2023-04-11: Projection
- Cast: Rita Bernal, Lucine Azul, Liam 7-020, Koji Kabuto, Sayaka Yumi, LiSA
- Where: The Photon Power Labs
- Date: U.C. 0097 04 11
- Summary: Another person is brought into the secret of the Phenex's new location, as Koji Kabuto works his near-magic to bring Rita Bernal physical form. Overwhelmed with love she believes she doesn't deserve, the pilot of the Phenex bares her heart.
<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.
Inside a top-secret hang inside the Photon Power Lab, a shattered miracle lays prone. Where before she was simply arranged with her broken armor around her, now she is halfway disassembled -- her chest piece removed from her limbs and pulled to an adjacent workspace. From there, the Phenex is broken down further, armor delicately pulled away to reveal an orb of psychoframe encompassing the cockpit.
Now that it can be viewed fully, the level of damage is... discouraging. The fact that it hasn't broken apart fully is a miracle in and of itself. Near the apex of the blue panels, what appears to be fire damage scorches across the orb. Some pieces are all-but melted. Spiderweb cracks scatter across the psychoframe.
But all is not lost. Clear signs of work being put into the repair of the Phenex can be seen every bit as clearly as the damage. And, to those with hearts particularly connected to the miraculous...
A girl awaits, perched atop the firmly-shut cockpit. She is far smaller than the last time Lucine and Liam saw her -- instead of her mid twenties, she appears to be in her mid teens. A blue Federation uniform covers her body (those who know their history will recognize it for what it is: the colors and markings of the Titans). And that is where normalcy ends.
Rita Bernal is still burning. The flames lick up from her hair, burning it to ash again and again. Her uniform is charred and scorched, embroidery glowing like embers. She doesn't appear to have legs at all, her military pants ending in a scorched hemline just below where her knees should be. Worst of all, her face is covered in charred cracks, and endless, fiery tears trail down her cheeks.
Where her eyes were once such a lovely green, now they're empty white. No pupils or irises. Dead, empty space.
Her head is lowered, and she can be 'heard' sniffling by those sensitive to such things. Touching the psychoframe like this gives her the strength to stay manifested, but she's ghostly, near entirely transparent.
It's okay. They're working on things now. I'm sure it won't be too much longer. Then you can get the real me back, and I'll heal you.
She's talking to the Phenex. The machine makes no sign of understanding or acknowledgment.
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
"... Just... as long as they know that I can only do so much, if Rita doesn't want to talk back..." Despite following in after Liam, Lucine has some misgivings. While she has a bond with Rita, and indeed, was willing to defend the Phenex with her friends, she's not a Newtype the level of someone like Kamille, Leina, or Banagher. Perhaps, she wonders, it's all the illusion that sits at the heart of how she was raised, with a foot in two worlds.
Also, imposter syndrome is very, very powerful.
The other part of this is that coming here is admitting to being a Newtype, which, while an open secret in some circles, still makes Lucine instinctually tense when she is undeniably showing her status. But, if Liam trusts these people, and she's fought alongside them enough to have some confirmation herself of them being who they say they are, the gardener is willing to handwave that secrecy for the sake of helping Rita.
If Lucine even can. Dressed in her casual clothing with maybe some nondescript coat or another as needed, Lucine doesn't show herself to be of any faction, and may not seem to know any proper protocol involved.
One look at Rita in the middle of that burning, Lucine breaks into a jog up to what others might see as an empty, broken psychoframe, as if some pilot was inside- no, on top, since her head is angled upwards, towards empty air. "Rita, Rita, can you hear me?" Her shoes delicately step through the pieces; Lucine knows enough not to touch or disturb any of the sensitive equipment, but the expression on her face makes it clear that, whatever she sees, she's not ready to try to get too close. "... Is it... okay to get closer?" She's asking the air, not any of the Photon Power Lab staff, or Liam.
She hasn't realized yet that there may be only one or two people here who can see as she sees.
<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.
If this were the Photon Power Lab's first brush with a mobile suit utilising psycoframe in its construction, the project of repairing the Phenex would seem nigh-impossible.
As it is, thanks to the development of the Hi-Nu Gundam at the Lab's expertise, it is a task Koji would describe as 'merely' incredibly challenging - a painstaking process involving not just welding microfissures back into something resembling whole, but in replacing the 'cell-like' structure of the quantum-brainwave-amplifying material itself to fill those cracks.
To that end, an unusual vehicle has been commandeered from the rest of the Research Institute's Experimental Development department - an OCU missile tank that would seem otherwise ordinary except for the fact that its treads have been replaced with a quadrupedal mech chassis, and a grilled energy emitter built into the vehicle's ventral chassis, beaming some kind of structure into being underneath it.
The needs of this project call for Nossori and Sewashi's Photonic Printer Rig, but there's no sign of the Research Institute's two most-tenured scientists. Instead, Koji is operating the machine, carefully controlling the blueprint it's slowly extruding.
Eventually, the hum of the emitter and the clear blue light fades away, leaving what looks like a crystal-topped pad a human could stand on, a control panel standing at about waist-height above the pad.
Koji deploys the Rig's boarding ladder and shimmies down it, heading over to his latest invention and folding it up so he can carry it over to the Phenex, where he starts climbing up to look for some kind of interface port to the psycoframe for the cables he's carrying. "Lisa," he calls down to the powder-blue-haired artificial teenager, "Could you hook that projector up to the generator so we can make sure it's got power?"
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
Something hit Mt. Fuji after the battle at Palau. Liam is one of a handful who are privy to what--/who/--it was. He hadn't tried to speak with Rita prior to this because he /couldn't/. He's no Newtype, and he doesn't know how much control Rita can exert over the corporeal right now. He doesn't want her to strain herself when she's survived the equivalent of a life-threatening wound.
Liam hasn't left Lucine's side since before they arrived. He helped her get into the lab--he stated she was an outside consultant, and that he had the Lab's approval. (Both are true, of course.) But as she approaches the Phenex, he hangs back, eyes widening in horror as he sees the full extent of the damage. He doesn't know anything about Psychoframes, but this one is unquestionably damaged. It's telling that the machine Koji's operating--/itself/ a wonder of technology--only gets glanced at, until it finishes its extrusion.
"Koji," Liam says. "We're here. Lucine's... initiating contact." He turns to the body of the Phenex, then, specifically what Lucine's looking at.
"We're here, Rita. I'm sorry it took so long. You're in good hands."
<Pose Tracker> LiSA has posed.
LiSA and Rita are both babies! However, they are both extremely intelligent babies, and after a day or two, Rita had been asked what she would like to listen to. LiSA herself doesn't mind reading out loud, for time-worn fantasy novels that Sayaka or Koji had; or even if she wants some time to herself, LiSA makes herself scarce, but leaves a tuned radio to a popular channel.
Rita Bernal is burning, but it is not because of the lack of care of the Kabuto-Yumi family.
As close as possible to Rita without interfering with the Work, LiSA has herself set up. She's got her own twirling stool set in front of a portable desk where the radio is a perched. A computer's been set up for her to be able to rapidly interface with any manuals or data that Koji or Sayaka had given her via USB - not connected to a network, of course. The crash is not a secret. Rita is. When she gets called for, she looks up.
"Yes, Master!"
With that, she takes the cord system and tugs it off to the generator, plugging it in carefully, as to not unplug the nine dozen other things charging off of it, pausing as the visitors drift past her. "We've got company!" She calls out, giving the two a friendly enough nod.
<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Yumi has posed.
It's been some time since the Phenex made Mt. Fuji her crash-landing zone. Sayaka still isn't sure why it was here, or if it was even intentional at all... maybe the Phenex was just lucky more than anything that it was here.
Because the Photon Power Labs will never turn away someone in need. Even if it requires, once again, putting their hands to working with the Mazin that is psycoframe.
Which Koji currently occupies himself with, putting his hopes on their latest project as he always does. It truly is ingenious... only scientists from the Photon Power Labs could possibly think of using Photon /Barrier/ technology as a means of opening up communication.
Liam and Lucine make their arrival, as they expected. "Welcome, Liam, Lucine." Sayaka bows, and greets their guests as Koji and LiSA get the generator ready. "You can imagine why we made the decision to report the crash as mere fallen debris." She crosses her arms, as the two of them seem hesitant to approach the Phenex. "Still.. your expertise is appreciated. And your friend is in safe hands as she can be."
<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.
LiSA's stories and music are definitely making a difference. Rita was never allowed these things in life, so she isn't entirely sure how to react -- but while LiSA reads, there's a small smile on the Newtype spirit's scorched face. As Koji and LiSA work, Rita sits quietly, occasionally humming along with the radio.
It seems even the dead know Sheryl Nome's discography.
At the brush of Lucine and Liam's souls, Rita sits up a little straighter, glancing up in the direction the two will approach from. Guilt crosses her face, and she wraps her arms around herself. Will they be angry with her..?
Watching Lucine run to her, Rita's empty eyes blink in surprise, then a wobbly smile. All at once, she breaks into a sob.
I--I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, it was the only thing I could do, I didn't mean to-- I promise I didn't mean to. It was to heavy a burden to have placed on the heroes of the living. I'm so sorry...
Keeping one hand pressed to the exposed psychoframe, Rita slides down, floating just in front of Lucine. Her free arm half extends, then pulls back. She wants a hug, but doesn't feel right asking for one. Not after Lucine had to see her berserk.
Liam only echoes Lucine's kindness and care, and Rita covers her face with her hand, sobbing more loudly. Flare-like tears course down her cheeks.
I missed you... I'm sorry, I don't deserve... All this time, I was just--
She shakes her head fervently.
I've failed. The path is lost. I can't find it the way I am now. It's my fault, it's all my fault.
Rita has endured thanks to the care of the PPL family, if not in good spirits, at least stable ones. In particular, Rita has responded well to Sayaka, hovering near her whenever the woman visits. But seeing Lucine and Liam's care is overwhelming in both good and bad ways. Her childish form hovers in midair and cries, and cries.
I w--was only supposed to have to fight one of them. Not three...
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
Seeing a fellow teenager like Lisa does make Lucine relax a little, as does Sayaka. Then, the former responds to Koji, and--
"...." Yellow eyes widen, trailing from Lisa to the confident Koji. Her lips mouth an echo of the word as if to confirm that it wasn't misheard. M.... master?
Sayaka presents a nice way to divert from that train of thought. She nods. "... I completely understand... there would be many forces at your doorstep the moment anyone suspects the Phenex is here." Perhaps that's why it's better that she's the one who was called. Banagher is the pilot of the Unicorn, there would be eyes on Leina's movements most likely, and Kamille... he's a doctor whose skills make him invaluable.
Still. 'Expertise'? Lucine's gaze drifts downwards. "... I'll... do my best, Dr. Yumi."
Rita's apologies echo over their connection, as does visions of Hikari's craft being gripped in the hands of the Phenex.
How did Rita do all that? Why did Rita begin to act so strangely?
Tears begin to mark Lucine's own cheeks. "I don't understand everything that happened, but... I'm just glad I'm able to talk with you." When Rita extends that arm, Lucine lets go of her misgivings, reaching out both arms to take her into a hug, if Rita allows. "... You're on fire right now, so... I wasn't sure if it was safe."
She hugs Rita for as long as Rita needs, even if it may create an awkward silence, but--
This, too, is part of the process, isn't it? "You took so much on your own shoulders, Rita... but... I believe them. You're in good hands here, so... you can heal. And also, since I'm here... you can tell me what you want me to tell them. ... I'll do my best, as the, ah, 'expert', here." She smiles at that bit of awkward humor. "Will that be okay, Rita?"
<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.
As LiSA plugs his new project into the generator, Koji throws her a thumbs-up, nodding to Liam and Lucine, and carefully attaches the electrodes of the cables he's carrying to critical spots on the Phenex's psycoframe, before sliding down the chassis of the damaged Gundam and walking over to the device.
Oh. Lucina heard LiSA say that, huh. He shoots the girl a look. "I'm starting to think you're doing that on purpose when we have company." Then he clears his throat and gets back to it.
"Calibrating contact sensation feedback for a technology that was supposed to simply repel force was really tricky," he says to the assembled, switching on the control panel and activating the projector. "Prototypes on top of prototypes."
He offers up a brief sigh to the gods. "Well. Here goes nothing. Photon Power Research Institute Holopresence Projector live field test Zero-Zero-Point-One. Rita, if you have access to the projector, ping me on the heads-up display."
He's vaguely aware of the presence of the spirit within the Phenex's psycoframe right now - like something glimpsed in the corner of his mind's eye - but his focus on this work means he can't really hear her right now.
He knows she can hear him, though. "Honestly getting the Scarlet Field projector system precise enough to be able to create shapes this small and complex was a project that otherwise would have taken... I don't know. Years, maybe?" He glances over at Sayaka for her second opinion. "I'm glad we've got such a capable mind to parallel process the work." He grins over to LiSA with that.
"I'll handle the scalar calibration, Rita. If the psycommu cables work, you should have precise control over the shape you project."
"Shield your eyes, everyone. Initialising in three. Two. One." He presses the obligatory big red button, and the room is brightly lit by a violet burst before fading to a slight tint, the scattering of uniquely-frequenced photons bouncing make to the projector's receivers to create a virtual sculpture of the hangar within its digital architecture.
"Take your time, Rita. There are speakers in the rig, too."
He doesn't know how strenuous this is going to be for Rita, but if it makes communicating with her any easier...
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
Liam has encountered LiSA in passing, and thought she was an intern at first. Then he overheard her referring to Dr. Kabuto as 'Master', and things got strange. Things got even /stranger/ when Koji and Sayaka told him the truth of LiSA's origins. But looking at her here, it's easy to assume that she's a human.
The cyborg gives LiSA a nod back. "We'll stay out of your way," he says. "Primary objective is to ensure the patient remains calm and stable."
"You've got this, Lu," Liam says, under his breath. The pulse of /faith/ resonates through their bond. His brow furrows, and he glances at the radio; he heard /something/, but isn't sure where it was coming from. "...'on fire...?'" Liam says--
Then the blur appears. It starts to resolve in Liam's mind's eye, and he shakes his head, and stares. He recognizes the shape of the face, and that shade of blue. "...Rita...?" he breathes. She is every bit as hurt as the Phenex. "I can see you. Whatever you're doing--" A pause. "...'supposed to fight only one of them'?"
And then Koji gives the order to cover his eyes. Liam does so, turning away for good measure. He doesn't open them until the all-clear.
<Pose Tracker> LiSA has posed.
"... You are my Master, though! I have been reading, though, about the phrases like 'terms of endearment', but I do not think those would be necessarily correct for our relationship! I am sort of like your intern, but I do not think calling you Mister or Doctor Kabuto would be any better, even if it is technically correct!" A pause, before LiSA plows right into the conversation.
"Friends, though, perhaps would be too loose? There is also the familial sort of reference, like parents, cousins. Perhaps too familiar? Though Tetsuya and Jun fulfil the understanding of the definition of an 'aunt' and 'uncle' as I read it."
At the order to close their eyes, she does so, and covers them with both of her hands.
Then, she adds on, "I feel it is the need that has driven us to be so successful with the Scarlet Field system; and I am glad we can use it for good reason." She glances at Sayaka, and smiles. "Please help us be successful with her care!" She adds on.
<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Yumi has posed.
Overhearing the term master leads to Sayaka's already crossed arms, to further tighten. She's about to say that they /must/ have misheard, but of course LiSA is apt to double down. "You don't call me anything like that, though." Sayaka considers. "Not that I'm asking you to!" She waves a hand out.
"Precisely." Sayaka nods, at Lucine's suspicions. "We don't regret sheltering the Unicorn.. but we'll do anything we can to avoid a similar attack to the Vist Foundation's." She does notice Lucine isn't quite confident about her words of faith in her. But even as the girl looks down, she just says "Thank you, Lucine."
And then it's time. Koji comments on how it would've taken years to tune the Scarlet Field like this and Sayaka nods, both at Koji and LiSA's statements. "Hard to believe it's coming out of mothballs like this. But I'm glad too." She smiles.
Her eyes snap shut at the warning, and just like that, a miracle's come true - they've got a means of communication with the Phenex and its pilot. Truthfully, Sayaka's developed a liking in much a similar way she has to LiSA. "Hello, Rita. How are you feeling?" She starts, assessing that before anything else.
<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.
The guilt on Rita's face increases, but she throws herself into the 'hug' with Lucine. She's intangible. Lucine will only feel heated air pressing against her. But to Rita, it's real, and so comforting. Burying her face in Lucine's shoulder, she trembles, believing with all her strength in the arms around her spiritual form.
The distress grows from the teenaged-Rita. For a moment, the fire consumes all of her hair, exposing her head entirely. Surgical scars, freshly healed, take up an alarming amount of space. Another moment passes, and the flame takes yet more from her, destroying the sleeves of her uniform. Horrible scars line her arms, up and down.
Perhaps only Liam would know, but this is clearly more scarring than is necessary for surgical enhancement. This was /exploration/. Opening up a child again and again to search for the source of her otherworldly strength.
Before Rita can say anything in reply, Koji finishes his work. With a grateful look up at Lucine, she floats over toward the complicated machine.
With one hand still touching the psychoframe, Rita furrows her brow, focusing. She's never been very good with technology, aside from the Phenex. After a few quiet moments, she smiles, and just as Koji requested, a ping appears.
The shape I project...
This is a surprisingly serious decision. Rita doesn't feel worthy of her previous form anymore -- the white sundress and idealized adulthood. But she doesn't want to wear the garb of the Titans, either. Maybe...
Out of habit more than necessity, Rita reaches a hand toward the projector. Brilliant violet light flares, then fades, and...
A young woman stands, blinking, looking at herself. Once more, she appears to be in her mid-20s. Blonde hair is cropped short and pulled back into a ponytail. A normal suit covers her body -- for those who have seen Banagher pilot the Unicorn, it's very similar. White with linear blue decorations, designed to mimic the Phenex's psychoframe.
Her hand brushes against her side, and she... feels it. Felt it. A gasp, and the hard-light spirit brings her hands together, touching her fingertips. It's almost overwhelming. Feeling her skin light up with sensation again...
Despite everything, the burning spectre lingers behind the hologram. She slowly floats backwards and sits atop the Phenex. One hand extended, she maintains the connection with the projector.
"Oh." Her voice echoes from the speakers. "I'm not dreaming."
On the nape of her neck, the same scars her younger self bears can be seen, accompanied by newer incision marks. A few of them are angry red, unhealed.
Gloved hands clench into fists, then unclench, coming up to press against her face. A breath, then a few tears trickle down her cheeks -- blessedly made of saline, not fire.
Everyone present gets a longing look, her hands slowly lowering from her face. She wants to embrace each and every one of them, but she holds herself back, staying perfectly still. Shoulders square with military precision.
"My name is Rita Bernal. I'm... feeling. Feeling my hands against each other." She begins, that sweet, breathy voice finally free of ash. "I am the pilot of the Phenex. This is my true self. I don't deserve... everything I've been given. I haven't been honest with you."
Rita, having named herself, takes a step toward the Phenex. Lovingly, she places a hand on the machine's armor, slowly laying her head down to press against the Gundam.
"This is a very long story. But I think you deserve to know." Rita says, turning back to the group. "Before you decide to use any more resources on me."
"When I was seven, I had a vision... Not only of Operation British, but many years in the future. A path to follow, to prevent a great disaster. One that would destroy the Earthsphere entirely, a hundred times worse than Axis would've been."
"I walked the path. No matter how horrible it became. I did everything right. I ascended," There's an odd weight on that word. It's a pretty way of saying something very, very horrible. "Within the Phenex. And once I did, I saw the full expanse of Possibility. And I decided to try and... change things."
Brilliant green eyes shut. "For a while, it was going well. But now..."
Arms wrap around her body. "The Neo Zeongs cannot exist. They'll destroy this world. Everything I've done has been for..." She trails off.
"I needed my sisters. No matter how much they suffer. I needed..." A breath, and then a look toward Lucine and Liam. "An army. To fight the monster."
"I tried to be the ideal person for everyone I met. A friend, a confidant... A goddess. Anything. Everything. So people would love me. So people would fight by my side. To save." A pause, and those green eyes close. "Whatever it takes."
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
While Liam knows some background for LiSA's behavior, Lucine doesn't. However, the good-natured back and forth between Koji and Sayaka causes Lucine to slowly smile. ".... Ah, mister, or, sir?' she quietly suggests over her shoulder, looking towards LiSA.
It does help that Sayaka, being a confident woman scientist, does remind Lucine of her own mother, a biologist who is worlds away. It's why Lucine perks up slightly, as Sayaka gives her thanks. "... Thank you for being there for Banagher, and Rita."
Even moments after Liam said things in such a clinical way, he said his nickname for Lucine to her, under his breath. She turns her head up towards him with a grin.
It's because of Liam, however, that Lucine understands a little of just what those scars on Rita's body entail. "... Rita..." Even if it's heated air, Lucine adjusts herself to try to hold onto it, as if she was just as valuable a thing to hold onto as the orb Rita keeps touching.
Koji comes in, ready to operate some sort of device, and Lucine blinks, but nots stepping away and shielding her eyes, for as long as Rita needs to form herself.
Opening her eyes, Lucine breathes, and tilts her dead. "... I think... it worked, Dr. Kabuto..." It's a Rita, who can feel, and register feeling. Koji had vaguely indicated LiSA was a part of that effort, deepening the mystery behind her.
For now, a bigger mystery lies behind Rita, and who she is. Her vision, her plan, her wish for...
.... .... An army?
Was the person that came to Lucine in her dreams merely a projection? A lie? A costume, to conceal herself? Lucine could be lied to, very easily, but she never thought she could be lied to so easily in the world of the mind. Still, Rita took interest in her and Liam's relationship, even if her not getting involved would have still ended up with Lucine being in Rita's corner. And the way she reached out to Lucine just now... that couldn't have been a lie.
And maybe, all of these things could be true.
Lucine bows her head thoughtfully, closing her eyes. "... It sounds like... a conflict of the self. There... is the person you were and still are, to some degree.. the person you became to reach your goals, and.... the person you feel you must become, in order to confront this new complication." She opens her eyes, looking towards the burnt Rita, rather than the helpful projection. "I don't believe that the person I saw in my dreams was just a mask. That was a part of you, and maybe you came to me because you needed an ally, and wanted to make sure I felt comfortable with you.... but... I think you also wanted friends." The clarity of her tone begins to fade. "Does any of this... sound right? It just... doesn't sound like you, to say you want an army. That feels too much like..."
Like the sort of following Full Frontal needed. Was this the reason Angelo acted the way he did, towards her? Aside from the fact that Angelo acted that way towards everyone, of course.
She doesn't finish her sentence. "... No, it's not like that, entirely. Otherwise you wouldn't feel and act the way you're doing, right now, or needed someone to hug you. ... Ah, that.... that's the part of Rita I don't want to disappear."
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
The flame reveals parts of Rita she never showed to Liam until now. His eyes widen as he takes in the sheer extent of her scars. His hands clench. BioNet left a thorough record of their torments on his skin--the incisions they made to install solid-form hardware, the scar left by the port they used to give him regular injections. The biopsy scars dotting his whole body. The marks left by cuts, broken bones, and surgeries to remove a few aberrant growths made by the nanomachines.
His intuition was right. Rita is more like him than he could've imagined.
When the light fades, Rita's new avatar stands in the room. Liam falls silent, allowing Rita a moment to adjust to the projection--a moment where he turns to Koji, his face lighting up with a grateful smile. Rita speaks. A path, Liam thinks. She always seems to think in terms of /what must be/. But even then, she couldn't completely hide her fear from Liam, could she?
If nothing else, his own experiences are evidence for how she /really/ felt.
"You died inside the Phenex," Liam says, his voice tight. "You left your body. /Something/. And it felt so /worth it/ to be free, but--you weren't, were you?" He steps aside, and looks at Lucine. Beneath the surface, his emotions are a mix of relief and concern, satisfaction and frustration. But that one note--concern for Rita, and for Lucine--runs through it.
"You had to be a Goddess," Liam says. "Who would have faith in some escaped lab rat?"
<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.
"In fairness, 'Head of Experimental Development' doesn't roll off the tongue nearly as smoothly," Koji jokes to Sayaka. "Not like 'Director'. ... Director." He grins broadly at her.
It worked! If this were a less serious situation Koji would pump a fist in celebration, but... Rita has something to say, so he confines his exultation to his own thoughts. The veteran leans carefully on the console of the projector, monitoring the feedback he's getting from Rita's projection - system stresses, how well the contact feedback is working - as he listens to her explanation.
"To carry a secret like that for eighteen years..." He grunts. "Is that what you meant when you said it was your fault the Banshee's getting stronger? Because you were trying to change things?"
There's a gap between 'to save' and 'whatever it takes'. Koji squints a little, thinking.
"... The full expanse... but perhaps not every point of light in the firmament," he points out, thoughtfully. "The kind of consciousness needed to be able to consider every single potential future at once... I'm not sure a human mind could ever fully grasp it, Newtype or not. After all - we're only at the cusp of discovering their true potential."
And we keep pointing it at weaponisation, he thinks to himself with a frown.
<Pose Tracker> LiSA has posed.
Most of Rita's conversation flies over LiSA's head. While intelligent, there are some things she's just still learning, and the history of the planet is not too consequential of her, at least yet. As things seem to be running OK, she slips her way over to her computer, tapping at her upper left arm, revealing part of her machine percentage as she plugs in to the system.
Softly, she murmurs, "Yet what can we make with our hands, and protect it with our hearts, to keep it away from those who would use it for evil?"
Truly, god or devil.
<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Yumi has posed.
"Careful, or I'll start calling you that again, Head of Experimental Doctor Koji Kabuto." She teases. "No, you're not wrong. 'Director' is a title I'm quite proud of, Koji."
Her smile fades at Rita's true appearance is revealed, with scars and all. Despite Rita's words, Sayaka doesn't feel deceived - doesn't feel her decision to help came from false pretenses.
"Much like this world we live in, you're imperfect." Sayaka agrees. "But whatever you may be, your possibility brought you here."
"You've been through far too much. And you've taken on far too much responsibility, Rita. But as long as you're here, at the Photon Power Labs... we'll keep grasping for a bright future the best we can." She asserts.
<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.
Lucine's thoughtful words earn Rita's attention, her still body turned entirely toward the other woman. "I've... split myself apart so many times. All there's ever been is the path. I haven't been a person in a very long time."
Both versions of Rita watch Lucine attentively, mirrored longing on their faces. The spirit, the projection -- the two in utter harmony.
"Lucine..." Rita's eyes fill with tears again, and she smiles, so widely her eyes squish shut. "I don't want to disappear either. No matter what my real self is, I like being with you. I don't know what else is true, but that part is."
Liam's distress broadcasts into Rita's soul, and she seems to realize her spirit's state for the first time. With so much effort going toward maintaining her avatar, she can't expend any to re-summon her hair or sleeves. Hunching in on herself, she tries to disguise as many of her scars as she can, not wanting to distress Liam.
"Yes." Is the simple reply to Liam's theory about Rita's death. "I had waited so long. I burned myself into her psychoframe. The Phenex saved me, and we escaped together. I--"
And it felt so /worth it/ to be free, but--you weren't, were you?
This line of thinking is one Rita has heard before. Her gaze goes faraway, more tears gathering in her eyes. The spirit lowers her head.
"No." She knits her hands together, soothing herself with the simple act of physical contact. "I haven't been free since I was seven. And I won't be, until the monster is gone. Then..."
Rita sighs softly, a weary smile on her face. "Then I'm going far away. I won't hurt anyone ever again."
Liam's own hurt echoes through his words. Rita looks at him with such gentle, soft eyes. "They wouldn't have. Without the Phenex, and my powers, I couldn't do this. Everyone would die."
Koji mentions the Banshee, and Rita's spirit flinches, sniffling. "No. The Banshee would always be here. She would always be this strong. But this isn't how I saw things happening with her. And I could have--"
"If I interfere with my sisters, I'll destroy everything. But I still..." Rita's avatar's hands clench. "I don't want it to be this way. It wasn't supposed to be this way. But if I stop it, things will only get worse."
"All I can do is believe in her." Rita's hands raise, landing over her heart, like a prayer.
Koji brings up the potential that there exist possibilities Rita hasn't seen, and she looks at him curiously, tilting her head. "I've searched trillions of paths. Only one leads where I need it to go, and it's... Ruined."
"I had to burn my soul to fuel the Phenex's NT-D. To fight the monsters." Rita's phrasing is very childish. "And to push Palau. But without someone's hand, the NT-D goes berserk. Once I burned myself away, I couldn't control her, and she couldn't control herself."
Rita breathes out. "It was the only thing I could think of. The only way to keep us close to the path. But I can't find it anymore. It was for nothing..."
The young spirit curls into the Phenex. Rita's avatar continues. "It's all for nothing. I've hurt people. I've enabled so much cruelty. I thought, if I could just save." Another pause. "It would be okay. But now, I don't even know how to stop the monster."
Sayaka breaks Rita out of her spiraling despair, and she looks up at her with wide green eyes. Slowly, Rita takes a step forward, then another, then another. When she's just in front of Sayaka, she stops, her arms coming up in much the same way as they did just before she hugged Lucine.
"I shouldn't be here, Sayaka, it isn't the way things are supposed to be." Rita says, desperately, as if trying to convince Sayaka to turn her away. "I have so much to do. People are suffering every moment I'm not out there. I've chosen my own goal no matter the cost, again and again."
Tears run down Rita's face. "I don't... I can't... The future is lost! And it's my fault!"
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
Lucine was able to guess at some of Rita's past because of her experience with Liam's own struggles. And Liam... yes, he seems to have drawn that same conclusion. When Rita tries to disguise her scars, Lucine looks back towards Liam, seeing if he might offer a response one way or another.
Tears fall from her eyes, and Lucine nods. "... You saw the place in my dreams. Their resting place. It's special to me.... and you were able to see that." Others have as well, in those panicked flashes of insight that sometimes happen in Newtype connections, but Rita is the first to visit. "You also saw my fears, and my dreams. You cared enough that you visited me, when you realized Liam was free from Tsutsujidai." A small exhale of a chuckle escapes her. "You tried to watch my phone for me when I was in the shower, but your finger couldn't get past the wake up screen..."
It was precious, Lucine realizes, because it showed Rita being.... human. A spirit, but a human spirit.
"... The NT-D...?" Confusion wrinkles Lucine's face. It sounds familiar-- did she hear it mentioned, somewhere? Either way, she wasn't in control once this was used, so... "So that's why... The Phenex acted that way."
When Koji speaks, Lucine turns to him, eyes gently widening. She then smiles softly. This truly was one of the best places for Rita, if someone who would make devices like these would also think about bigger matters like these. LiSA as well. Sayaka also points out something Lucine failed to think of, a point that Liam also touches on.
".... What if there wasn't only one path, or one way of doing things? You've depended on only yourself for so long... maybe it's not an army you need, but people who can shoulder some of the weight. Different ways of thinking, of being. We don't need a prophetess, or a martyr. A Rita... that would do just fine... don't you think?"
<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.
"... Prophecy shows up a lot in the mythologies we study here," Koji says, thoughtfully. "A recurring motif of the stories is that, in trying to forestall the tragedy they've foreseen, the heroes set in motion the events that will bring it about. A domino knocked askew, smacking into its fellow and knocking that one down, over and over again. A single choice can have ramifications greater than ever anticipated, much further down the line - and with cosmic forces like the Oath Over Omega in play, and beings who can manipulate otherwise-unobservable layers of reality to their own gain..." He shakes his head. "That puts much, much more chaos into the system."
"... In which case, perhaps it's good that you've lost the path." He furrows his brow. "If there are things you can't see - if you couldn't predict two Neo Zeongs until they fought on the same battlefield - then it only makes sense that there's more things you didn't predict that are... less apocalyptically devastating."
He grins. "Did you know I was going to have this idea - " he taps the control panel of the projector - "Before I had it?"
He becomes more sombre after a moment, though. "People keep suffering. It is a cruel fact of this imperfect world, that even Mazinger Z's strength can only shoulder some of that burden." He lets out another sigh. "So I understand why you wanted to build an army. Desperation, maybe, to turn back an inevitability you didn't know how to stop otherwise, because people working in harmony, for the same cause, are so much stronger than they are alone." Here he gives Sayaka a Significant Look.
He's going to challenge her now. Perhaps she senses it. "... but this isn't really about the world, is it, Rita? You keep cutting yourself off whenever you talk about saving it."
"... Please, the full truth. Speak your heart."
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
Rita pulls into herself. "Don't," Liam says, knowing damn well what she's trying to hide for his sake. "They're part of you. Mine are part of me."
As he suspected. Liam's face tightens, his brow knitting. "You knew it would kill you," he says. "But that was... just another step, was it. You knew part of you would survive." He pauses a beat, and then continues. "The 'monster'. You mean the Neo Zeong? What about it makes it so monstrous?" A fairly straightforward question, from someone who couldn't sense what Full Frontal and Zoltan and Char were /doing/--or maybe dismissed it as amplified tension because of the apocalyptic stakes at hand. "You'll--"
Go away. Go somewhere where you'll never hurt anyone. Liam remembers the weight of despair crushing him as he and Akane stood in the liminal space within Bujack.
Liam pauses, and takes a square breath. "Yeah," he says. "Easy to think that, when you think you're a mistake. When you hate yourself. When the guilt is crushing you to death." He meets Rita's eyes. Koji spoke of prophecy, and Lucine spoke of camaraderie. Liam...
Liam is Subject 7-020.
"My parents were murdered at Dublin," Liam says. "BioNet found me in the camp. My 'handler' was a former Titan who worked at Murasame. He told me I was going to be something, now, that I should be thankful for it. I survived. The others disappeared, one after another. They kept bringing newer, younger ones in to replace them. When Desmond vanished I was the oldest one left, and I decided I would do whatever it took to keep the others safe."
Another square breath. Liam's brain is a roiling tempest of pain and anger and guilt and self-hatred, but he's not trying to stifle any of it. Tears well up in his eyes. "I volunteered. I endured things so they didn't have to. I survived them. I couldn't save them from everything, but--I felt I /had to/. I had to. And then they remade me to pilot a weapon that might kill me, and I--I realized it wasn't working. I had to get out."
"I... I can't imagine what it would be like if I'd seen it all happen. If I'd seen all the ways I could've died." Another breath. "Lucine's right. You're not helping /anyone/ by martyring yourself. /I/ have to tell my idiot self that every time something happens, and I'm lucky I've got Lucine to remind me." He steps forwards towards the 'real' Rita, the burning child. "This is scary as hell. You're hurt. The Phenex is nearly wrecked. But what's eating you is you've gone off the rails and now you're wondering--" He points directly to her. "Was it worth it? Was it? If I can't have my fated encounter and save the world, what good am I?"
"You're /Rita Bernal/." Liam says. He hopes that one day he can say something similar for himself, and feel it. "And you don't need to justify your existence to anyone! It's not wrong to want to live!"
<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Yumi has posed.
Rita tries her hardest to convince Sayaka that she isn't worth fighting for - that she already lost and she shouldn't be here. Her body language suggests otherwise - as if to plead against being alone. Sayaka does not budge an inch and lets Rita's hologram stay as close as she'd like. As the director of the Photon Power Labs, she'll remain a beacon of hope for as much as it takes.
Sayaka nods slowly at Koji's statement. "You'll hear stories all the time about the Castle of Iron and his war against Dr. Hell. I can speak from experience, he'd never make it so far without a Sayaka Yumi." It's not empty bragging. It's a statement of how far their bonds needed to bring them. "Not to mention all the other PPL personnel who made sure Mazinger Z and its spunky pilot were always in top shape."
"That is to say, you won't get very far in shaping the world if you only focus on your own failure." She adds, resolutely. "To put Koji's words a little more simply, if your predictions can't account for the actions of others, then you'll simply have to play along with others you trust - to grasp the future you want."
Emotions are running high, as Lucine dissaudes Rita from becoming a martyr, and Liam's heart pours, fluttered by Rita's situation. Sayaka spares him a sympathetic look and turns her attention to Koji, who asks Rita a burning question. Sayaka watches Rita, how will she respond?
<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.
Rita remembers the place in Lucine's dreams. The flowers. The home. The destruction. "I... Of course, it's important. It's so important, it's a treasured place to you. I could never look down on it."
A flash of a memory comes to her, of another garden, worlds away from Lucine's. Different flowers, but no less precious. And just like Lucine's, Rita's own treasured place is long-since destroyed.
Lucine brings up Rita's difficulty with the phone, and the normal-suit clad woman giggles softly, covering her face in embarrassment. "Nooo..."
As Lucine believes, it's a sweet, human moment. In her moment of silly embarrassment, Rita is not a goddess or a soldier. Not a lab rat or a Miracle Child. She's simply Rita, laughing over a memory with her friend.
And that piece of her is just as real as any of the others.
"Please don't blame the Phenex." Rita says, softly. "It wasn't her fault. I was the one who made this choice. The NT-D removes all limits on a Unicorn, but without a pilot in perfect harmony with her spirit, the Gundam will go berserk. I try not to use it. I don't want to hurt anyone. But my strength wouldn't have been enough, alone."
Rita closes her eyes. "If Yuli hadn't stopped me, I wouldn't be here at all right now."
"More than one path..?" A breathy question. "Lucine, you saw what the monsters did, they're too much even for me. And it can -- it can take you over. Thorean's did so during the battle to some of Char's soldiers. It isn't safe... Without a Miracle, it isn't safe."
A Rita... The little girl atop the Phenex stares at Lucine, her empty eyes piercing despite their lack of color. How many Ritas have there been now? Which one is the right one?
Liam asks the child not to hide herself, and she switches her gaze to him, blinking in surprise. Slowly, she relaxes, raising her head. The flame, with nothing to feed on, simply forms a halo of destruction around her head.
Koji speaks of legends and stories, then, and Rita's holographic face goes intensely pale. "No, that can't be right, I -- accounted for everything. I can't have caused this." Her hands come to the sides of her head, frantic. "No. Even if I can't see clearly around the orange, or around the Void, there was no hint in the outcome--"
Green eyes go faraway, horror stilling Rita's motions until she's frozen. Rita's burning spirit mirrors the action, and beneath her, the Phenex begins to glow. It shudders. Shattered pieces of her armor surrounding her arms and legs lift into the air and tremble. This has happened once before -- when Anser spoke of dismantling the Phenex.
"No, no no--no, I did everything right! I followed every step, the one path, the one--!"
Rita gasps, coming back to herself. Slowly, the psychic pressure eases. The armor lowers, and the psychoframe goes dark. The spirit atop the Phenex starts to sob, while Rita's avatar smiles gently, smoothing her hands down her normal suit.
"I'm cut off from Possibility here. I'm only a remnant of Rita's spirit from the battle. I can't have new visions until I'm connected to my greater self again. I didn't know you'd think of this. I never foresaw anything here." She speaks so calmly, even as the child behind her starts to wail.
"Only the living can change the world. The hearts of the living have to unite for a Miracle to happen." Rita's smile is unearthly calm. "I can't do it alone. No matter how much I wish I could. I must have people around me."
Liam's face tightens, and Rita's avatar softly shakes her head. "No. I chose this. I burned myself to ash within the Phenex to be sure the ascension would connect us." She says it so calmly. The flames encircling her spiritual self seem all the more dire, now. "Every step was my choice. To save."
Another pause, after that word.
"The Neo Zeong. The second one." Rita murmurs. "It has more psychoframe than even the Unicorns. Pilots with a strong will can use it to perform horrific actions. Actions that would destroy the world, without hope of repair. Thorean used knowledge from beyond this world to create it. It must not exist here. Humanity isn't ready."
Such a calm explanation. Like listening to a mission briefing. Impossibilities discussed as a matter of fact, not possibility.
As Liam braces himself and starts to speak, both Ritas listen, the child quieting to try and take in his words. His feelings affect both images of the woman, tears coming to their eyes as they come to Liam's.
"I'm so sorry, Liam." Rita's avatar says, hands still at her side. "I'm so sorry. I--"
Liam speaks her name with such force. It's not wrong to want to live.
"But I'm--" She begins to say, and--
The child, Rita, the burning spirit, jumps to her feet and rushes to Liam. She's extremely small compared to him, but she wraps her arms around Liam's legs and clings to him. The tears continue. Again, she's intangible. There's nothing but warm air. But the little girl cries and cries, holding as tightly as she can.
"I..." Rita's avatar looks at her hands. "Have tried hard not to think about living. It was too cruel. The most I ever dreamed of was... Wearing a dress. A nice, fancy one. Like a princess."
Sayaka doesn't move in the face of Rita's whirlwind distress, and surely she won't move in the face of Rita's unsettling calm. "You're a family here. You always will be." She says, smile so beautiful. "I... can't... expect that. Too much sacrifice from others. I can't ask others to do what I've done."
"Trust, people I trust." Rita repeats softly. Koji asks a question, and she turns to him. The child clings harder to Liam, hiding her face.
The avatar is left to make a decision for both of them. One hand softly reaches toward Sayaka's, brushing against her fingers, feather-light. She's scared. She wants a hand to hold, but she can't ask for it.
"...the path as I saw it... Jona and Michele..." Rita starts, her mouth closing. It's so hard to face, even now.
They died.
The child speaks up, echoing psychically.
"There are many timelines where the Neo Zeong is stopped, but only one, one out of trillions, where Jona and Michele both survive /and/ the monster is killed." Rita's avatar trembles, as if losing the signal. "I searched for so long. A whole year. Just to find it. I thought I could do it, to bend possibility far enough to save everyone."
Jona and Michele always die for me. I won't let that happen. I won't.
"It's why this is the one path, the only path, that I can accept."
Rita and the child raise their heads in unison. "Whatever it takes."
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
"I don't blame the Phenex for anything," Lucine says, shaking her head. ".... I can't blame programs for doing what they are designed to do. If it didn't, it wouldn't be so valuable."
It would be a lie if Lucine said she wasn't hoping for Liam to say exactly what he said. The acceptance of his wounds are of just that, after all; she can't force him to look at another's and feel a certain way.
But goodness, it is great to see just how he responds. The emotions roiling off Liam are difficult for Lucine to process, but they're not new, and she endures them with quiet tears and shining pride, looking up at him with a warm smile. Like Liam never wants Rita to hide her scars from him, Lucine doesn't want Liam to have to hold back on processing the story of his past just because she 'sees' those parts of him in more blunt way.
Koji's confidence has its own grounding effect, as does Sayaka's own words. They're more willing to be direct than Lucine is, herself, and for that, she's grateful. ".... I think, I can give... an example, of what Dr. Yumi might be getting at."
"I believe I have talked about myself before to you, but... when Mars was invaded by the Jovian lizards, Colony Nemi was completely taken by surprise, like many. Most of us were able to take shelter in the labs below ground, but... when it was clear no help would ever come. But... my dad... was a former cowboy, and he was selfish and reckless enough to make his own daughter transport her unconscious mother in a unit that had few defense capabilities... on a trip that would take most of the fuel it had left, using a path he had mapped out towards Alba City. It was impossible. It should have been impossible." Tears clear her eyes, a color similar to her father's.
".... My dad.... surely knew all the ways I could have died. .... I also knew." She wishes her voice had the same clarity as Koji's, the calm of Sayaka's, or even the ability to emote some emotion other than the quiet blankness of someone unwilling to engage with memories further than she had to. Rita might even see the flashes of white-knuckled hands on controls, a field from another planet transformed and marred, worlds turned upsidedown, the sense of having to protect the light of a candle from the wild currents of a hurricane. "... I still.... haven't... processed everything. I still have nightmares. But... I believe.... in chances. Dad couldn't control my fate. He couldn't... even control whether or not he would ever know if I or my mom made it, or that the people who remained would hate or agree with his decision."
She draws a quiet breath. "... You can't... be in control of people, no matter how much you love them. But you can give them help. That's what my dad did. I survived, and so did my mom. I miss her, but... she's doing good work engineering hydroponic systems for Alba City." She sniffs, and smiles. ".... Liam... had to work with me a few times... but I'm much better."
<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.
Liam bares his heart - all his pain and suffering in the Crucible - and turns it around to something positive, to uplift Rita, just as Lucine recounts her own trauma. Koji beams with pride at the young couple, then steps away from the control panel of the projector - it's stable enough that he can afford to not monitor it for a few minutes - and walks over to join Sayaka, Rita's avatar standing so close to her.
"There's the truth. It's not about saving the world, it's about saving your world. The people who matter to you the most. The people you love."
He slips one arm around Sayaka's waist - after all, Liam and Lucine are showing that same solidarity, it feels right.
"You love them so much you were willing to burn your body up to save them." He glances to Sayaka to check they're on the same page - and reaches out to take Rita's holopresence avatar by the shoulder and pull her into a hug with both him and the love of his life.
"With that kind of devotion, you don't need a pre-ordained path. Sayaka's trying to tell you something we learned the hard way - to get the future you want, you have to tear it out of the grasp of a universe that won't surrender it to you. It might not be exactly what you foresaw, or play out how you envisioned it... But if they're so precious to you, can you really bear to entrust saving them to others, rather than doing it with your own hands? Your body might be dead, but your soul still shines, Rita. That you love them so much - isn't that proof of life?"
<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Yumi has posed.
Sayaka first feels a brush against her finger... it's the Rita hologram. She places the hand into her own, whether it's photon energy or not, it's still the warmth of touch. She hopes it helps Rita feel that again.
Next is Koji, placing his hand around her waist. She nods as if to affirm it's okay, and places her free hand on his shoulder, and gradually, it becomes a warm hug between three.
Koji makes it clear: this is about love. "Not even the universe, every possibility out of the trillions you envisioned could contain your love for them to its fullest extent." Sayaka adds. "That's why we're so certain the three of you will get to enjoy that happiness.. long as you're willing to fight for it." She concludes, calmly, but with strength and determination behind it.
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
'I don't blame the Phenex for anything.'
"I don't, either," Liam says. He looks away for a moment, concern and confusion and resentment mingling. "Yuliana saved you. She's... a complicated woman." He knows there's history between the two. He's not hiding his feelings, but he's not about to badmouth Yuliana in front of someone who clearly cares for her. But as Rita grapples with her realization, Liam takes a step back, tensing. He checks the angle between himself and Lucine, figures out how to get her out of the way of a malfunctioning Psychoframe.
But nothing horrible happens. Rita calms, and so does Liam, even as she drops a name he doesn't recognize. "Who's Thorean? More than--" His eyes widen. "Another /planet/?" he says, "or another dimension?" A chill runs down his spine.
But that doesn't mean he does nothing when Rita hugs him. She knows how difficult it is for him to accept touch, and--to be frank--Rita's intangibility helps here. But he kneels, and pulls her close, despite the flames. He barely feels any difference.
"I can respect that," Liam says. "I just--you know we risked our lives to save you. I can't speak for Lucine, but I--I wasn't there to save a prophet. I was there to keep a friend safe. You're /our/ friend." He falls silent again as Lucine pours out her own trauma. He wants to hold her, too. He motions for her to come over.
If Lucine does, he bundles the two of them into another hug, warm and present.
<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.
Something in Rita's gaze relaxes as Lucine says she doesn't blame the Phenex. "Thank you, Lucine, Liam. She means everything to me. She's every bit as alive as I am."
The Phenex makes no motion to confirm or deny this, simply laying in pieces along the hangar floor.
The story of Lucine's father washes over Rita as she clings to Liam and cries. Father... Lucine's father loved her so much. Fuzzy memories come to Rita's mind of her own father -- long since dead from the One Year War. His face has become blurry after all this time, but Rita remembers being held in his arms.
He saved you.
The burning spirit, for all the horror of its appearance, listens to Lucine with a gentle tilt to her head. As memories echo from the other Newtype, Rita simply accepts them, watching carefully with love and respect.
Yuliana is my best friend.
The voice of the little girl clinging to Liam's legs seems clearer with the 'physical' contact. Her mouth doesn't move as she 'speaks', her words echoing into Liam's heart.
She told me once. If I was good and worked hard, there'd be a life waiting for me. She was wrong, but she really believed it. And she wanted to comfort me. Nobody had ever done that before.
Rita's burning spirit looks confused as Liam asks who Thorean is.
Thorean? He was in the fight. In the other monster. His knowledge comes from the end of all things, when time itself has ceased to exist. This machine... he wants it to bring us there.
Liam's arms, though she can't truly feel them, are warm and strong. She closes her eyes, and the flame-drowned tears coursing down her cheeks slow, and then stop.
Sayaka takes Rita's avatar's hand, and the young woman sighs, squeezing Sayaka's hand tightly. Koji joins them, and speaks, and Rita's gentle green eyes turn to him.
That gentle, otherworldly smile, the one she's turned to again and again to present the self she thinks others want to see.
Saving your world.
Rita is pulled in to a triple hug, just like her smaller self. She gasps, feeling so much warmth and sensation against her body.
And her smile... Shatters. Where there was accepting patience on her face, now her lip trembles, her eyebrows draw together, and she cries. Burying her face into the embrace, her arms rise up, hesitate, then wrap tightly around Sayaka and Koji.
"I-- I don't-- I just want them to be /safe/." Rita sobs out. "I'll fight. I'll tear. I'll burn. Anything, anything..."
Sayaka and Koji speak of love, and Rita can feel the truth of their bond echoing between them, etched in every stone that makes the Castle of Iron. Rita has always been so weak to kindness. Weak enough that she lets her eyes close and leans in to the Kabutos.
Maybe this is okay. Maybe she really can trust in these friends she made -- no matter what her intentions were initially. Will it be enough?
Rita decides to think about that tomorrow. For now, she clings to the ones she's grown to love, taking in enough love to soothe eighteen years of solitary suffering.