2023-06-02: Who's Trapped In This Labyrinth?
- Log: 2023-06-02- Who's Trapped In This Labyrinth?
- Cast: Akane Shinjo (designation Aumerei), Knight, Rikka Takarada (designation Treasure Chest), Character: Neon Genesis Junior High Students
- Where: UNAS - Banadiya
- OOC - IC Date: 0097-05-28
- Summary: Dr. Murasame had wanted Ramo Marusa, and while he'd later rescinded that, Akane needed to push the point anyway to keep up appearances. Surreptitiously, Akane tries to signal for help to escape, thinking she has the situation in hand. Almost no part of it is truly in hand -- and indeed, some of what she'd think to try has been specifically counterplayed. No one has room to move, least of all Knight; everyone needs to watch where they step.
The room to move that Akane had needed is bought, but at a much higher price than she expected.
- CW: Significantly-greater-than-genre-typical on-foot violence, brainwashing
<Pose Tracker> Aumerei has posed.
[VERTEX] aumerei_seijin: Hey Marusan
[VERTEX] dancing.pawn: Hey, Akane. How's your vacation going?
[VERTEX] dancing.pawn: I heard you made the mistake of eating at a Britannian diner. My condolences. Was it at least good?
[VERTEX] aumerei_seijin: yeah it was. really good.
[VERTEX] aumerei_seijin: hey listen
[VERTEX] aumerei_seijin: you should check out my To-witter, I reposted some of my older Serena fanart
[VERTEX] aumerei_seijin: listen the actual reason i texted was i wanna hang out.
[VERTEX] dancing.pawn: On your secret love vacation? That's... hm. I mean, I could? Transit wouldn't even be that bad. I could route it in about three hours... are you still in Eastern Britannia?
[VERTEX] aumerei_seijin: UNAS actually
[VERTEX] aumerei_seijin: Long story.
[VERTEX] aumerei_seijin: hehe, seriously though! check out my to-witter, the fanart barrage this week is really good
[VERTEX] dancing.pawn: Fine, I'll check it out.
[VERTEX] dancing.pawn: You're in UNAS, you said?
[VERTEX] aumerei_seijin: yeah. banadiya
[VERTEX] aumerei_seijin: [popup: cafe address]
[VERTEX] aumerei_seijin: Rikka's here too. She makes a great Cecilia
[VERTEX] aumerei_seijin: seriously!! to-witter first plans second! Behold my reposts!!
[VERTEX] dancing.pawn: Jeez, you're a little wild today... Wait, isn't she the Serena cosplayer between you two?
[VERTEX] aumerei_seijin: sometimes you need to swap. Today we're hitting more of the Lady Antheia and Cecilia vibe
[VERTEX] dancing.pawn: Hmmmm. Okay.
[VERTEX] dancing.pawn: Hm. You're on a real kick here...
Marusan chews at her lower lip. This really could be nothing. Akane's always been a little weird. But... something about her To-witter presence doesn't add up quite right with what she's saying -- or rather, it adds up strangely. Akane's never been the type to go for ultra-spontaneous hangouts, she's way off her itinerary, and the To-witter barrage she's insisted on seems entirely oriented on something Akane only draws as vent art.
Hm.
She slides over to another VERTEX chat.
[VERTEX] dancing.pawn: Knight, right?
[VERTEX] dancing.pawn: Akane gave me your contact information a while ago.
[VERTEX] dancing.pawn: Akane says she and Rikka want to meet me at this cafe in Banadiya, but something isn't right. Akane's communication skills suck, but this is a special kind of sucking...
[VERTEX] dancing.pawn: Banadiya isn't that far from Spain... did she go home early?
[VERTEX] dancing.pawn: There's also a LOT of like... how do I explain this... her feed is full of 2wits of stuff she draws when she's worried about her relationship with Rikka being screwed up, or her freaking out about Alexis, or her freaking out about... being family with you, actually. I can pair every one of these pieces of fanart to a meltdown?
[VERTEX] dancing.pawn: I don't know what's up but it's gnawing at me. I feel like she might be in trouble.
[VERTEX] dancing.pawn: So... I'm asking you. Should I go meet up with her, turn her down, or what?
[VERTEX] copy_cat: Tell her you'll meet with her, and tell me the location of the cafe. Tell her that, but don't go. I'll take care of it.
[VERTEX] copy_cat: You're right. Something is wrong.
Marusan gives that grimace-smile she favors when she has the feeling something absolutely beyond her pay grade is happening.
[VERTEX] dancing.pawn: ... yeah, I thought so. The whole situation is just too weird. Glad I asked.
[VERTEX] dancing.pawn: [pop-up: cafe address]
[VERTEX] dancing.pawn: I get the feeling I'm better off not knowing what's up.
[VERTEX] dancing.pawn: Now it's my life that's too damn weird... what is she even up to?
Marusan finally returns her attention to Akane's window.
[VERTEX] dancing.pawn: Trip routed. Be there in like two hours. See you.
[VERTEX] aumerei_seijin: ... Perfect.
Setting down her phone, Akane looks out at the city, sitting at a table at an outdoor cafe, now in a tailored blazer and blouse. (She isn't wearing a three-piece. Apparently, the contrast between her and Rikka was the better call.) Absently, she takes a bite of doner kebab. Her expression gradually flattens out; she seems numb.
"Hm. I feel like this could use some chili sauce," she says, looking off into the distance.
The war with ZAFT has progressed past the point where anything funny happens when Akane says this.
Vist sent an eight-person security detail.
Naturally, this means that Aumerei has nine guards.
They're positioned with a fairly wide berth from one another; this is a significant amount of space to cover. Because of the nature of the VIPs, they can't trust local Blue Cosmos supporters to fill in the gaps, either.
One sniper has been discreetly positioned on a rooftop, overlooking the best vantage between the cafe and each point of potential egress.
With six potential egress points, five have been covered by single guards. The largest, though, has had three people allocated. Two Vist personnel, both armed with submachine guns instead of the usual discreet pistol... and, of course, the other VIP, who's been discreetly armed as well.
(... so, for the moment, three Vist personnel.)
<Pose Tracker> Knight has posed.
Phones are connected to human lives. To-witter accounts are, too, following that logic.
Knight keeps a light presence, on his, but he does follow his big sister.
He's noticed the shift.
He tells her:
[VERTEX] copy_cat: I'll find out.
What she's up to.
He asks the Second to go and visit Marusan, while he's doing so.
Just in case.
That means he's alone, when he reaches the cafe. Dressed in his sharp suit and with that sharp katana in its sheathe behind him -- worn, behind him -- he tends to stick out a little, no matter what place he's visiting. (The clothing here tends to be more swoopy, airy and light and shielding against the angry sun. Surprisingly few people are carrying swords.) But he's learned from the best, so he blends in well enough that none of the locals stop him, anyway.
He sees the guns.
He steps forward, anyway.
"Akane Shinjo." And he makes no effort to veil himself. His eyes track to one of those submachine guns; back to her. It's the first half of his sentence. Here's the second: "You're not on vacation."
That's when he takes a second step.
<Pose Tracker> Treasure Chest has posed.
They were heading to a cafe in Banadiya to await a friend of Aumerei's. ...Correction - Aumerei is heading to a cafe. Treasure Chest has been assigned to security detail, to watch over her and keep her safe. A part of her does feel a slight pang of sadness that she won't be accompanying her...
...But, it's fine. This is more important. It's more important that Aumerei is kept safe. She's the only one who can protect her from this cruel world.
She stands wordlessly alert in her designated location, wearing the three-piece suit that's become customary to her. There's an unfamiliar weight on her back, concealed within her blazer. In another time she would have balked at carrying something like this - but now, it's emblematic of what's necessary to survive the world they've chosen to live in.
It's quiet.
And then, he's here. ...She was warned this would happen. She was warned someone would come for Aumerei. She has to protect her.
...But... but this is Knight. This is her brother. It's fine if he approaches her, right?
...No. He's already made himself an enemy. It'd be dangerous if someone tried to take her away.
He takes another step toward Aumerei, and her mind screams.
Stop him. Stop him. STOP HIM.
She takes a step toward Knight, reaching into her blazer... and then she lunges, aggression carrying her forward like a spear with her weapon drawn.
It's very familiar, and yet at the same time, not - a hand-held circular saw. The design suggests it, or another version of it, was a little more elaborate, but this one appears to have had the light and life sucked right out of it. A shallow imitation.
She swings for Knight without any hesitation.
[Characters] Treize Khushrenada> do you have an alternative for it ?
[Characters] Treize Khushrenada> like something you'd replace obtuse with
[Characters] Eight York> hmmmm come to think that's actually 40 stat points not 20 so. I think I don'tw ant to strip down that much anyway X) But probably a barrier or a 20-pointer if so
[Characters] Treize Khushrenada> I mean ships tend to just need to sit there and take it in combat, so a barrier isn't bad, is it equal to 40 stat points? \o/
[Characters] Eight York> Yeah :|a
[Characters] Eight York> ok ty for the feedback
[Characters] Eight York> I think I'll keep it but i might change the alias
<Pose Tracker> Aumerei has posed.
"Knight," answers Akane Shinjo. She makes no effort to veil herself, either. "No, I'm not. ... but I can't go home until everyone else can."
It's a curious answer -- from the Akane Shinjo of a year ago, the sensation of stagnation would be crushing, here. This is the sort of place that makes her miserable.
There's resolution in her expression, though. This isn't something she's doing for herself.
The sniper almost has a shot -- almost. He's carefully adjusting his scope when --
Treasure Chest lunges. Panic enters Akane's face immediately. She'd assumed Knight, Gridman, or Guy would show up if she reached out to Marusan -- that part was on script. She'd have time to negotiate -- thin out Vist's security, make a plan for how to escape.
This part, however, wasn't something she anticipated at all. Nor, for that matter, was the --
-- saw --
"STOP!" she begs, as Foundation security personnel start to swoop in from all sides. Unfortunately, they're not really here to listen to her.
Treasure Chest being in close curtails their options, though; there's some confusion about how best to proceed, and everyone starts to encircle Knight, Aumerei, and Treasure Chest, trying to find an angle that won't hit the remarkably fast-moving young lady with the saw or her charge.
"Please!" Akane calls. "I don't want to dance alone!"
... it's one of the several safeguards she attempted to put in. It should remind Rikka of her deepest feelings for Akane; in this moment, Akane thinks it'll stop their fight.
Unfortunately, much of her work is sloppy, and --
THE NIGHT BEFORE
"Treasure Chest." The drug regimen is different this time -- there is an odor to it. Why bother hiding it at this point? Besides -- it's important that she be able to feel things with all of that believing heart, for this. "We need to brief you for tomorrow."
A voice -- a man's. Not Dr. Murasame -- another member of the lab staff. "Aumerei has requested a security detail and a trip to Banadiya tomorrow, to retrieve a friend of hers." 'Hers,' not 'yours.' Nothing is Treasure Chest's, after all -- nothing but Aumerei.
Another voice cuts in. A woman's. Would there be so many voices if this were her being reconditioned? It's simply a briefing. The drugs are just part of her regimen, now. "This is a risk. An eight-person security detail signifies a tremendous risk to Aumerei. She has chosen to do something dangerous. Were the two of you to try to escape, or were someone to try to take you, she would be at risk." That much is obvious. The danger is --
The first voice, again. "You must protect her, Treasure Chest. We will be assigning you to the security detail as well. After all -- the safest place for her is with you, so her security should be your responsibility."
Back to the second. "We will make sure you're sufficiently armed for this purpose. Anyone could be a threat to her safety."
A long pause. "Your performance in recent tests has been underwhelming, and we lack the time to give you proper combat reinforcement. Should you do well and return with Aumerei, safe and sound, we will look into ways to improve your readiness. She has chosen to live in a cruel world, Treasure Chest, but she is so delicate. You know she needs someone who can shoulder that burden for her."
The first voice, again. "The safest place for her and her friend is with her security detail. You will do all you can to keep her safe. You can do nothing less. Anyone could be a threat," a momentary flash of memory, from that accuracy test, "and you remain weak, so you will need to be crueler than the world she has chosen."
"Your feelings are your strongest weapon, Treasure Chest. Should the world threaten to bring her to harm, your anger will be your strongest weapon. If you perceive a threat, be sure to utilize your newfound aggression to the fullest."
... the suggestions Treasure Chest was given today pointedly and purposefully sabotage a lot of what she tried.
She does have an ace. But using it means giving up on Alouette and Leina...
... Akane can't bring herself to do that. 'Not giving up' has its own dangers.
[Characters] Sonia Sophia-Grace> two words: fat dodge
[Characters] Eight York> Oh yeah Mirage i'm keeping forever
[Characters] * Sonia Sophia-Grace captain to captain fat dodge handshake
[Characters] Eight York> yes.
[Characters] Sonia Sophia-Grace> I went the Lucky route, Risks Baybee
[Characters] Eight York> I also have Lucky
[Characters] Eight York> on Eight
<Pose Tracker> Knight has posed.
Knight grunts, chin jerking up as his lips tug down. "You don't need help?" He issues her, all evaluation.
Silence, for a moment.
"This isn't your atonement."
His foot makes contact with the ground.
Something else does, too.
"Ch--!!" Knight's approach is summarily interrupted by an intrusion which sets his eyes wide and his lips stretched wider, all his teeth on sharp display. He doesn't have to think about springing back, away from the --
He looks past Rikka, to Akane, and his accusation is sharp and it is angry: "Again? Her?!"
Do not mistake stillness for a lack of motion. His heart is marked, just the same. And do not mistake motion for a lack of stillness -- though he draws his blade to clash against that circular saw, in some sick mirror of a duel long past, all he says is the lack of a sound: "...!!!"
Knight is not one given to hesitation. This is the image he has curated; it is the attitude he presents to the world. But though he seems so vicious, it's his arms pressed back by the ferocity of Rikka's swings, his weapon forced to a defensive cross in front of him.
Once upon a time, a girl offered a boy an umbrella, though he didn't know what it meant to be out of the rain.
Now, she's --
"Rikka Takarada!" Knight snarls, as he tries to move sidewinder, tries to slip around her. "Why is it you're fighting, now?!"
[Characters] Sonia Sophia-Grace> Oh see I didn't put Mirage on the Paradi-- wait I have Beam Wall?!
<Pose Tracker> Treasure Chest has posed.
Circular saw meets blade. The force sends Treasure Chest recoiling back, and it takes a second for her to regain her footing - but the moment she does she's upon him again, dodging around to the side for another swing.
She doesn't acknowledge the rest of the security detail. The safest place for Aumerei is with her - they're irrelevant. This is...
Knight snarls at her, asking why she's fighting.
"I'm fighting... for Akane! To protect her!" Treasure Chest shouts back. She goes in for another lunge... and Aumerei's voice reaches her.
'I don't want to dance alone!'
Treasure Chest's eyes open wide. She freezes in place for a moment, as her mind processes her words. Indeed - it does remind her of her deepest feelings for her...
...But it reminds her of something else, as well.
"It's... alright...! I'm here, Akane...! I won't let anything happen to you...!" Treasure Chest calls back - and redoubles her efforts. Before, though guided by her anger, there was at least some hint of restraint, of self-preservation. Now, as she attacks Knight once more, there is none of that - defensive stature completely forgotten her swings go wide and wild, pressing the attack without any regard for her own well-being as she lets her anger guide her body and her weapon.
She is weak. She can't protect her without it. Her feelings are her strongest weapon, after all.
<Pose Tracker> Aumerei has posed.
"I don't need the help!" Akane says -- but if you're listening close, the emphasis comes on 'I' and not 'don't.'
(She is as much in the labyrinth as anyone else -- but she's the only one who can make a map, right now. She's the only one who can conceive things like 'forward' or 'up.' It's a dangerous place, but --)
(-- she wants to be here.)
The accusation is sharp -- and it hurts, but... Akane's more scared and worried than guilty.
The sniper considers. This is too tight of quarters, now that it's turned into this type of fight -- a sniper is useless. He descends the building's stairs, drawing his sidearm.
Half of their security detail makes the decision to fire; half makes the decision to wait. Knight's strength is intimidating -- 'Anti' was known to the Vist Foundation through Alexis. They do know what they're up against. A bullet pings off of the table next to Akane's; another hits masonry. Two more, Knight will need to deal with on his own.
This has Alexis's hand in it, Akane realizes, in more ways than she'd been able to appreciate -- and the thought makes her so, so miserable and so, so angry, as she realizes what he's been underlining from the start.
('Treasure Chest,' a small part of 'Rikka Takarada' expanded to sum it all up with none of the heart, none of the context. And 'Anti,' the 'Anti-Gridman' --)
The sniper emerges -- and he, too, fires on Knight. His aim is more confident; in all of Treasure Chest's fury, she probably doesn't notice his entry at all. The bullet is on target for Knight's midsection... but to get there it has to graze Treasure Chest's side.
Akane stares helplessly. How does she stop this? If Rikka's feelings for her are only going to make her fight harder...!
Right now, what she's missing is --
"I need room to move!" It sounds like she's talking to the security detail; this little side street outdoor cafe is getting very crowded, with a full team hovering around.
The message isn't for her security detail at all, though.
<Pose Tracker> Knight has posed.
She doesn't need the help.
Well, it's plain that there is someone more damaged, present day, present time. It's plain, and Knight's attention orients on Rikka, instead. She's not giving him much choice in the matter anyway.
"Who are you protecting?!" Knight volleys back, in the wake of Rikka's answer. Didn't he hear her? She said she was protecting Akane.
(Is she protecting 'Akane'?
Or is she protecting 'Aumerei'?)
The question may sound cruel.
And the bullets fire. Knight is thinking for two, right now; he swerves into a position which will take Rikka out of their path, too. He can cope with being shot, perhaps, but Rikka --
He deflects away a swing which he knows from long experience jerks too painfully at her shoulder-joints; if he dodged away from it entirely, he doesn't know how her body would take it. The sparks crash, and blind the screen. He glares at her. He shouts: "So I'm your enemy, is that it?!"
He has to glance away, to track where the second bullet was fired from. He jerks them to the left, so she won't charge into that shot, either. He finds himself staggering, when that distraction rewards him with a jagged, sawing cut along his sword-arm.
"You're direct..." He grits out. It's not a complaint. The opposite, really. In the next heartbeat, he knows she'll take the advantage --
Which is when he goes flying back away from her.
Not, strictly speaking, by choice.
No: sniper bullets are high-velocity weapons, and Knight, for all he's compressed down into this tiny form, is still quite small at present. He goes flying into a table, and crashes down there, grasping at his stomach. His hand is red. Both of them, really, though one's on the back of his hand and the other's stained his palm. It's a little more bright, a little more loud, an imperfect facsimile. Nevertheless, he is bloodied.
And he hears that frustration, and he doesn't get up.
"Then move," he says, pain all threaded through the mora.
<Pose Tracker> Treasure Chest has posed.
"Who am I- I'm protecting...!" Treasure Chest starts. It's obvious, isn't it? She said as much. She's protecting A- She's protecting A-
Her mind catches on this contradiction, what's in her heart and what they've put into her thoughts. She knows what she's protecting, but-
She's distracted. Indeed, the Vist personnel have faded into the back of her mind. There's only herself, Aumerei, and Knight here, now. Treasure Chest swings wide, and Knight deflects it away. Her circular saw is knocked back - but the momentum has to go somewhere. She's carried back with it - away from the path of the incoming bullets. This time, it only grazes her side. She staggers forward.
She doesn't shout back at the one who shot her. She couldn't, even if she wanted to - not at them. The thought never - isn't allowed to - crosses her mind.
"Th-that's right! You're my enemy...!" She affirms, continuing the offensive. She doesn't realise she's being lead, doesn't realise what he just prevented - she presses the attack. And as he's knocked away from her, into the table, she moves to capitalize on the situation.
But, despite the kaiju they're trying to turn her into, physically she's still just a normal person. A graze takes its toll, especially with how recklessly she's been moving.
There's a window in which to act - but it's rapidly closing.
<Pose Tracker> Aumerei has posed.
When Akane sees the bullets not only start flying but start hitting, terror settles in -- and guilt, at that. She almost begins catastrophizing -- the urge to blame herself for the violence presently happening is strong. This is happening because of her call for help. ... but there are other actors in play, for now.
(That won't be so true every time.)
Rikka advances, and Akane --
-- advances, too, spurred on by Knight's call for her to move. She has the gap she needs to intercede, and intercede she does. Ducking low, she runs in, and embraces Rikka firmly, trying her hardest to arrest her momentum.
"Rikka," she breathes. "Stop. Stop. He's not a threat anymore. Stop. Please," she begs her, quietly.
There's confusion amid the security detail, at this point. It's not unthinkable for Akane to be moving like this, in this situation. (Vist is a family project. Some values do transfer within an organization.)
Still... it's undeniably suspicious to stop Rikka from finishing Knight off after a shot like that. On the other hand -- maybe he's already finished, and 'then move' is just the last gasp of a dying would-be hero.
The security detail moves to fold around Knight for now, instead of Aumerei and Treasure Chest. Treasure Chest's aggression is proven, and Aumerei's cold feet are... understandable, for a teen girl drawn into this world by force quite recently.
"I'm here. I'm not leaving you," she whispers to Rikka, weakly. "Please."
The security team's members have some familiarity with enhanced humans -- Boosted Men, Socius Coordinators, et cetera. Knight's performance up to this point has matched such a profile. What they know -- that he is a 'kaiju like a human' -- is meaningless to them; habit proves more powerful, as they move in close to observe -- and to keep themselves between Knight and the VIPs.
<Pose Tracker> Knight has posed.
Rikka can't answer one question, but she's fine with the other. Knight hears both things, slotting into his mind like so many loose pieces.
Rikka won't stop attacking, but Akane's moving, too.
Visually: Knight is quite done. The sniper missed the heart -- and the lungs -- but a gut shot is a nasty thing, and the calibre delivery isn't small. He clutches his midsection with a hand; his grip on his sword, with the other, is compromised by Rikka's circular saw. He doesn't (can't?) stop them from circling his wagon, either; he glares at them, with one exposed blue eye, but makes no sudden move to attack.
It's not for their benefit.
"Sorry. It's not easy to watch my step."
His gaze shifts, to Rikka. Pain clips his words; he is human enough, now, that it still isn't easy.
"You're an imperfect copy. Because if you don't stay alive, you can't beat anyone."
Back to Akane, and he's not saying anything, now.
He already told her to move.
<Pose Tracker> Treasure Chest has posed.
Treasure Chest advances - and suddenly finds herself halted as Aum - Akane - embraces her.
"Akane... let go. I can still... I can still...!" She insists. She struggles - but only barely. Even with aggression pounding in her head, she can't do anything that would risk hurting her. But... Akane begs, pleads with her to stop. He isn't a threat anymore.
"I... I..." She murmurs. The struggling stops.
Knight says it isn't easy to watch his step... and to her, she's...
...An imperfect copy. If she doesn't stay alive, she can't beat anyone...
Akane assures her that she's here - that she isn't leaving her.
...Finally, with these words from both of them, the fight drains out of her body. Her arms fall to her sides, and she sags limply in Akane's arms.
A facsimile of a circular saw clatters to the ground. No effort is made to retrieve it.
<Pose Tracker> Aumerei has posed.
Akane does some quick mental calculus. She needs to move -- Rikka needs to move, too.
Things start to click into place, bit by bit, as Rikka stops fighting. As the terror of something truly horrible happening subsides, she swallows hard. ... everyone here needs room to move.
Akane glances to the guards. "... He's probably got friends. He hangs out with that other girl... the Evoluder and Puru-1's brother might be here too. He must have shadowed us after Dakar, so RC-01's probably at least in town." she says. "Fan out and find her. R --" She stops herself. "Treasure Chest and I," she tries again. (Surely she's still committed.) "... We'll be returning to the Mu Gundam. Once you've got RC-01, return to the transport. We need to go back to the Garuda. ... he doesn't need to be neutralized. Call it a one-time family benefit."
Several individual components are true.
Aumerei begins to usher Treasure Chest away.
"... Please don't do that again," Akane whispers to Rikka, softly, as they round the corner. Something feels like it stirs in her gut, and -- "I'm not going to leave you behind. Wherever you go, I'll be with you."
The chain of command here is very confused. Aumerei is the operation coordinator, and strictly speaking, retrieving Ramo Marusa is a higher priority than killing Knight. What's more, he's already disabled with a wound that would be lethal to even most Boosted Men, and Aumerei's told them to prioritize finding Ramo. Aumerei's request for mercy is ultimately pointless, as far as they're concerned, but they can at least not execute a girl's brother in front of her in cold blood.
"... Fan out," the detail leader says, after a little time. "Subject is an OCU Japanese girl, 17 years old, brown-black hair. Usually seen wearing at least one article of purple clothing with white stripes, signs of fatigue..."
A pause. "... You two, escort Aumerei and Treasure Chest."
<Pose Tracker> Knight has posed.
A circular saw clatters down. A cruel joke, to Knight's eyes, slipping from her fingers. Perhaps the point was crafting at scale, once.
So she's working with him, again.
So she's playing his jokes, again.
She plays the part of the ruler so well.
"...", and it falls from his lips, as she turns her back to him, habitual clause. And is Rikka in a position to receive the message, or is she stuck sending, screaming out into the abyss for anyone to hear?
He can hear her, certainly. The layers of deception between them are clear as day. Her desperation, too.
"Shit," he grumbles, to himself, clutching his midsection. He's easy to dismiss. Any human would be dying, right now.
They didn't shoot his ears out, though. They were looking for her... and Akane and Rikka don't have room to move, right now.
He stays down. He waits for them to leave.
He lets go of his sword, so he can pull his phone out, instead, voice low and pained.
"Hey." A beat. "Yeah. I need help. ... Vist's still in the area."
And he makes the subtext clear to those highschoolers, at least: "I can't fight."
Luckily, Knight isn't human... though he's no longer entirely a kaiju.
It's still gonna hurt like a --
<Pose Tracker> Treasure Chest has posed.
Treasure Chest allows herself to be lead away. She's in no position to struggle, anymore - no condition, either. She follows Akane's footsteps, just as in auto-pilot as the Mu Gundam was.
"...I'm sorry. I won't... I won't do it again." She murmurs back, as Akane asks her not to do that again. She assures her that she won't leave her behind - that wherever she goes, she'll be with her.
In response, Treasure Chest clings to her, with what strength she has to spare.
They said anger would be her strongest weapon. But in the end, the one she hurt the most was...
<Pose Tracker> Aumerei has posed.
The version that Akane had imagined was so much easier. She'd ask whoever came -- because surely Marusan would find someone to come, whether it was Knight or Gridman or Guy or Judau -- to get everyone in position to help them. She'd be able to make Rikka stand down immediately, if she fought. Whoever came could have taken down the whole security team by themselves.
But everyone had to watch where they were stepping. No one had any room to move until Knight bought some in blood.
This isn't what I wanted, Akane thinks to herself, a whimper that cuts through every layer of reality.
She holds onto Rikka. ... she feels like she failed everyone, now. She needs to -- needs to find a way to give everyone room to move.
Fanning out would have been a solid call if the situation were as Aumerei said. The security detail splits up into groups of two -- one member with a pistol and one with a heavier weapon, to each.
Knight calls for help when Akane cannot. ... It's recurrent.
Banadiya's streets see fighting, again. Steel blades strike out at E-carbon weapons with deafening clangs. A heavy hammerblow strikes one of the suits in the chest. Somewhere else, one gets a knife thrown into his lower leg.
One radios, "We're under attack! The little shit brought the guys in suits from that PLANT!" and then cuts off.
Somewhere else, someone does tail the Mu Gundam, the transport -- and, eventually, the Garuda. It's even someone very handsome in a suit!
Just not Knight, like the Vist Foundation would be led to assume.
... the transport ultimately returns -- with two, not eight. (Just as with Knight, the Vist Foundation is more than willing to write someone off as dead a little early.)
Akane looks into Treasure Chest's eyes as they settle into the cockpit again. Her expression turns almost mournful. For a moment, she wants to bring Rikka back up -- to see her again, to make sure she's still... there. But... even Treasure Chest's hardened heart is strained by this development.
It'd be cruel to break the spell solely to reassure herself, when Rikka's hurting, too.
Instead, she reaches behind the cockpit for the first aid kit. "... Can you walk me through cleaning up this wound?" Aumerei asks, instead.
<Pose Tracker> Treasure Chest has posed.
Treasure Chest says nothing else until they're back in the cockpit. She finds it difficult to look into Akane's eyes. She's quiet... But eventually, she's asked a question.
"...Okay." She replies.
...It takes a little effort to pull them all up. But sure enough the steps are still all there, at least. Learning this had been so important to her... And it hasn't left her yet, even when so much of what she is has been redirected toward violence.