2023-03-08: Refuted Legacies

• Cast: Banagher Links, Mineva Lao Zabi, Marida Cruz
• Where: The Ra Mari II
• Date: U.C. 0097 03 08
• Summary: After a distressing meeting with Full Frontal, Princess Mineva is accompanied by two of her staunchest protectors. Her deepest worries come to light, and her protectors seek to defeat even those.

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<Pose Tracker> Mineva Lao Zabi has posed.

'The Char Aznable I knew is truly dead.'

Mineva barely listened to Full Frontal's response, but it still digs into her. The assertion, the genuine belief, that he is something he couldn't possibly be less like...

She doesn't answer Banagher's call after her as she leaves the meeting, instead simply walking away. Emotion spills off of her--anger, disgust, grief. She's clearly aware of Banagher and Marida behind her, but... it's not until a few minutes later that she stops.

She sighs, and without turning around, quietly asks, "The two of you are going to keep following me, aren't you?"

<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

Banagher gives Marida a worried look as they both follow behind Audrey, unwilling to speak and risk upsetting his girlfriend more. Silently, he keeps pace with her.

"Yes." Banagher answers. "Unless you ask me not to. I just thought -- you shouldn't be alone, after that meeting. He was as awful as ever."

"What do you need?" Those golden eyes are so earnest. "Anything at all. I'll find it for you."

<Pose Tracker> Marida Cruz has posed.

         Marida stops and stands at attention when Mineva turns to her, looking the perfect part of the stoic royal guard, though her concern is betrayed by her aura.

         "As your guardian, it is my responsibility to make sure you are alright, Princess."

<Pose Tracker> Mineva Lao Zabi has posed.

Mineva closes her eyes, a small smile coming to her lips despite the mess of emotion. "All right," she nods. "My quarters are this way. Let's talk." She leads the other two down the halls to a decently large, but otherwise unassuming, room.

Once inside, she undoes her cape and sets it aside, similarly opening the top two buttons of her dress jacket. She gestures to a couple of chairs set nearby, and sits on the bed.

"...I shouldn't have left like that."

<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

"Alright." Banagher answers, quietly. At least she's able to smile.

At first, he goes to join her on the bed, but -- the chairs are gestured to. Banagher takes a seat on one of them, allowing Marida to take the first choice.

"I don't know. I don't think there was anything else to really be said to him. He's too taken with his side co-prosperity sphere... He didn't even consider any of the flaws the Captain pointed out." Banagher shakes his head. "I think you did all you could, Audrey."

Banagher himself still feels unsettled from the meeting. An attempt to self-soothe, he puts his hands into his hoodie pockets.

"...it's weird, though. How when he talks, you can't help but listen." Banagher mutters. "It's spooky."

<Pose Tracker> Marida Cruz has posed.

         Marida takes a seat, hands folded in her lap as she looks to Mineva with her steely eyes.

         "Though it is untoward of me as a soldier of the Sleeves, we are in private, so I suppose I can express my opinion. Full Frontal is a fool. He is a fool in the same way Char Aznable, Haman Karn, Glemy Toto, and Degwin Zabi were before him. He speaks of liberation for the colonies, but he actually seeks to replace subjugation by Earth with subjugation by Zeon. They all did."

<Pose Tracker> Mineva Lao Zabi has posed.

"... no. Not the same way," Mineva replies. "Not the same way as Char Aznable." She looks up toward the ceiling. "Char's foolishness was..."

She searches for the end of that sentence. It doesn't come.

"I like to think I knew him better, because I saw another side of him, but..." Her gaze falls again, to her gloved hands in her lap. She clutches them gently together. "Maybe none of us really knew him."

"I think Full Frontal's foolishness is in his self-assuredness. He believes himself to be Char Aznable, and an empty vessel for the desires of the Spacenoids... truly believes it. I think he doesn't consider the flaws in his plan because he sees his Side Co-Prosperity Sphere as an inevitability."

She nods to Marida. "But rule under Full Frontal's Neo Zeon would be little better than the Federation. You're right. "

<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

Banagher lights up as Marida speaks her opinion, almost cheering at her expression of individuality. "Miss Marida, it's just fine to express yourself. We won't tell anyone. And I like hearing what you think! I agree, too. People who seek power are always so corrupt. It's... sad. Imagine what they could do, if they really cared about their people."

Quiet for a moment, Banagher looks deeply into Audrey's green eyes. Wondering what Char really was to her -- wondering what her childhood had been like by the Red Comet's side.

"I think... Just because he was different toward others... Doesn't mean what you saw was a lie. Maybe it was closer to his true self than anyone else got." Banagher says, slowly, trying to consolidate his view on Char Aznable with what Audrey experienced.

"Do you want to talk about him, Audrey..? Would that help?" Banagher frowns. "No matter what, Full Frontal can't get his hands on LaPlace's Box. Out of everyone, I think he might be the worst possibility."

<Pose Tracker> Marida Cruz has posed.

         Marida closes her eyes and nods. "The Red Comet has cast a long shadow over the entire Earth Sphere, it seems."

         Marida stays silent for a bit, processing what she had just done. She had spoken her mind...she had a mind to speak? She had thoughts, of course, all human-shaped objects did, but she had usually kept such inconvenient things to herself. Banagher and the Princess, though...they didn't mind her inconvenience. She felt...comfortable.

         She returns to the conversation. "I think the Captain would agree with you, despite his loyalty to our flag."

<Pose Tracker> Mineva Lao Zabi has posed.

"... which puts him in a terrible position," Mineva nods, to to Marida's talk of Captain Zinnerman's loyalty to the Sleeves. "I don't envy the choice he'll have to make."

And she knows it'll be a difficult one, and one that may put them in opposition to each other. Mineva dearly hopes it doesn't come to that.

She nods, lightly, to Banagher. "He was... when I was first talking with Dr. Mass, she asked about my father. She meant my birth father, Dozle Zabi, but... I told her about Char."

"He wanted me to live like a normal girl. Not an aristocrat or a princess. He didn't want me to be like my birth family... maybe his final revenge on them was turning me against them." It's a half-joke. "I learned a lot from him. About history, about..." She lets out a long sigh.

"About what not to be."

<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

"People have always had all kinds of opinions on Char." Banagher says, quietly. With how much he loves Amuro Ray, one can guess what the Unicorn's pilot thinks. "But none of that matters right now. Only what you think, Audrey. Miss Marida and I -- we won't judge you."

"I'm surprised." Banagher says, as Audrey describes Char wanting her to be a normal girl. "I would've thought -- he would want to use you, like everyone else. But he sounds like a good father." Golden eyes are soft. "I don't think there's a chance you'd become like any of them. Char, or your blood family. You're different! You're -- wonderful, and kind!"

Banagher looks to Marida. "I know my father wanted Captain Zinnerman to have the Box, but -- it's like Audrey says. Full Frontal would insist on it." He shakes his head. "I can't give it to anyone. Not until I know what it is."

<Pose Tracker> Marida Cruz has posed.

         "I agree with Banagher. You don't have a drop of that cursed Zabi blood in you, Princess." She stands up before she can even realize, walking over to Mineva and gently laying a hand on her shoulder. An impulse...this was dangerous.

         "A wise decision, Banagher. One must always be as informed as possible in a combat situation."

<Pose Tracker> Mineva Lao Zabi has posed.

Mineva shakes her head. "He never wanted to use me. He did his best to keep me away from it, when he started his war." There are flashes of a young girl, watching the faraway Earth... where Axis is descending.

Flashes of the girl's questions why. The feelings of anguish and betrayal.

"I think he wanted better for me."

The hand on her shoulder surprises her. She looks up, blinking once. "Marida..." she says quietly, smiling softly and placing her hand on Marida's.

She looks down, though. "... I do, though. I carry their legacy and their name."

<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

Marida approaches Audrey, and Bangaher smiles. Feeling his girlfriend's distress, he wants to go to her side too. But seeing Marida choose to reach out like this... That's more important. Banagher attempts to radiate support and affection, smiling at the two women connecting.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't alone when I watched Axis fall -- I don't know how I could've coped with that." Banagher looks upset, then, shaking his head. "Audrey, that's not fair! If you want me to believe I'm not responsible for the Vist legacy, then you have to believe that you're not responsible for the Zabis!"

Banagher clenches his hands in his hoodie pockets. "We're not doomed to be our parents... We can't be."

<Pose Tracker> Marida Cruz has posed.

         We're not doomed to be our parents...

         For Marida, she had no choice in that matter. She had no parents to be doomed to become. Glemy Toto...no. Hell no.

         The closest other would be...the Captain. It was true she looked up to Captain Zinnerman, but...

         Dangerous thoughts, Lieutenant Junior Grade. These are the ones to keep to yourself.

         "The way to avoid the mistakes of the past is to work for a different future. Both of you are doing that magnificently."

<Pose Tracker> Mineva Lao Zabi has posed.

It's different for her, she wants to tell Banagher... but as she tells herself not to, she realizes it's not so different, not that way.

"I probably couldn't have coped, if I hadn't felt what was in that psyco field. Like Full Frontal said... the wishes and desires of the whole Earth Sphere were there." And perhaps the world refused to change... but that doesn't mean it can't.

She nods to Marida. "We may not be doomed to be our parents... but..." She's quiet a moment, thinking. "... I think we'd both agree that we have a duty to refute their legacies."

<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

"Yeah. I can agree with that." Banagher says, quietly, looking down and thinking of endless hands. "I can't let what my family is doing stand. Not just for my own sake, but -- for the entire world."

Banagher sighs, then stands, coming over to sit next to Mineva. He wraps an arm around her shoulders, smiling at Marida. Two women he loves with all his heart. The Unicorn pilot would give anything to keep them safe.

"Miss Marida is right. We're doing all we can, Audrey. Koji says... If we do nothing but train and worry and have nightmares, we'll get worn down to dust. Vist will win. Koji said we have to do dumb teenage stuff. He ordered it." Banagher manages a little smile.

"So maybe... We should go eat some ice cream. Or play hide and seek in the gardens?" Banagher suggests, sweetly. "Leina gave me a lot of games for my birthday. I've been meaning to try Haro Party..."

<Pose Tracker> Marida Cruz has posed.

         "If I may give an opinion again...Ice cream sounds nice." The corners of Miss Marida's mouth raise almost imperceptibly as she gives Mineva's shoulder a gentle squeeze.