mega Cannon. No particles. No destruction.

Pure will unleashes a legion of everything wonderful and everything -strong- about Leina Ashta, releases every life she has reached and changed for the better, as pure, spiritual power.

The flash is blinding. The High Mega Cannon begins to spark and overload. The pillar of will races for the Banshee, lapping over the Unicorn and Banagher, engulfing them all--



In a haze of sparkling white, beyond space, beyond time, beyond anything but those bonds between hearts, Banagher Links reaches out with his hand.

And so too does Judau Ashta. His smile is warm. And he is not alone.

                        I'm so happy I got to meet you, Banagher had said.

                The small child beside Judau sticks out her tongue with a phhhbbt.

                I'm pretty great, right! You're okay, too!

It's a sincere compliment, really.

And as mischievous as it is, it's no less sincere as she turns towards Leina. Banagher reaches out with his hand.

Judau reaches out with his.

                Leina. It's okay.

And that third, smaller hand reaches out, too.

                Now it's your turn to be happy!

All of them borne on the wings of every single person Leina Ashta has touched and made better.

What did they do to Leina? Judau isn't so big that he can just forget all this. But he knows what they did.



                Nothing she can't beat.

KTS: Judau Ashta has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Judau Ashta has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Judau Ashta has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Judau Ashta has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Judau Ashta has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Judau Ashta has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Judau Ashta has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Judau Ashta targets Puru-1 with Silent Voice!
KTS: Puru-1 partially guards Judau Ashta's Silent Voice, taking 10560 damage!
KTS: Your unit's HP stands at -8900
KTS: Puru-1 has been defeated!
KTS: You're out of the fight. Consider using +eject to leave the battlefield.
KTS: Judau Ashta roots his unit, coming to a standstill and leaving him vulnerable.

<Pose Tracker> Puru-1 has posed.

        "Don't. Don't say it isn't her!"

        It clings to her. More than ever, worse than before. As if it were desperate to keep her, no matter what. It understands those deep seated, irrational feelings. That horrid guilt. It understands it better than perhaps Leina herself can. It knows how to dive so deeply into the human heart and draw it out.

        Such minor things, done as a child, in the worst kind of situation. And she believes with her whole heart its damned her. On some level, she's believed it for nine years. No matter how much she tries to distance herself from them.

        It tries to draw her back down, to drown her.

        Even as Judau tries to reach out and force her above water, by telling her to 'hell with that' jolting herback up, "Why- why shouldn't I feel guilty about that!?"

        'You didn't scar me, damnit! You saved me!'

        Speechless in this moment, doubt starts to take her once again, as he tells her a simple truth. A truth it felt like she KNEW not long ago.
        
        Still he reaches out to her, still she can feel Elpeo in that telling her she's a dummy, trying to save her. doubt floods her even as guilt tries to drag her back under.

        The sight of Judau, with the Double Zeta's upper half so tortured from her own actions almost does it on her own, "JUDAU!" Some part of her cries out in alarm at her own contradictory actions.

        Jun and Tetsuya make that moment of connection, "Come back to you. That's the... last thing you should want." Big sister Such an idea hits hard, it hits so very hard in this moment. How could anyone want her to be the big sister of their baby? In the end the two of them count on bringing Gai's big sister back, and there's a stunned disbelief in the haze of guilt, "How could you-" think that's a good idea.

        The warmth of Kikka's presence hits her with a sort of shock, "Spade-8? You're-" Her eyes shutter, a twitch of her eyelids, "-I was betraying all of you, all along. I endangered all of your lives." And yet still, still she wants to talk to her as Kikka Kobayashi!? She knows, she knows that she lost a brother during Gryps. She knows... and yet, "Painful?"

        It would be painful to them. To lose her. The idea is both unfathomable, and sinks deeper than she knows.

        A jolt, across her senses, as Rikka conveys her recovery, Thank God. Thank God. but the guilt forces her to focus on something in particular, "It's NOT alright! Don't just EXCUSE what I did to you!" Better with her in it, despite it all, the fact that she agrees with her leaks out, that point of common ground. It's why she's doing this isn't it? Because despite all of her denials, the people in her life have always been the true miracles of her existence. "I can't-! Focus on someone else more deserving!" Like Akane.

        And Eight's voice settles in, causing her to stiffen within the chair of the NT-D, but she can see it. She can see the tears in her eyes, as Eight pokes a very large hole in her current worldview. Some part of her will always, ALWAYS want to help people that were in a situation like Eight. And yet, is she really advocating for doing nothing? The guilt sinks down deep, miring her in the idea that she would. She would do nothing, but Eight's words forcibly pry some of it away. More, and more of it.

        She didn't do nothing. Not for people in that situation that she came across. And she wouldn't have wanted someone to do nothing for Eight.

        "Happy." She echoes, in bitter repetition, "I- I don't deserve it."

        It's a weak rebuttal, but perhaps it's the only defense she has at this point. The irrational idea that she took a second chance from someone more deserving. And Licia, Puru-1's seagreen eyes blink back more tears, "You- is that why you..." She could perhaps always sense she was avoiding her, but...

        You wouldn't if you knew me.

        Acceptance, acceptance despite it all. Desire despite it all, to know whom she is.

        Lilith addresses her at that moment, and it stings, more than she knows, "As if you aren't going to do the same, before this is over." She tells her, bitterly, "You'll hurt her. You'll have to hurt her, to do what's best for her." Live, laugh, and love.

        I can't be so carefree! And neither can you!

        It's almost whiplash to move from those feelings to the moment of connection with Lucine, channeled in by them. Feeling that memory, the idea of taking their hand. And there's this, bitter, hollow burst of laughter. An impression of hands in her psyche. The idea that she must take the other party's hand. A touch and...

        Pain. Poisonous pain.

        "She can only- only hurt people now when she reaches out! So I... I stay with her! Because noone else will!" Is that the only thing she believes she can do for her? Give herself to her?

        Give herself to her, so that she won't be alone. This thing, this presence in the Norn.

        It's hard, but despite it all, she can feel it, Sousuke and even AL's intentionality upon her, watching her, as if waiting for the outcome, as if invested in this outcome of human possibility. And she can hear it. "You'll see... you'll both see, before long."

        And then some part of her just sits bolt upright, like a skittish dear, "No- no no-!" As she can feel the presence of Sayla drawing closer, "Stay away! Stay away! You'll only get hurt! Just like before!" She knows, she knows what happened, how she cling to her, smothered her, dyed her in those feelings and rendered her comatose! "STAY AWAY FROM ME!" She shouts in desperate panic.

        Some things cannot be denied however, that Newtype instinct for connection. It is a universal force. Tonight, no matter how much she wished it wasn't so, she could not truly keep any who were drawn here away. And her connection with Sayla is strong. That panic gives way to a sense of resignation.

        None of them understand why they should stay away from her. Not one. And Sayla says so many things to her, wonderful things. Things she wants so badly in her life. She wants it so much, why does she keep reckoning that she doesn't deserve any of it?

        "Please stay back." She tells her pathetically, one last time, as Sayla pushes through the miasma, as she feels her embrace. In here, the hands try to cling to Sayla too, to push poisonously into her...

        ... until they don't. As they recoil from the sense of affection being delivered directly unto Leina's soul, as they can hold on less and less. They'd already been tested sorely tonight, each and every time someone tried to send her this sense of affection. Tears, more tears, hot and wet. "Please." Quieter.

        The guilt, thick and tangled as a briar patch, begins to give way, to those feelings Judau and Elpeo brought to her before, to the love and affection Banagher offered.

        Our futures together...

        "A miracle?" Puru-1's eyes dully blink tears at Banagher's resolve before the realization of what he means hits her, "I don't-! No! I can't! I WON'T!" The fuel tank is launched, and she just stares for a moment, before the Black Lion tries to veer wide with a desperation. The tank flies at the Norn's head, even as he blows it up, and the Norn only veers just enough that its head escapes damage that would have totaled it.

        Yet its head is blackened, part of its V-Fin is blown off completely, and one red optic is shattered. The Norn is partially blind, but a Newtype in a sense, never is. "The gist!? What are you-!" Any other day, she'd have felt his intentions here clear as day. Now? She doesn't feel it until the moment that Biosensor charges into that cosmic swirl. The pillar of light races to them, Judau's feelings made manifest in something that's more than purely physical, overlapping them both in a haze beyond time.

        Where?

        Even as she sees she's there with the three of them. Her soul, bruised and battered, purpled from its normal pinkish hues, the colors of stardust looks blinks back a swirl of tears as it looks upon Elpeo with her tongue stuck out, at Judau seeming startled.

        Banagher... Judau... El... Elpeo is that really you? I...

        She thought without a doubt, that trying to do what Sayla did would have hurt her, rendered her insensate, but the knowledge she didn't. She tries to refocus. What is she here for? What is she really here for? What matters to her? Was it destroying the Unicorn?

        Or was it trying to be there for Banagher? Trying to save Judau from what she thought was a lifetime of futile fighting? Trying to save all of them? There's a certain clarity now that she didn't have before, in this place, with all three of them here.

        Hesitantly, within this insulated place beyond time, a spiritual hand slides towards the three of them, those negative feelings slipping off of her, almost like a mobile trace suit that's being peeled off.

        There fingertips touch just subtly, and hesitantly in such a fragile way, the corner of her lips turn off in a tenuous smile.

        Is it over?

<Pose Tracker> Puru-1 has posed.

        Yet no sooner than her smile starts to form, does something happen.

        FEAR TERROR PANIC
                        CONFUSION
        DISORIENTATION

        That presence has been slipping further and further away from her ever since Judau drew them into this place. With every attempt to reach out to her, it cannot withstand this onslaught of radiant affection, validation, and love. When it reaches out its hands, it can do so only to jealousy grasp, to possess, to infect with the feelings that make out its state of being. It cannot comprehend that which is being offered to Leina.

        And in it, it shows its limitations, a shadow of a person, stripped away of all of its childish innocence, it's happiness, it's lust for life. Once upon a time, when Judau came into her life, she was far too happy to attach herself to him, to cling to him at all costs; doing whatever it took to remain a part of his life. Even if it meant hurting others. This presence within the Banshee however runs, it retreats. It lets go.

        Even of her.

        And even as she takes their hands, she can feel clearly, its absence, as it tries to depart from this place, untethered from her...
        
        Wait! Wait don't go! Don't go!

         There's a subtle sense of panic, of fear to her. Because she has been within the embrace of this thing for so long. Despite it all. She can't simply allow things to end this way, to be half finished. To lose... a connection, no matter how twisted and painful it was for her. Perhaps it is just that, or perhaps it is the clarity this place brings her.

        And so as those ephemeral hands try to slip away from this place beyond time for they cannot exist here without connection, they suddenly find her keeping hold of the other three. There is only a singular hand left to grasp, a shadow within the light of this place. But in that moment, she reaches out before it can disappear, and takes it.

        I've put so much on you haven't I?
        It's okay if you need to be a little weak.

        There's affection there, even amidst that twisted sense of dependence. Her fingertips squeeze more tightly, with this ferocious fear of abandonment. For someone who tried to push them all away, she never really wanted to be alone. For all of her independence, she never really wanted to be alone.
        
        But please,
        Stay here with us.
        Don't leave me!
        
        It's only at that moment that the once withdrawing hands, curl around her own fingers, and her spirit takes on a smile. As her feelings becoming soothing, like she genuinely is trying to comfort her.

        It's going to be okay.
        You don't have to be scared anymore.
        Not here. Not with me. Not with us.
        Just. Show them. And they'll accept you too.

        BGM Change - OYM-PF - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tnev6UZvgu8

        Caught in the moment of entwined connection, she expects to sink into sharing this moment with the soul of someone connected, and instead, she finds herself looking into a mirror. A fractured, broken mirror, spider webbed and fragmented. That moment of two souls resonating to share, ends up reflecting back into her and into them. Into someplace deeper than she could ever reach on her own.

        A girl bound to a stretcher, head raised, being forced to look at the wreckage of her violet and pink Qubeley, laying in a desecrated state, attached to so many machines. A man, Alberto, lectures as Martha looks on her but she cannot hear him. A scream cut short, her scream cut short as something reaches to her, before it all goes black.

        It shifts to her being bound to an elaborate chair, being forced to look at him a Doctor as he speaks to Martha Vist Carbine. A Psycommu headband attached to her, the hands writhe over her, and neither of them can see the reason for her state of submission. Her eyes glazed over, as he tells her, 'Less is more when it comes to these kinds of alterations. A memory of her 'consent' to collaboration. We shall steal a handful of other memories that say otherwise. Her own mind will reinforce the artificial one with a feedback loop of her own self-loathing. With that we shall instill a painful desperation to press on, no matter what is visited upon her.' 'I'm not convinced. What of your past failures, Doctor?' Speaks Vist-Carbine, and while the man bristles, he notes, 'You require reassurance? Entity LP0 will be our failsafe. Even should they cause her to waver, her own belief in its authenticity will guarantee that she is always drawn back in.

        More, more come. Flashes, memories of her being commanded and obeying, of further experiments, of time within that chair - of being commanded into that chair, into various places. Of Martha forcing her to kneel and placing a gun to her head. Everything she thought she knew, turned upon itself. The presence within the Psycoframe shows her who they are, whom they both really are. And teardrops from her soul spatter like stardust.

        These are... my memories.

        It sinks in, the realization of the truth of everything she's done. The realization of what this is, who this is. The idea of it. And yet, despite it all, despite her understanding intrinsically now she cannot trust her feelings. Still, still... she doesn't let go, as sadness permeates her being at the understanding.

        I gave myself to you thinking... believing...

        Her eyes look to Elpeo in this moment, it's hard to say how she feels. Embarrassment? Chagrin. She understands now that it doesn't have to be her. That it doesn't have to be simply a curse.

        If anything she clings harder with that single hand. It takes a moment of bravery and compassion despite it all, an understanding of how even this thing she left behind within a machine was a victim too, bereft of any sense of personhood, exploited to be a part of these cruel experiments . All the things that confuse and disorient the presence within, that it cannot comprehend, and yet, despite it all. She connected with this being. Perhaps she can reach her.

        You don't have anywhere to go, do you?
        I can't give my life over to you.
        But please stay.
        You don't have to be some curse.
        We've been together for a while.
        And I know without a doubt.
        You can be so much more.

        There is a long moment of roiling connection, turbulent, it cannot truly understand. It uses her memories to shape its sense of self. A painful longing, a need for her to fill in the gaps of who she is. Maybe it can't understand, not really, but in the end. It doesn't want to let go either.

        The only thing it feels is that for all of its feelings, all of them painful and negative. It doesn't want to be alone again. And so it keeps ahold of her hand. That pressure recedes, that horrid negative presence is no longer felt in that jealousy possessive way.

        It is not gone, not fully, but it's conception of self has changed in these moments of connection and understanding. It still wants to hurt, to possess, to cling - those are the emotions that it is made of, but it is no longer lashing out at everyone with cruel abandon. It is no longer pressing down upon the girl within.

        Thank you.

        Back in a place, beyond time. Leina closes her eyes, there's a small tilt of her head, a smile. And then cracking a single spiritual eye open, it wanders to the true Elpeo and-

        phhhbbt

        A small laugh, a wink, and-

        See you again soon, sis. Sorry that I gave you such a hard time.

        With one last squeezes of their hands, this space of connection, of understanding, and yes of miracle - it fades.

        And then, the Norn is alit in a brilliant orange-yellow glow that seems to even shine over the obsidian armor. A sign of, understanding? Cooperation? Something has changed.

        It may not be a perfect outcome. There's something messy about a being which caused so much harm still being in there. Knowing that, so many might be understandably uneasy. Will it last? Will it be alright? Should it ever be piloted again?

        And yet perhaps that is a function of faith. Belief. Hope. Possibility. Is that not what they wanted to bring back in her in the first place.

        There is a long moment of quiet as they return to reality, and one gets the impression that now, now that she's returned to reality she's started sobbing, but then she begins, staccato, clipped as she tries to articulate what she found so difficult only a few short seconds ago. In that space Beyond Time it was so easy, but here and now. Here, and now - she's still herself, and what they've done to her is still a part of her.

         "Sorry, I'm so... I. Help. Please. I need. I need help. Judau... Banagher... everyone. Help."

        Then with a sense of acceptance of her state of mind, of being, she tells them, "I can't trust myself right now- I can't... trust how I feel." Right now, despite it all, some part of her still feels the same way as she did moments ago, she just knows what was done to her. That doesn't change everything, but even if she cannot trust herself, her feelings.

        She can trust them, she can trust theirs.

        "Please... please help me. I-" There's a moment of broken laughter, amidst the sobs, her speech becoming more and more emotional, as she just tries to string words together, feelings, "-Judau, I- This this... I made the worst mess. I was definitely... DOUBLE as dumb as you. I- drag me home by my ear. Please- I don't care-!"

        That's not even good grammar, but in the moment, she doesn't care. In the end, she hiccups, gulping down air, as she lifts her faceplate wiping at her tears, and squeezes out the four words so many reached out to her tonight, that so many wanted to hear.

        "I wanna go home."