2023-06-01: Council of Mazins

• Cast: Liam 7-020, LiSA, Koji Kabuto, Sayaka Yumi, Tetsuya Tsurugi
• Where: Fujinomiya City - New Photon Power Lab
• Date: U.C. 0097 06 01
• Summary: In the wake of deciphering the Banshee's audio transmissions and Rita Bernal's confession, Koji calls an emergency meeting of his family to confront the grievous wound they've been dealt. Finding Liam in a crisis state over the revelation, he brings the BioNet escapee into the fold, for what idiosyncratic comfort he and his can provide. CW: Mentions of self-harm ideation.

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<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.

'Condition 'kuro' (black)' is not a crisis code that Koji Kabuto has had call to use in a long time.

Nevertheless: The signal's gone out, across the Kabuto-Yumi-Tsurugi family channels: Family Emergency. Meet ASAP.

When Koji arrives at the New Lab's closed conference room, however, it's not only LiSA at his side; he's brought Liam, too.

"... He looked like he needed someone to talk to," he says quietly, "and I didn't want to leave him alone." He directs Liam to a chair next to Tetsuya, before looking down at his phone. "Shiro, I'm wiring your call into the conference screen."

        "Got it, bro," his phone crackles - before the face of Shiro Kabuto appears on one of the screens. "So what's this about. There hasn't been a code 'kuro' in - "

"A long time," Koji agrees, "But the threat is real." He holds up a flash drive - as green as Amuro's original Haro, with that iconic round face on the top. "I have the cleaned transmission data from the Banshee. It's... bad." He inserts the stick into the computer, and presses play."

The voice is unmistakable - Shiro's face darkens by the time the third word is out, lowering his face so his hair drops in front of his eyes.

        "I am alone. And I deserve to be alone." It's Leina Ashta's voice.

Koji shuts the audio off. "I checked every other recording we made. It's a match all the way down." His fists are clenched tight against his side - he might have had early warning, but... it still hurts. "Banagher estimated the change in Banshee pilots happened in the middle of February some time."

He lets that stand there. "I guessed Liam had found out, from what he managed to say to me, so... I brought him in."

Nobody should be dealing with this alone.

<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.

        Liam took a detour to the PPL's hangar after the kaiju attack. With the entire Tokyo metropolitan area in danger--which is itself a grave threat, considering how huge it is--he needed somewhere close to get a warm meal, a shower, and some sleep. He was not expecting Lucine to wake him up in the wee hours of the morning with still more horrible news.

        Koji found him curled up in a chair, completely silent except for faint, stifled sobs.

        He doesn't look any better as he walks into the room. His eyes are red. He moves listlessly, robotically, as he seats himself. He's wearing a blue jumpsuit and boots, and the jumpsuit makes the numbness all the more familiar.

        Liam gives a sidelong glance at Tetsuya, and shrinks down into himself. He grips his elbows. He braces, visibly, as Koji holds up the drive, talks about the Banshee.

        Leina's voice echoes through the room and it's like he's been kicked, extra violently, in the stomach. The wind goes out of him. Fresh tears well up in his eyes, but part of him sees it as his duty--his purpose--to relay essential information. "A--Alouette," he chokes out. "Ban--Banagher. Audrey." His voice gets tighter, like he's trying to force the words out. "Captured. Rikka. Akane. Compromised."

<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Yumi has posed.

For Sayaka Yumi, today was supposed to be an important conference for the Photon Power Labs. But she receives the signal, code-kuro. And decides that whatever the criticism she'll face for it, the conference can be delayed. Nothing comes before family.

In light of this emergency, the conference room has been set aside for a very different purpose, as the closely-knit family convenes. Even Liam's here, and Sayaka nods when Koji explains his purpose for being here.

"Whatever it is. I'm prepared to hear it out." She replies gravely, as Koji brings out the Haro-themed flashdrive.

"I am alone. And I deserve to be alone."

"That can't- there's no way," is Sayaka's response of disbelief when the words come out. But it /is/ unmistakably the voice of Leina Ashta. And when she sifts through the past few months, it intuitively makes sense. "But she did seem like she wasn't feeling right, for a while now. Even at her own birthday party. I still couldn't ever imagine this, though.."

Liam provides essential information, and Sayaka nods gravely. Several of those people were allies of the Photon Power Labs - Banagher and Mineva being those they were supposed to protect especially. "Apparently, things went down in Dakar while we deployed against the kaiju. We didn't know what Alexis was playing at, right? Must've been about keeping our eyes peeled away." Sayaka shakes her head.

"So, where do we go from here?" Sayaka breaks the question. "Surely she's not Puru-1 of her own free will. But when it comes to the Vist Foundation, they have far too many tricks... so we need to be careful." Even if MANY people in this room are prone to just charging in.

<Pose Tracker> Tetsuya Tsurugi has posed.

Tetsuya can hardly remember the last time Code Black was called. For baby-related reasons, he is the only one of the Tsurugi household present at the meeting room, but he brings with him the promise that there is some form of justice on the horizon. One that is likely going to be delivered by an iron giant riding a thunderbolt into someone's living room, considering the severity of 'Code Black.'

When Liam enters emotionally broken, Tetsuya recognizes how closely this must hit home. When Koji plays that awful message on his computer--

The air around Tetsuya Tsurugi seems to plummet to near-freezing. Or maybe that's the sense of all warmth and mercy vacating the immediate proximity of a man almost single-handedly responsible for the genocide of an entire alien race.

"I'm going to kill them," he says. It's not hyperbole, or a declaration of intent. It's more of a prophecy, a statement of absolute and unchanging fact. "Leina, the laboratories, those kids. I'm going to kill them."

"Koji, give me a reason not to," Tetsuya's head cants to one side, the muscles in his neck practically straining to keep him planted in his chair.

(The floor under his feet might be cratering, ever so slightly)

<Pose Tracker> LiSA has posed.

         Koji, please stop adopting L-named people. LiSA, Liam, Leina ... who is next. Lucine? Well, that would fit ...

         This is LiSA's first code kuro! However, she is a duckling following a papa duck, and when Liam gets grabbed, she regards him solemnly with those strange blue eyes. After a moment, she gives him a pat. In the conference room, she seats herself by Sayaka, letting Koji be by himself at the front of it. Shiro gets waved at. This must be important if he's here in some manner. LiSA regards the disc, frowning as she pulls out her tablet, then opens up her arm, providing people with the second strangest thing they'll see today, as she plugs herself into the tablet.

         "Tetsuya, charging in with that attitude is going to get them killed. Not that we're not with you, mind... and welcome to the family, Liam. This is how things go. None of us may be NewTypes, but these three have created miracles." She says, gently, glancing under her bangs at Koji, then Sayaka. "We need to come up with... well, extrication plan, would be my guess? M- D- I think, that'd be the best way. Not sure how we can manage ..." Her tablet springs to life, pages springing up as if she were mostly mechanical, not mostly biological.

<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.

Liam explains how it's even worse than what the cleaned audio indicates, and Koji closes his eyes, drawing in a deep breath.

"fuck."

He gives Sayaka a weary little... it's not even half a grin, it's just a quirk of his lips at the bitter irony. "And here we were, trying to figure out how the Vists knew to show up within twenty-four hours of us taking Banagher and Audrey in, when they already had the person who suggested it in the first place."

He's... eerily calm, actually - it's Shiro who explodes, the call audio peaking. "Of COURSE she's not doing this of her own free will, Sayaka! It's LEINA, for god's sake! She's always - " his voice cracks, cutting him off. After a moment, he can only growl "those bastards."

Sayaka asks where they go from here, and Tetsuya makes his pronouncement. Koji meets his adoptive brother with a look just as fierce. " Trust me - I want to just charge straight at the Vists and rip them apart, too, but..." He shakes his head. "I've been thinking about it since I got the audio back - We don't even know for sure where they hold the Banshee when they're not having Leina fight... And while I know from Rita that it's brainwashing, we don't have any information on how deeply and how extensively they got her. If we're not prepared - if we rush into this... We might never get Leina back, even if we recover her."

        If she ends up like Kamille did... He shudders at the thought.

"So: Right now, we have to focus on damage control. Shiro." He gets his younger brother's attention, the young captain wiping his eyes as he nods. "Put a team of your most trusted soldiers on a guard rotation on Tetsuya and Jun's apartment. If they took Leina... I don't want to risk baby Gai getting snapped up." Looking back to Tetsuya, he says "I know Jun alone would probably be enough, but I am taking no chances with my nephew... And we're going to need Great Mazinger before this is over, Tetsuya."

Shiro nods. "I... I know the best team for the job. I'll... get right on it, bro." He makes another angry, choked sound, and cuts the visual of the call.

Grimacing, Koji nods over to LiSA. "Unfortunately - that kind of delicate operation is very much not in our skillset. We're kind of the 'absolute, overwhelming force' department. Great if you need a Mycenaean warship reduced to so much slag; not so great for making sure any prisoners they've taken get off the ship safely." He wonders if maybe she could help - but maybe he can ask her later about that.

He can see Liam cratering too - he purses his lips, and takes his seat at the head of the table. "Liam... I want you to know - whatever you're feeling, right now, none of us will judge you for expressing it."

<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.

        Liam flinched away from LiSA's touch. He is not remotely in a state of mind to process that kind of physical contact.

        There was evidence. There was evidence, and they'd missed it, and /he'd/ missed it, never mind there were others so much closer. Liam starts shaking as Sayaka goes down the bits that didn't add up. "C--couldn't stop them," he says, lost in his own little world and struggling to give voice to what he's seeing in it.

        'I'm going to kill them.'

        Tetsuya gives that secret, despised thought voice instead. Liam looks over at him--slumped over and holding himself, the height difference isn't as pronounced--with red, terrified eyes.

        "Poison," he says. "L--Lucine-- she said--" He doesn't so much pause as exert heroic effort to keep that train of thought on its tracks. "Leina's. Hostage. Threatened to poison her. That's how--" Of course. Why else would Banagher and Audrey surrender themselves? Vist had a gun at their beloved's head the entire time. He looks at the speaker. "Sorry," he whimpers. An effort to appease someone who has no intention of hurting him, yet he still expects to be hurt.

        Horror dawns in Liam's eyes as Koji brings up Gai. The possibility chills his blood. But something else Koji says--

        "Rita knows?" The words are halfway between hope and rage, and could tilt either way depending on the whens and hows.

        Koji gives him permission to speak freely. Liam swallows, but it does nothing to help his dry throat.

        "Stupid," Liam says. His voice wavers. The words coming out of his mouth are /his/, but they are an echo of what someone else planted in his head. "What good am I?" He presses a hand to his temple. The other grips the edge of the table, unleashing the full of his augmented strength with the barest conscious thought. It starts to creak. "All this--everything they did, and I--"

        "I COULDN'T SAVE THEM!" Liam howls. It isn't just Leina, and Rikka, and Akane, and Banagher, and Audrey. It's all the other children who simply vanished one day, because he wasn't good enough. Wasn't strong enough. Wasn't brave enough. "They didn't deserve this. Didn't deserve to be like me. Just a--a--" Tears stream down Liam's face. He is a mess, but he keeps going, the words spilling out. "Monster. Sad, gene-mangled monster who can't even KILL. Can't MAKE THEM SCARED. Can't, even with--even with what's in my head."

<Pose Tracker> Tetsuya Tsurugi has posed.

"They're not dead yet." The other children might be, but Leina and the others are not. Tetsuya's wrath is a singular, blinding thing. It does not allow for comfort in the near term. It's a thing that demands action-- or at least, demands the formation of an eternal, unflinching grudge. But in that singular focus, there is... something that resembles sympathy. "They're not dead yet. So you can't give up until they're safe again either. And you do it again and again and again because this world is full of monsters who do not know to stop, who look at the pile of dead monsters left in your wake and think that surely they're too smart, too strong, to be one of those failures. Prove them wrong. Tear out their throats, again and again, as many times as it takes. And when you can't anymore, make sure there's someone there to keep doing the work."

"I never said I would charge in to tear them apart," Tetsuya says, impersonal and cold and certain in his murder in the same way that the ground is to a plane in freefall, or a splash of disinfectant to microbiota. "They will die. I will kill them. Whether my weapons are my swords, the heavens, or someone else's hands, I will kill them. We will get those kids back."

Koji raises the spectre of Gai being put under threat, and Tetsuya's fury inexplicably grows even more terrible. "If they touch my son, there is nothing under heaven that will stop me. But I appreciate the added security. Hopefully they recognize how foolish such an attempt would be."

"But then, their track record does not suggest wisdom either."

<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Yumi has posed.

"From her actions and words, it sounds like she didn't even know. A sleeper agent, and we played right into their hands." Sayaka frowns. And while Koji's calm, a pickup sign for how truly mad he is, Shiro snaps back. "I know, Shiro. There's no way she'd agree to this from our understanding... you know that more than anyone." She can't blame him for being so upset, he must feel he couldn't do a thing about it. "So we'll be there for her every step of the way just like we always have. Because she'll never be as alone as she says she is, and she needs to be reminded more than anything right now."

Tetsuya turns to anger instead. He'll kill Martha Vist Carbine for what she did, and who wouldn't? But Liam has disquieting news in regards to that: she'll be sacrificed without a word if they so much as try. "We'll worry about punishing them after all the kids are out safe. Even if I can understand your anger, Tetsuya." Sayaka concludes. "For all we know, they're the only people who know how to reverse whatever's been done to Leina. And we'll get it out of their mouths if it's the last thing we do first."

Liam blames himself. "There's absolutely nothing you could've done, Liam. Deploying against the kaiju meant that you also saved people from dying at Alexis's hands. But as long as they're hostages, we can still save them. Our efforts won't be wasted, and your effort will still be needed."

<Pose Tracker> LiSA has posed.

         LiSA isn't hurt by the flinch. She understands, generally. It was more of a 'welcome to the family' sort of pat.

         Koji brings up the threat to baby Gai, and everyone gets to see the moment of sudden anger flare in her. LiSA is, by and large, a fairly collected young woman except when it comes to things she's unfamiliar with. (WHICH IS A LOT. We know.) However, her anger is a simmering one, and after bristling for a moment, she settles back down, tabs abruptly doubling on the, er, tablet. At least they don't have to worry about her!

         ... probably.

         "So we know. But if we're blunt force, who can we lean on to be our scalpel?" She wonders. "Sayaka... you might be that lead here. Maybe? Director, and all that, but..." She wonders, hesitantly, while stepping around the group to the mini-fridge in the corner, silently passing it across the table to Liam before she sits back down.

<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.

"Of course it's poison," Koji hisses. "Scum."

He looks at Tetsuya and there is that wry fondness again. "He's right. You cannot change what's happened, Liam, but you can change what's to come. Beating yourself up about not being good enough for a problem you didn't even know existed... I went through that over my father, because I didn't notice a problem developing until it was too late to do anything about it. The only thing you can do is offer aid going forward - so do your absolute best at it, okay?"

"We're not in that position right now - where we've failed utterly. We can still save her, and help anyone else they've hurt... But we need to rely on people with a better sense of... delicate force application. We don't develop clandestine machines here, we develop titans that can weather force that would shatter another machine to scrap." And weird prototype Gundams, but the Hi-Nu is a Mazin in nature even if not in shape, by now.

He nods to LiSA. "So I recommend we support Sayla. She needs to be reminded that we're in her corner, no matter what."

Shiro turns his camera back on, at this point, having sharpened himself up. "If they've captured two 3G Operatives... Then the intelligence team that's been chasing the Vists since the Banshee first attacked us should collaborate with 3G Intelligence."

"Agreed." Koji nods. "Volfogg alone is a massive advantage. We should probably reach out to the AEU, too - see if any of their people will move over abductions of their citizens. Meanwhile..."

He looks up at the ceiling, as though asking himself if this is the right course of action.

"... I'm going to take a trip up to the Northern coast, and get Father's lab back online."

The Science Fortress Lab. Headquarters of Great Mazinger's war against the Mycenaeans.

The place Kenzo Kabuto died.

<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.

        The Tetsuya Tsurugi Liam knows personally is a calm, understanding man. A man who survived a hellish war. A man who did things that turn Liam's stomach, but now has a family, and a career, and time to mentor people like him.

        He's seeing another Tetsuya, and that Tetsuya is speaking to the same part of him Hephaestus spoke to when he told him he was a man. The self-flagellation stops, outwardly. The drink slides into place in front of him, but Liam doesn't touch it. He blinks away tears as he thinks back to the bloodied ruin of a Zaku II's cockpit, and how he screamed and sobbed. He feels like he's in free-fall, and the others are reaching out, offering their hands, but he can't take them.

        He thinks, for a moment of how easy it would be to go back into the cockpit and listen to his trigger until the messiness of the person dissolves, leaving only the purpose.

        "I'm thinking of hurting myself," Liam says. And there it is: the grab for someone's hand. He quickly clarifies. "I'm conditioned. Not like Leina. Makes me focus. Sets emotion elsewhere. Just needs... a trigger. I... remember it. Have it."

<Pose Tracker> Tetsuya Tsurugi has posed.

The Science Fortress. Tetsuya fixes Koji with a long stare. Not one of disbelief, but rather one that asks the question 'are you sure we want to go this way?' After a moment though, Tetsuya closes his eyes and exhales slowly. "...I'll come along. There are parts of the fortress that only Jun, father and I would know about. It should help you get things moving a little more quickly." Even with half of the facility missing, the remaining submarine portion should still be quite functional. After some rehabilitation, and hardware updates.

But it also means painting a target on the Labs, once its personnel are perceived to be trying to wriggle out from under the yoke they've been placed under. Conflict is on the horizon, but Tetsuya is a soldier.

Admittedly, one working for NERV and therefore the Federation, but he is a member of this family first and foremost.

Liam raises the specter of self harm. Tetsuya's gaze cuts towards him, but again not out of surprise. That feeling is a familiar one. "Don't," he says, calmly. "They bring pain, but they also bring strength. Cutting your emotions away does nothing but bottle them up, letting them fester for another day. You must learn to take that pain and channel it. Feel it, every agonizing moment of it, and then let it pass."

"When fear and anger and sorrow have moved through you, only you will remain. Feel them, acknowledge them, and judge how to let them move you in a goal you wish to achieve. I can teach you, but you must allow yourself to hurt, Liam."

<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Yumi has posed.

"The Science Fortress Lab..." Sayaka knows exactly what this means, coming from Koji. Every day, they've upheld the Photon Power Labs as an institution of peace. So if it's there... "Then this is war." Sayaka concludes.

Sayaka also looks hesitant when LiSA nominates her scalpel. A situation like this feels like... they won't be able to handle it just themselves.

So when Koji suggests they back up Sayla, Sayaka nods. "She needs it more than anything right now. I mean, it's her ward we're talking about." She must be heartbroken. And working with 3G intelligence and the AEU as well... it's not as dire as it looks and they're certainly not alone.

As for Liam... "We're in a situation where emotion means everything." She adds to Tetsuya's statement. "We care so much about Leina for a reason. So we're not in a position where we can lock those feelings away."

<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.

Koji could elaborate on his reasons for choosing to resurrect his father's base of operations - a risky procedure in the current climate, for sure - but there are better times to do that, as Liam speaks his mind. He gets up from his seat and walks around the table to the opposite side of Liam from Tetsuya. His brother has the better words for the young man, so Koji lets his own presence be a comfort as he sorts through his own words.

"That... helplessness and frustration you're feeling - you're feeling them because you care about what they've been going through." He considers carefully. "I understand the urge to want to not feel them, to just... reach out and turn it off - or to do something stupid just to let some of it out."

"Wasn't that last one all you were doing, back in the day?" Shiro adds from the comm screen, earning a somehow-fond glare from the older Kabuto. Very aware of Liam's aversion to touch, Koji carefully lays his hand over Liam's. "Thank you for telling us."

<Pose Tracker> LiSA has posed.

         Sayaka's hesitant look is nodded at. "I know. But I think out of everyone, you might be the strongest option we have, especially if you lean more into your position. Especially if we work with Miss Sayla."

         She rolls her chair over to the screen and peers up at Shiro for a moment. "I see you learned that lesson, Uncle Shiro." She says, giving him a slight, impish grin, before rolling back to her spot next to Sayaka.

         This lean is over towards Liam, wordless acceptance of his words. "As someone who is ... learning this whole emotion thing-" Why was she crying, again, last night? "- It's ... it's hard. That I understand. But telling Koji, or Sayaka, that's ... that's important too. Having someone who wants to understand ... has been good for me. It'll probably be good for you, too. None of us here will tell - we kept Rita a secret for how long?"

<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.

        Liam meets Tetsuya's gaze, and the older man can see clean through to the war orphan who never stopped being scared and overwhelmed. "I know," he says, and he looks away, ashamed. "It's just--first Metis, then--then that mining colony, and then--" Then this: Triple Zero moving to corrupt everyone in the greater Tokyo area. Millions of innocent lives. Dear, precious friends in the hands of some of the most monstrous people in the Earth Sphere.

        "It's so much," he says. "Feel helpless again."

        Koji rests his hand atop Liam's. The younger man does not flinch away. He listens. "Can--can we really save her?" Liam is the biggest person at this table, but at the moment, his voice is the tiniest. "Undo what they did to her?"

        He wants that. He wants to bring all of them home, and undo whatever Vist did to them. But he's not just talking about them. "Take--take the conditioning out?"

<Pose Tracker> Tetsuya Tsurugi has posed.

It means war.

But this time, war with... Hm. It's odd, the thought of going to war with 'other humans.' Amuro, is this what it was like for you too?

"Of course we can save her," Tetsuya answers with a shrug. "What you need to ask is 'what is the next step to saving her?' And for you, that step is to let yourself rest and to clear your head. When you're faced with a dozen different crises, the number of things that you feel you need to do are paralyzing, but you cannot be everywhere and you are not fighting alone. Relying on the strength of others when you cannot be present is not 'failing' anyone."

"As to whether we can remove the conditioning... That is not my area of expertise, but we can try."

<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Yumi has posed.

Sayaka nods to LiSA. "Yeah. I don't plan on letting anyone down." She decides, in regards to using her position in a situation like this.

She can't help but sympathize with Liam when he says it's all too much. "I know. But you're not going to have to fix it all at the same time by yourself. Reaching out... was a good first step."

As for whether they can save her... "Without a question." Sayaka answers. "As you know, healing fully will likely take a really long time." She concedes. "But we do need to be there for her."

<Pose Tracker> LiSA has posed.

         On the mom-to-daughter sidebar going on with the opposite side of the table, Lisa considers Sayaka for a strong moment, before reaching out and tapping her hand in a comforting gesture. "I've only been here for a couple of years, but you haven't let me down. And if I may say so..." Her gaze slides across the room, "You make someone very happy, and have done no wrong to him, either." She says, with that sort of wisdom only a three year old has.

         "It's okay to feel helpless, or at least, I think it is." She says to Liam, honestly. "Not knowing how to do things but doing our best anyways is kind of a unspoken philosophy around here. I blame Koji."

<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.

Koji nods as Tetsuya points out both that Liam cannot be everywhere and that he is not alone. "Trying to fight every battle in the Earth Sphere on your own is a recipe for disaster." He nods to Tetsuya and Sayaka and LiSA. "We've survived this long by... learning how to count on each other. How to confront together a threat that would overwhelm any single one of us. You don't have to bear your burdens alone any more, Liam."

He shoots LiSA a similarly fond glare to the one he shot Shiro only moments ago, smiling. "Sometimes even when it looks impossible we have to keep marching forward anyway - holding each other up when we need to."

There is... not another question, exactly, in what Liam asks, but an unspoken subject - and Koji catches the meaning. "As the others say - it's doable. Not easy, and not instantaneous... but you're not one to turn away from a challenge, are you, Liam?" He grins. "It's not in our portfolio, but I can talk to 3G - they've developed the techniques for it. If I do recommend you... Well, I can't do all the talking on your behalf, but Doctor White's pretty good at being approachable."

"As for the others... We have to trust in and support our friends and 'family' and help wherever we can, and we'll get them back."

<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.

        What is the next step to saving Leina and the others? Liam falls silent, and listens. His hand fidgets beneath Koji's. The mission... is to rest, and recover, because he's no good to anyone like--

        No.

        Liam catches the thought, and the spike of despair attached to it. He turns it over in his mind. "That was how I... survived," he says. "In the lab. Protected the others as much as I could, even if it hurt. 'Liam' means 'protector.' I..." Pause, breathe. There is so much floating around in his head that articulating any of it right now feels daunting. He was never a failure by the Crucible's standards, but he was never an unqualified success. He wants things he can claim as his, but his metric still skews towards violence, ignores all the good and worthy thing he's done outside of that.

        He looks into Tetsuya's eyes, and nods. "...I'll rest," he says.

        '...But you're not one to turn away form a challenge, are you, Liam?'

        "N--no? I--I mean I'll. I can do it. If... if you'll help. Protect me. I didn't tell anyone earlier..." His shoulders bunch, and he looks down at the table. "Didn't know Alouette was here, that they trusted her. Was so worried they'd think I was a sleeper."

<Pose Tracker> Tetsuya Tsurugi has posed.

"Good," Tetsuya nods, pushing himself up to his feet. "Rest. You can't fight properly when you're on the verge of exhaustion." He knows from first-hand experience! It kinda sucks, and might actually kill you! Don't do it!

"We'll do what we can to help. For now... Koji, everyone, I'm heading out. If we're heading up to the Science Fortress, there are some things I need to get ready." And he'll need to tell Jun besides. She'll probably want to come too, but...

Not yet. Not until he can be sure that it's safe.

<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Yumi has posed.

LiSA offers her childlike wisdom, placing her hand on Sayaka's. "I'm glad to hear it," she nods, about never letting LiSA down. As for the other person she mentions, well.. they've had their ups and downs but they're still obstinently here for each other.

"Swan White," Sayaka nods when Koji makes his recommendation. "It's a good thing they were able to get her back recently. There's also Dr. Hinoki Sai, who specializes in Algernon, but should still be able to help. Approachable, too."

Liam recounts how he was able to survive, back in the lab. "It's our turn to protect you now, Liam. It's a vow, from the family we call the Photon Power Labs." Sayaka extends that hand out in offer.

Tetsuya's on his way to make preparations for the Science Fortress Labs. "I don't need to tell you this, but stay safe Tetsuya. And.. I should probably get some of my research materials over there too if we're going to be dealing with ELASTIC."

<Pose Tracker> LiSA has posed.

         Benefits of being a Super AI Repli-Compoid: She's been writing this whole time, into a highly-encrypted server, even while actively participating in the conversation! Downfall: When approached with things she doesn't know, everything comes to a crashing halt for LiSA.

         "Swan White? Algernon?" She says in a whisper to Sayaka. "... also let me know what you want brought over. I can take care of that." She says firmly. "At least as far as technology-based material."

         "Same, Tetsuya, please bring anything like that directly to me." It's the least I can do. Aside from offering Liam like, a beanbag chair to sit in and stare at the sky with." Hey, it worked for Rita.

<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.

"3G has our absolute trust and support," Koji says firmly. "We helped out a little during the Primeval War, and Guy is one of my best friends." There's more than a couple of things that Liam might need protecting from, though, since technically the Guard are a Federation organisation and he has close ties with the 3SA. Koji considers that... then nods. "I'm in your corner, I promise."

He nods again, when Liam mentions Alouette. "Getting people out of situations like hers is what they're good at. They'll hear you out, I know it." He looks over to LiSA. "Swan White was 3G's communications officer before their exile. Algernon is... some kind of weird disease - I don't know the details, I think they're highly-classified."

Sayaka also reaching out to Liam gets a warm smile - a silent 'thankyou' to her for backing him up with this call. To Tetsuya: "Alright. It's mostly going to be for data storage outside our official remit, so the computers are top priority... but we'll probably need the hangars for something." The concern that the Benerit Group might see profit in the stranger properties of Photon Power - and the consequences of it being used in that way - is not a wholly unlikely one.

He clears his throat. "I wish this was all we had to contend with, but... there's an active threat in progress too. Our promise to 3G means we have to respond to the T0 threat in Nouvelle Tokyo." He puts his hand on Liam's shoulder. "Make sure you get that rest. I'll cook something up if you feel up to eating later. In the meantime..." He looks back over to Sayaka. "We should get Z and Areia ready to go. We'll have to talk to Sayla once this crisis is resolved."

<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.

        As Tetsuya gets up to leave, Liam offers a weak but sincere smile. "Thank you, Tetsuya," he says. That cold, dispassionate violence is every bit a part of him as the care he just showed Liam. Is that a possiblity for him? "Please stay safe."

        Liam's brow furrows, the scar creasing. "Oh," he says. "Her. I..." And then Koji and Sayaka give him their word. Liam starts to shake. Tears well up in his eyes. He feels as vulnerable as he did when Lucine told him she'd protect him, no matter what. Raw, exposed. But it's the kind of vulnerability and exposure that ends in a warm blanket, and a hug that's just as warm, and gentle words. "Thank you," he says, and he lets the tears flow as he looks up at Koji. "Can you make omelettes? Mom and Dad used to make them for me."