2022-09-04: Resolve Shared Anew
- Cast: Koji Kabuto, Sayaka Yumi
- Where: Fujinomiya City - Old Photon Power Laboratory
- Date: U.C. 0096 09 04
- Summary: Koji and Sayaka discuss the dangers manifesting across the Earth Sphere, and share in a resolution: No longer can the Mazinger Team sit idly by.
<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.
The Situation Room in the Old Photon Power Laboratory. It's been a long time since this room lined with computer screens has seen any use, but the dust has been cleared off the central table and several monitors, which are lit up with assortments of images.
The dragon that ripped its way out of the sky in Frontier-3; Generonglee, Gill'yavec, Mecha Trembulor, and other kaiju of the sort designated by NERV as "Shinjo-Type"; Footage from Angel battles taken from Evangelion cameras; and of course, in pride of place on the largest monitor: Radio Brocken, accompanied by a picture-in-picture following the attempts to trace the broadcast.
The current show is depicting Iron Cross soldiers playing pinball; an innocuous enough hobby, until the show cuts inside the machine to show a cartoon depiction of Koji crushed into a ball shape being bounced around inside the machine. The broadcast is muted, of course, but that isn't stopping Koji from staring at it.
His phone is lying on the table in front of some other notes. The last message he sent is still lit up on the screen:
'Sayaka, can you swing by the Old Lab Situation Room when you get off tonight? We haven't talked properly in a long time.'
<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Yumi has posed.
It's been quite a turbulent time for the new Photon Power Labs - with the hijacking of the radio systems by Count Brocken, Sayaka has been preparing for the worst: a direct assault on the Laboratory by Dr. Hell himself, and she's had her staff sufficiently fortify its defenses with whatever resources available. Of course, it wouldn't be the first time the Lab was attacked within these past few months... so Sayaka won't let anyone be hurt this potential time, like Shiro was.
However, with the Laboratory being completely secured for days, with no sign of Dr. Hell, it is a surprisingly slow day. When she finishes her work for the night and reads the text from Koji, she's a bit surprised. She thought he was really busy lately himself. But it's a good opportunity, she thinks. The Old Lab's situation room... just like old times. "A lot has been going on, but I'm off tonight. I'll be right there." comes her response.
It's not a very long drive between the new Power Labs and the old Power Lab, so Sayaka arrives quite shortly after her response, coffee in hand, still wearing her labcoat. "Hey Koji... quite the setup you have here." She greets him casually despite her appearances. It's a bit awkward for her, but she's somewhat relieved she can just talk to him as something more than just a colleague for once. Once she takes a look at the content of the screens, her smile turns back into a frown, however. "We're long past an era of peace. I'm glad we're starting to treat it that way."
<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.
"... Yeah." Koji sighs. "Fighting that big Arm Slave in Nagoya was... I guess it was like waking up, but really slowly. Just this... visceral reminder that just because we decided to be done fighting doesn't mean there aren't people who are willing to use kikaiju-scale threats to get what they want."
"And then..." He waves at the monitors. "The attack on Shiro, the emergence of the new PLANT, this... magic dragon showing up in the Frontier? The world isn't just not as peaceful as we hoped it would be when we made that decision, it's getting worse."
He lets out another breath and looks up at Sayaka, standing and walking towards her. "It... wasn't bad, being a Symbol of Peace, but... Sayaka, I think I'm done pretending everything's going to be fine and letting things pass us by."
<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Yumi has posed.
It was Sayaka's idea to quit piloting in the first place, but the decision had left her quite unhappy as the world began to collapse just as quickly as it did last time. It's not as if Sayaka had been sitting down and doing nothing either; she'd developed the political cunning to successfully maneuver the Power Labs away from Federation aggression and prevent it from strong-arming its way to Japan's power source. But she never let go of the desire to take matters into her own hands.
She places her hand on Koji's shoulder, and lets him vent before asking, but really just saying, "You think it's time to bring Mazinger Z out full time again." She didn't need to ask - she knows Koji, she knows what decision his heart will lead him to, she mostly just wants to confirm it. "I don't plan on defending the Laboratory with just Ichinanas either. I think it's time Aphrodite becomes more than a Symbol of Peace too."
Sayaka glances at the kaiju Generonglee on the screen above. "Even before all this, you were investigating Tsutsujidai a lot, weren't you?" In a vaccum, she absolutely sees why the city would interest Koji, who was always rambling about pocket dimensions and alternate universes. But now, it seems there's even more to it than they thought. "Just.. please be careful is all I ask. Shiro's not a kid anymore, he's just about your equal, and that kaiju still hurt him badly. I heard even the King of Braves was severely injured in a recent battle at Tsutsujidai."
She keeps her arms close to Koji, not quite a full hug, but still the most intimacy they shared in a long time. "We still need you Koji, so just let me trust you won't get yourself beat up, or killed, in a show of recklessness." She wanted to be selfish and say *I* need you, but she leaves it unspoken. "Either way," she adds, "Whatever you choose, I'll be right behind you." She thinks he'll probably need it... but neither of them are complete without the other after all.
<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.
"There's no question in my mind. The people of the OCU, the Earth Sphere, even out in the Colonies, they're all in danger. They all deserve the Castle of Iron to stand over them. Besides... Besides, the truth is, I missed fighting. I feel kinda bad admitting that, after ten years, but..." He smiles sheepishly.
Then Sayaka says she wants to bring Aphrodite out of mothballs and Koji's heart leaps into his mouth. He wants to protest, to insist on anything else besides her going out in that goddamn deathtrap -
But no. That wouldn't be fair. They always fought together, after all, no matter what they were flying. He swallows the selfish impulse and smiles, instead, putting his hand on hers on his shoulder. "On one condition: We bring her up to spec, properly, and together. She deserves to be a real Mazin, after all this time."
Tsutsujidai... He heaves out another breath. "It's not just the whole... dimensional weirdness. It's about the heart of the problem, the person who's at the centre of it all."
"It's a girl. High-schooler. Someone so angry and despairing at the world that she retreated from everything. Someone who... lashed out at everyone around her, pushing them away, without a family to count on, even though she needed that most of all."
He gives a half-smile to Sayaka. "Does that description ring any bells?"
<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Yumi has posed.
Koji misses fighting, that makes sense. He's a great researcher, especially when studying what he loves, but it was obvious to tell there was something missing. It must be why he's been more distant too. "I understand, Koji, it's okay." Sayaka is not judging; she wants to make sure he returns home safely after his battles, but even if he's reckless, he's also reliable. The people are lucky to have a protector like him. And truth be told, she missed this Koji, one who would charge into the fight at any sign of injustice.
Koji is also understandably worried when she brings up Aphrodite. "Of course. This Aphrodite.. she won't be anything like the original except in name. There's a lot we can do with Photon Power that we couldn't ten years ago, and I plan to use it to its utmost." She smiles back. "She'll be a Symbol of Peace *and* War. In days like these, we can't have peace without fighting for it."
A teenage girl who trapped herself in the heart of Tsutsujidai, angry and lonely. When Koji half-implies the similarities, Sayaka responds with "Yeah, you were a real handful back then. But look how far you've come." Sayaka believes that with the right support, anyone can recover, and that girl is no exception.
<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.
"I didn't come this far alone." He squeezes her hand and grins. "She deserves the same chance I got when you stopped me from crushing Shiro all those years ago, and I am gonna fight like hell to make sure she gets it." There it is. That intensity and iron in his grey eyes. That absolute, unswerving determination that saw him through fight after fight.
"A symbol of peace and war, huh? A message that if you try and hurt what's ours, we'll make you regret it?" He thinks for a moment.
"'Areia'. A cult in ancient Greece worshipped Aphrodite in a warrior's aspect, as someone who would fight like hell for what she cared about - side by side with Ares, her lover."
He grins. "Shall I get some coffee going and we can talk shop?"
<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Yumi has posed.
"Now that's the Koji I know," Sayaka grins back just as brightly. Even with Tsutsujidai being so dangerous as it as right now, there's still that spark of hope, and they will seize it however they can.
"Yeah, it's like you always said about Mazinger. The potential to become a god or devil, but in truth, both are needed to protect the world we love." If Aphrodite is to become a true Mazin, it only makes sense to carry on its ideals, with Sayaka's own twist to it.
Koji suggests Aphrodite Areia for the name. "Areia... that's a beautiful name. I can't wait for her to kick ass right alongside Mazinger," she laughs.
Sayaka nods at Koji's suggestion, already beginning to list off the ideas she had prepared for her new machine. "For starters, she'll need wings.. all the modern Mazins have them." Really, this meeting has done wonders for Sayaka's mood; she is happy to be able to chat and bounce ideas with Koji, even if they just vowed to join the battlefield again.