2022-07-14: Shields Against Despair
- Log: 2022-07-14: Shields Against Despair
- Cast: Emilia Eschonbach, Ai Martel, Kallen Kozuki
- Where: Ashford Academy and Surrounding Area, Nagoya, Area 11
- OOC - IC Date: 14 July 0096
- Summary: The knowledge that Getter Robo and the Dinosaur Empire have returned proves too much for one Black Knight, leading to others coming to her aid.
[T-BLK] * Emilia Eschonbach turns on her radio on with a click. She's speaking quietly, but seems to be outside given the yowling of a cat. "I-I-Is wh-wh-wh-what they s-s-said on the. News. T-t-true?" She sounds slightly panicked.
[T-BLK] * Karma Sato speaks up over what could, maybe, perhaps be a siren in the background, "Which news report are we talking about Emilia? The one about that explosion the other day in tokyo 3?"
[T-BLK] Emilia Eschonbach> Th-th-the. The. Dinosaurs.
[T-BLK] Karma Sato> Dinosaurs? Hold on...
[T-BLK] * Karma Sato doesn't speak but the sirens can be heard being suddenly cut off and now the background sound of a sport game and then some talking, "Oh I think found it on the news here, hold on playing catch up."
[T-BLK] Karma Sato> It's kinda hard to believe, but at the moment I can't say its not true. Were you in the area?
[T-BLK] Emilia Eschonbach> I- N-no. I w-w-w-w-wasn't. B-b-b-b-but...
[T-BLK] Emilia Eschonbach> I-it can't. R-r-r-really be th-them. R-r-right?
[T-BLK] Karma Sato> Emilia, going to need you to take a deep breath and count backwards from ten slowly. We live in a world where giant monsters attack normally. Who knows maybe someone just made it look like one of those things. Tomorrow we could find out this was a giant publicity stunt for a movie.
[T-BLK] Ai Martel> Emilia, dear...
[T-BLK] Ai Martel> Go to the faucet and run cold water on your hands. All over--between your fingers, along the backs and palms. Focus on the sensations, Emilia. Tell me how it feels.
[T-BLK] * Emilia Eschonbach seems to snap at Karma. "Sh-shut u-up!" Her voice is full of fear and anger. "Th-th-th-they s-s-said. They s-s-said. S-s-s-omething like... l-like G-G-G-G-" She suddenly falls silent, but her radio is still on. The cat is still yowling.
[T-BLK] Ai Martel> Emilia...
[T-BLK] * Kallen Kozuki can't believe what she's seeing, and yet she has no choice when she's staring at a muted broadcast through the window of an electronics shop. She'd had the radio on for a few minutes... but couldn't bring herself to speak up. "Emilia. Deep breath, and then tell me where you are right now." Distraction. Keep her from slipping into a panic attack... It probably won't be that easy, but she has to try.
[T-BLK] Orpheus Zevon> Hmmm. . .I won't guarantee things, but give me some time. I have a few contacts in NERV who might be able to verify what it was they saw. For now, without panicking it might be in our best interest to start writing up potential emergency evacuation plans from out of Area 11.
[T-BLK] * Emilia Eschonbach seems to finally have someone cut through her distress, a little. "...N-N-N-North of. Th-the stud--ent building." She says. "The. The little a-a-alle-" And then Orpheus speaks up. "E-e-e-e-e-evac-"
[T-BLK] (Emilia Eschonbach) There's a soft thump as Emilia's radio drops to the grass and some rustling before she picks it up. "Y-Y-Y-You... didn't. At. N-New Y-Yark they..."
[T-BLK] Emilia Eschonbach> W-W-W-We need t-to. T-t-to...
[T-BLK] * Kallen Kozuki is going to make her way there. It'll take some time, but... This has just become priority number one. Whatever she'd been doing at this hour can wait. And she doesn't strictly care who sees her sprinting at full tilt the entire way. "Emilia. Focus on our voices. Focus on the present, and the people you're talking to."
[T-BLK] Karma Sato> Is anyone near Emilia?
[T-BLK] Ai Martel> I'm coming.
[T-BLK] Kallen Kozuki> I'm heading her way too. Meet you there.
[T-BLK] Emilia Eschonbach> W-w-w-w-we... we need t-to. K-k-kill t-hthem.
[T-BLK] Emilia Eschonbach> D-d-dinosaurs.. That. That /robot/. Th-th-they shouldn't e-e-e-exist!
[T-BLK] Karma Sato> Emilia, we are the knights of justice, sanctioned by Zero to protect Area 11 from all threats, even them. If they come to our neighborhood we will do what we do.
[T-BLK] Kallen Kozuki> Huh, I agree completely. If anything shows up, me and Guren will put it back in the ground. So just keep breathing steadily. Slow and deep. I promise. It's going to be fine.
[T-BLK] * Ai Martel seems almost relieved at Emilia's shift in attitude. "Yes. Precisely. Be they Saurian, Britannian, or eldritch harbingers of destruction... we shall face them as knights.
[T-BLK] * Emilia Eschonbach sudenly shouts. "Y-You d-don't understand!"
[T-BLK] Karma Sato> Then tell us.
[T-BLK] Emilia Eschonbach> Y-you didn't s-s-s-see them! You d-d-didn't w-w-watch them t-tear y-y-your h-h-home apart! You d-d-d-d-didn't see. You d-didn't see wh-what that thing d-d-d-did!
[T-BLK] (Emilia Eschonbach) Anger starts to turn to sobs. "There w-w-wasn't... M-m-m-m-mom c-couldn't-"
[T-BLK] Ai Martel> Emilia... no. We don't understand. We can't understand. It would be hard for anything we say or do to feel anything but hollow, I'm sure. But... we can hardly stand by and do nothing when you're in such a state.
[T-BLK] Ai Martel> I will protect you. I will make sure this never happens to you again.
[T-BLK] (Emilia Eschonbach) There's a faint sound, and Emilia's radio is disconnected.
[T-BLK] Karma Sato> Well that didn't sound good.
[T-BLK] Ai Martel> I've got her.
[T-BLK] Kallen Kozuki> Okay... good. I'm almost there myself. Glad she's in good hands right now.
[T-BLK] Karma Sato> Thats good to hear, she can't take her revenge if she doesn't get pass this hurdle. I am going to go read more articles about New Yark.
<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.
It's a little after 10PM in Nagoya, and in a little alley between buildings, a young woman is having a meltdown. Emilia's still in uniform- a late night taking care of accounts and trying to organize things and keep Milly from overdoing it right now.
Which led to her seeing the news on the Dinosaur attack.
At this exact second, Emilia is pressing her back against the wall, and talking into her secure comms device. Well. Shouting might be more accurate. "Y-you didn't s-s-s-see them! You d-d-didn't w-w-watch them t-tear y-y-your h-h-home apart! You d-d-d-d-didn't see. You d-didn't see wh-what that thing d-d-d-did!"
Her anger turns into sobs, and she start shaking against the wall. "There w-w-wasn't... M-m-m-m-mom c-couldn't-" Her mouth locks up, and she can't talk. She squeezes the radio so tight she might crush it. The sobs start to wrack her whole body. She knows voices are still coming through the radio, people trying to talk to her. She wants to just collapse.
Why...?
<Pose Tracker> Ai Martel has posed.
A figure in an elegant, old-fashioned dress, silhouetted against the strettlights, drops from the sky near the alley's entrance. She clutches an umbrella in one hand, slowly making her way toward Emilia. Quietly.
"Emilia," she says calmly, quietly, her voice echoed through the girl's comm. "No. We don't understand. We can't understand. It would be hard for anything we say or do to feel anything but hollow, I'm sure. But... we can hardly stand by and do nothing when you're in such a state."
She reaches out to Emilia, silk-gloved hand settling on her shoulder. "I will protect you. I will make sure it never happens to you again." The woman pulls Emmy in close against her, reaching around to disconnect her radio. "I've got her," she reports, before focusing on the young woman, stroking her hair gently.
<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.
A redhead sprinting down streets in the middle of the night is... uncommon, to say the least. Even moreso one bold enough to have a knife on her person. She never did make it to her destination tonight, but... something more important has come up. She couldn't take the rooftops like the elegant lady who arrives ahead of her. One of the biggest reasons she's several minutes later.
But soon enough her anxious footsteps reach the two of them. "We'll make sure everyone is ready too. I promise." She had time enough to grasp that on her way here. That everyone being self-assured just made it worse. So... promising they'll take it seriously and prepare, that's... definitely at least a BETTER approach. If not a good one, still. "But for now... we've both got you. You're safe."
Ai Martel
You see a player who is too experienced to have any excuse for not having a description.
She is awake, but has been staring off into space for 28 minutes.
<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.
Emmy's instinct is to back away- but she's already against the wall. She's trembling and sobbing, scared and angry and feeling helpless in a way she hasn't since coming to Ashford... since that day six years ago. She looks up at Ai, as she approaches, and when she is pulled in-
She doesn't fight it. Whether that's the influence of others, how overwhelmed she is, or another factor. Emmy looks up into Ai's green eyes, the silk glove on her shoulder. The radio is turned off, and Emmy's grip loosens to the point of dropping it. Ai's tone, her words-
Why are people only wanting to protect her now? Milly, Ai..
Kallen's voice cuts through too. Emmy looks over to her. Her own big green eyes are welling with tears.
She's safe. She's going to be protected. Can either of these be true? When they're so close, across the border?
Quietly, Emilia practically crumples against Ai. She's shaking badly now. Despite the words, the girl is clearly not okay.
<Pose Tracker> Ai Martel has posed.
Ai smiles just a little, relieved to see Kallen's arrival. She cradles Emmy's head, and sighs softly. "You'll be okay," she murmurs, slipping her parasol into a loop along the waist of her dress. "Things are scary right now. I know you feel like this is inescapable, but... there is a way out. There is *always* a way out." Her voice is quiet and calm. Intimate.
She pauses a moment. "... I believe I spotted a cafe, just down the block from here. They're still open--perhaps a warm drink would help some?" she offers.
<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.
Kallen does have to wonder why she keeps the parasol around, but that's... a mystery for another night perhaps. There's a moment where she considers, whether or not she should let Milly know about this. She'll wait for now, ask Emmy later if she wants that. Sure, it would be hard to explain why they're out at this hour, but she'd deal with it, if the extra set of hands could help.
For the moment, she slips in to the opposite side from Ai, to take one hand and offer it a reassuring squeeze. "If you need to let out the tears, that's okay. You've got our shoulders. I'll stay with you all night, if it helps." It's not like she's being waited on at home anyway. Nobody's going to miss her if she stays out with a friend.
<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.
It's all honestly... a lot.
She knows she has friends now. People who will protect her. Who will care for her.
But it means she's still helpless. Still the useless weak child Grandfather told her she was. She can't stand on her own.
She takes Kallen's hand despite her thoughts. She wants that support so badly. That support she didn't had.
Emmy gives a tiny nod at Ai's suggestion. Maybe she just doesn't want to be in the dark right now.
<Pose Tracker> Ai Martel has posed.
Ai leads the other two to the cafe--just around the corner, in fact--at whatever pace Emmy is comfortable with. She insists on buying for everyone,
<Pose Tracker> Ai Martel has posed.
Ai leads the other two to the cafe--just around the corner, in fact--at whatever pace Emmy is comfortable with. The shop is all but empty at this hour, besides the late-shift staff and a single determined-looking person on a laptop off in the corner. It's quite quiet.
She insists on buying for all three of them, of course. "I think some hot tea or cocoa might be in order for you, Emilia... and perhaps some coffee for you and I?" she asks Kallen, a small but warm smile on her lips.
Once she's ascertained what they want, she's off to the counter to order--and back not a minute later with a tray of drinks. She sets one each in front of the other two, sitting beside Emmy and taking a sip. She's quiet, now.
<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.
Normally she doesn't really go for coffee. But right now it can only help. "Coffee is fine. A gentler type, if you don't mind?" The strain of what she did to get to Emmy so quickly from honestly a pretty fair distance is also catching up now. She has to wheeze out a couple words between breaths.
When Ai returns with the drinks, she takes an experimental sip. She's still got her eyes glued to Emmy though. Watching to see if she seems to be calming down, or... "Surprised the coffee is good at this hour." Maybe some casual, unrelated small talk will help.
<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.
Emmy is easily led- but she's not letting go of anyone, either. Indeed she tries to pull Kallen closer as they walk. Even when they are in the cafe, she seems reluctant to let Ai go and order- but she does, even if she's unable to make a choice. When a hot cocoa is placed in front of her it means taking her hand away from Kallen's to drink it, and that takes a few moments.
She takes a sip of the cocoa, and is once again reminded of a treat that was only ever for Christmas with her mother. Putting the cup down, she take her locket and shielding it with both hands. She thinks about opening it- but she can't. Not tonight.
It's another few sad, wordless moments, Kallen's comment on Coffee falling on deaf ears. She opens her mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. She doesn't know what to say. Her mouth closes, and she picks up the hot cocoa again. Another sip. And then, practically a whisper: "W-why?"
<Pose Tracker> Ai Martel has posed.
Ai gives Kallen a slightly concerned look, wondering just how far she ran. "I suppose we missed the last rush. Must have put on a new pot not long before now," she observes to Kallen. Likely for people taking refuge from the mechasaur, she doesn't add.
She takes a drink, looking at Emmy with a question in her eyebrows. "Why what?" After a moment's pause, she answers, "If you mean why are we helping you..." She looks into her mug. "Well. We all have moments when we need others. Lost, scared... utterly alone. At times like that... we need a hand extended. Someone to pull us out of the pit we've fallen into."
<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.
Thankfully Kallen has two hands. So even when she's drinking, one hand stays with Emmy. Shifted to touch her arm if need be. The question asked is... vague. She can't answer based on just that. She also barely heard it, largely thanks to how close the two of them are at the moment. "...Why what?" Is she asking why this all happened? Why they came to help her? Why... any number of whys, really.
Ai's look her way is... curious, at least. Truthfully she isn't sure how far she actually ran. Though the answer is surprisingly far, for the time she made it in. Far enough to be concerning. "That makes sense. I'm not in a habit of visiting cafes this late." Especially given what she's usually been up to at this hour. And how dangerous that would be.
<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.
Ai asks if Emmy's asking why they're helping her, and Emmy shakes her head. The reassurance is appreciated but... she's starting to understand now. Lots of people who see someone suffering want to help them.
She looks over to Kallen, and tries to think of how to communicate it. She can't reopen the news article. It's too much. So she takes another few long sips of her cocoa, some fluffy melted marshmallow sticking on the tip of her nose from an uncareful drink.
"Th-th-th-them. Why. Th-them?"
<Pose Tracker> Ai Martel has posed.
Ai pauses a moment at that question, taking a long drink while she gathers her thoughts. "Mm. In my trade... I've learned that past, for better or worse, rarely stays buried," she finally replies.
"Old specters rise from their graves to haunt once again. But I've also learned..." She fetches a napkin from the small stack that came with their drinks, and reaches out to wipe the bit of marshmallow from her nose. "That things rarely go the same way the second time round."
<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.
Right, the dinosaur monsters. Of course... Is there even a good answer there, as to 'why'? There's not one she can give, certainly not on short notice. So... she'll have to go for shifting the focus and attention. And she spots the perfect target! The index finger of her free hand pokes out, tapping the end of her closest friend's nose. She's going for the marshmallow bit the same time as Ai though, so it may cause a slight... crash. She'd intended to have the little melted bit find its way back to Emmy's mouth, but fate it seems, has its own plan.
<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.
The combined attempts of Ai and Kallen go an odd route- what was supposed to be either cleaning or saving marshmallow becomes a secret forbidden technique:
The Legendary Double Boop
Emmy blinks at the moment, staring at the fingers on her nose- one with a napkin- and she seems utterly surprised for a few beats, then...r
Giggles, despite herself. Despite everything. The moment is just too absurd.
It's not a long one, or loud one, but fon a few moments Emmy has a smile on her face, long enough to break the despair circuit in her brain for now.
And just enough is still enough.