- Location
- Tampere
And apparently got screwed over by Misato even more, seems like she killed Rias parents.
Broken Wings [NGE]
- Thread starter Teen Spirit
- Start date
And apparently got screwed over by Misato even more, seems like she killed Rias parents.
- Location
- National Capital Region, USA
Yeesh... someone's spent 20 years soaking in anger and unresolved blaming Misato for everything that led to where they are now. And brought all of WILLE along too, somehow. All of whom have apparently been hybridized into partial Angels, too. And Maya addresses her as 'My Lady'? ...um... implications...
That's... not encouraging. Mari and all the other survivors of WILLE have completely bought into whatever plan Ria's running, to the point no one has even suggested 'Let's tell them the truth, and go for forgiveness and peace backed by future knowledge to head off all the mistakes.' Even seeing her parents again isn't enough to sway Future Ria from her hatred for Angels and her own estranged grandmother.
Or at least she blames Misato for the chain of events that got them killed. I imagine if they were killed as a result of something Misato's 'All Angels must die, no peace deals', she'd hold her responsible for it. Like, if they were killed by Dimitri or something. All of the anger Ria's sitting on right now would be magnified a thousand times, and if Misato herself died before she and Ria ever either patched things up or resolved it some other way, she'd have 20 years or so to stew in blaming Misato for things. Kind of how like someone who lost their family in World War I can blame everything on Gavrilo Princip for starting it.
Raiseth
I Find Your Lack of Memes Disturbing
- Location
- Russia
You totally can blame a Serbian revolutionary for killing an Austrian archduke and giving everyone an excuse to start the greatest Imperialistic war in the history of mankind.
But it wouldn't be productive, maybe?
I think Ria's issues are looking a little more pronounced than "Her incompetence and blatant racism led to my parents dying". My guess is, however unbelievable that is, Misato was involved in the matter more... intimately.
Well, I don't really know, but there should be a tragic background story somewhere down the line, if reading Naruto manga and fics taught me anything at all. ( and the jury's still open on that, so that you know. )
But it wouldn't be productive, maybe?
I think Ria's issues are looking a little more pronounced than "Her incompetence and blatant racism led to my parents dying". My guess is, however unbelievable that is, Misato was involved in the matter more... intimately.
Well, I don't really know, but there should be a tragic background story somewhere down the line, if reading Naruto manga and fics taught me anything at all. ( and the jury's still open on that, so that you know. )
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Misato didn't kill Future!Ria's parents, Misato doing that would require drastic changes between here and there. And if that was the case, Future!Ria would probably not have allowed Misato to leave that room alive. Future!Ria certainly lays the blame for her Parent's death on Misato. Along with a few other things. And as Strypgia mentioned, she's been soaking in that anger for decades.
Killing Gavrilo Princip won't stop WWI, but it will change it. Killing Misato won't stop the war, but it will change things. There's a reason Future!WILLE is an unsubtle fortress and Ria lives in it.
Not all of them, Some of them are still 100% human. And admittedly this WILLE doesn't have a whole lot of the same membership current day WILLE has, she brought in quite a few people. A lot of stuff has happened.
If anything, seeing her parents again increased Ria's hatred. All those old wounds have been ripped right open and she sees a chance to fix everything dangling in front of her.
Last edited:
- Location
- Australia
I mean the only thing I can see happening, without Misato being drastically out of character is her cutting Asuka out of the loop in a way that leads to her being somewhere unsafe/unaware when a full-sized-Angel attacks, and 'oops sorry i didn't tell your folks the things they needed to know to not get horribly splatted, maybe next time try not being a filthy angel 
' >>
(Does that even make sense? Also, if this is.... Too dark, I'll change/delete the post, lmao)
' >>(Does that even make sense? Also, if this is.... Too dark, I'll change/delete the post, lmao)
Timerider
That guy who really should get out more.
- Location
- The End of the World.
Like I said earlier, it's only a matter of time before someone in WILLE figures out Ria's parents are her beserk button. And if someone attacks O- Shinji and Asuka before Misato can do anything, well...
Chapter 16 Part 4
- Pronouns
- He/Him
"Okay, what happened?" Misato demanded as she entered the Vault.
The sight before her was odd. Okito was in his cell, moaning in pain, his body twitching, as one nearly suicidally brave nurse worked to keep him alive.
Ritsuko rubbed her forehead. "I overestimated his ability to heal."
"I don't understand," Misato said as the nurse laboriously pumped Okito's chest, "He was enduring without any problems until now."
Okito was shouting, his words gibberish punctuated by the occasional curse.
"Yes but we failed to realize how much worse his health would get. His injuries caused more and more complications as time went on; Infections, his wounds refusing to heal properly, which caused frequent blood loss, putting greater and greater strain on his heart... The spine break and our preventing it from healing caused respiratory problems and created numerous blood clots. And that's just the start of the list. I haven't even gotten to how damaged his digestive system has become... His health just got worse and worse. For a time his healing could handle it, making it seem like nothing had really changed. But it's a reached a point where his health has just degraded too much for him to handle anymore. If we don't at the very least increase his IV soon he'll be dead before the next hour," Ritsuko explained.
Misato considered her options.
"Ma'am," Ritsuko was clearly annoyed, "he's our prisoner. We can't let him die. You know what happens when we disobey basic conduct of war with the Angels and you do not want to give them any excuse to mistreat any of us if we're captured."
"What am I supposed to do here?" Misato protested. "We let him heal and he's a far greater risk to us and will almost certainly try to escape. We give him just enough to survive and we're probably just going to be back here in a week."
She had promised Touji and Hikari a fair trial. They already had their hands full today with Sakura. Letting their son die, no matter how evil he was... She would be crossing a line there. She'd have more people hating her, and Shinji and Asuka would trust her even less.
But killing Okito was the best path for WILLE and humanity, the only path outside of letting him heal a bit then letting Ria have a go at him. Healing him would put everyone in danger.
'If I keep my soul but lose everything I care about, what is even the point of fighting?' Misato wondered.
Misato's thoughts were interrupted by the shrill scream of the nurse through the speakers, Ritsuko and Misato turned to see the nurse flat against the wall.
Okito was glowing. From the center of his neck, a ethereal red glow radiated throughout the room.
Misato watched in horror as impossibly, he began lashing out with his remaining arm, clawing wildly at the air.
His restraints were breaking. The bomb collars attached to him began beeping. On instinct Misato slammed the override button. They would have killed the nurse as well.
Okito's eyes were wide and terrified. The metal bar that had been inserted into his spine was ejected, embedding itself in the broken head restraints.
Then the skin around the broken remains of his lower torso and his missing arm began to bubble. For moment it appeared his skin was boiling. He screamed incoherently. Then slowly, horrifically, limbs began to form.
Bone jutted suddenly from his wounds, followed my muscle and finally skin. He was healed, though his were strange and deformed. The skin on them was incredibly pale, his new arm shorter than his other, and his legs looked barely strong enough to stand on.
Misato was terrified beyond all measure. Her body stood frozen as she watched Okito examine his new body.
...And then he fainted, falling to the floor in a heap. Misato blinked a few times in shock.
"...What... what just happened?" Ritsuko asked in open amazement.
/
There was a walkway in the Vault, one that went front of all of Evangelions; Unit-01 on one side, Unit-02 and the strange new Unit-00 on the other.
Ria found herself sitting on that walkway, leaning against the railing as she stared at Unit-02.
Her shirt was burnt slightly and her whole body ached. But it wasn't that that was bugging her, nor was the attack itself. That was ultimately an idiot lashing out like his kind are so want to do. What ate at her mind was Misato's words.
Why did Okito give up everything for this war? What was driving Ramiel and the others? Was it just basic misplaced loyalty and greed? Or was Misato somehow right? And what did that mean about her? What would she be driven to?
And what if Koda was right and they were fundamentally just humans? That meant all her loyalty to Adam, her honor, her pride, huge chunks of what she defined herself by since she could remember where what, childish fantasies?
'All that isolation, the trust I placed in Okito, the fear, the doubt, wondering if I would ever be found out, What I nearly did all those years ago…'
She backed away from that last thought. That was something she was not prepared to face. Still, a questioned lingered in her head.
'What am I?'
Once upon a time the answer had been simple: An Angel wrapped in human flesh. Now she had so many doubts.
She stared down at her hand, the one she had to regrow after her fight with Kyoko. She flexed it. It felt more or less exactly the same. No mere human could ever regrow their hand like that. Her father would have to make do with an artificial hand for the rest of his life. Or Uncle Touji, who would never be able to walk without his cybernetic replacement leg. And yet…
The Angels were built with purpose, organic machines designed for a specific purpose, to represent something and reclaim Adam. Most of them were little more than animals. And even the sapient ones had no free will, not even Tabris. Ria had that, she was free as far as she could tell.
So what was she then? Angel? Human? Neither? Both?
The sound of footsteps caught her attention. She turned her head. The younger Asuka was approaching, her expression unreadable.
Ria sighed, most of her regret over lying had turned to plain frustration by this point.
"I have to say, this feels like the worst place for you to hide," Asuka said, her voice filled with false cheer.
"And yet here I am..." Ria deadpanned.
Ria eyed Unit-01 reflexively for a moment before turning back to Asuka.
"What exactly do you want?" Asuka asked.
Ria raised an eyebrow, somewhat off put by the question. "Pardon?"
"You don't seem the type for conquest yet you poked around here, knowing Misato hates your guts. I'm trying to figure out what you game is here," Asuka explained.
"It's my job," Ria sighed.
"But why did you take the job?" Asuka pressed.
"Because I stood by and did nothing for too long," Ria admitted. "And because I want this damned thing to end."
"So what when this is all over...you'll what, go back to being a writer?" Asuka asked.
"That's the plan," Ria said. "Settle down, actual publish our own ongoing project, get married, maybe to a couple women at once, have a couple of kids... Well, there's been talk of a taco truck too, but nothing's been set."
"That's it?" Asuka was skeptical. "You're telling me your biggest ambition in life is getting polygamy legalized?"
"Pretty much," Ria shrugged.
'I wonder if I could ask the The Empress to do that?' she mused.
"Why?" Asuka didn't get it.
"Is it so hard to believe I just want to live, be happy, and have a family?" Ria was frustrated and exhausted. Why did no one seem to get that?
"I thought it made sense when you asked me if I thought you were a disappointment to the Soryu name," Asuka explained, "but after I discovered the truth of what you were, I just don't get it. You can fight an army by yourself! Why wouldn't you have ambitions with those powers? I know I would want do something if I was in your shoes!"
Ria stared at her incredulously. "I was attacked less than an hour ago. That's what my power has gotten me; hatred and fear from nearly everyone in my whole world."
"You could have stopped him. You could have made sure he never did it again," Asuka retorted. "You could conquer WILLE today and I, Shinji, Rei... we wouldn't be able to stop you. No one would."
"Tell me, if it was you, do you think Shinji would still be your friend if you did that?" Ria stared at her.
"I don't...oh." Asuka trailed off for a moment. "Yeah I... guess he wouldn't, would he?"
'Now she's starting to get it.'
"There's nothing brutal force would give me that I want and I realized a long time ago I would never surpass you, so I decided to aim lower."
"Don't you mean your mother?" Asuka said, growing rather annoyed.
"No, I mean you," Ria pointed directly at the Pilot. "You and Shinji. No kid is ever going to surpass the Great Asuka Langely Soryu and Shinji Ikari, the Saviors of the World. Every time you fought an Angel you saved everything, the whole world. I could be Prime Minister of Japan and History would always remember me second. So why bother trying? Instead I aimed for what I wanted."
Asuka nodded, understanding dawning on her face.
"If you had told me this when we first met, I would have called you pathetic," Asuka admitted, "but I can't really fault you. You grew up in peacetime, you didn't have anything to aspire to. For you making any impact comparable to me would have required, well, doing what Okito did."
Ria nodded. It was egotistical, but for Asuka that was surprisingly understanding.
Still, Ria was annoyed.
"What is this?" she questioned. "You're acting civil, dare I say sympathetic, even. You and Shinji have been giving me the cold shoulder since the attack. So what, now you forgive me? You're sorry?!"
"Oh so what, you get to act like the wounded party now?" Asuka's voice grew shrill.
"Yeah, I think I do!" Ria rose to her feet. "All I've gotten from you, Shinji, and Misato is hatred since this all began! I had every damn reason to lie considering the grief I've been given!"
"I never hated you," Asuka said defensively, "I just never understood why you didn't trust me!"
"Because you made it clear you're not my mother!" Ria nearly screamed at her.
For a moment they stood their, Ria's heart hammering in her chest. She wanted to cry. Asuka looked stunned.
"You and my mom were once the same person but now you're not, you've diverged. I've done my best to respect that," Ria did her best to force herself back to calm. "But you can't say you're not her so emphatically, then expect me to trust you as much as I trust her."
And when it came down to it, she had assumed for a while there that her parents had accepted her because they had to; they were her parents. It was their duty. It wasn't until Mari that she realized someone could accept her without obligation.
"But you said we were family. I treated you like family," Asuka countered.
"So did Misato," Ria replied grimly, "look how that turned out."
"Well…"Asuka fell silent, unable to counter the point.
Ria wanted to be angry with Asuka, furious even. But beneath her attitude, Ria couldn't help but feel Asuka was trying her best to extend an olive branch.
"What if we just say we both made mistakes and call it even?" Ria offered.
She surprised even herself with the offer. Why should she be the one to make the first step? Asuka had turned her back on her, so she should apologize, right?
'I want her back more than I want an apology,' Ria realized.
Asuka wasn't her mother, but at the same time she was. It wasn't like she needed Asuka there for her, after all, she had her parents. But being angry at them hurt. As confused as she was right now, she wanted them back. She wanted to have more than just Mari and her parents and maybe Koda to depend on.
"I... sure," Asuka said hesitantly. "Yeah, I can agree to that."
She offered her hand. Ria took it and gave a firm shake. They weren't back to hugs yet, but it was a start.
/
"So why are you doing this? I mean, we live in this city, we know what it used to look like," Kyoko Misato Ikari asked as she sat on the hotel bed, trying to pretend she wasn't bored out of her mind.
Koda walked out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her shoulders, her hair hidden beneath a shower cap. The stink of chemicals filled the air.
"Why not?" she replied as she sat in a chair. "I mean, it's a chance to see the place not blown up and remodeled into a bunker, parts of it anyways. It seems Okito managed to wreck a good chunk of it."
She shook her head bitterly.
"Man, I mean Okito was always a dolt, but in a, you know, lovable way. Okito here is just a monster."
"He's not your brother. These are not our friends and family," K. Misato Ikari insisted.
"Yeah, but they're close enough," Koda insisted right back.
Ikari shook her head. "Close enough isn't good enough. The only people that matter are our own universe. We should be worried about tracking down Leliel. And then figuring out how to get back home."
Before Koda could reply her phone rang.
She picked it up. "Hmm, unfamiliar number."
She put it down, placing it on speaker phone.
"This is Kodama Suzuhara. Who am I speaking to?" she asked.
"Hey asshole, give me back my phone!" a nearly identical voice shouted angrily.
Both Ikari and Suzuhara turned towards the phone in shock.
"Are...you me?" Kodama asked.
"Fuck off!" her counterpart shouted. "I'm actually human and not a goddamn monster! Now shut off your damn phone, it's screwing up mine! I had to use a freaking pay phone to even make this damn call because of that!"
Koda turned towards Ikari.
"Do I actually sound like that?" she whispered.
"Pretty much yeah," the younger girl replied. "Not normally that... verbose in the swearing though."
"So our aunt is in the hospital and your first concern is... your phone?" Koda prodded.
"Oh, like you care," Kodama snapped. "You're just Okito with breasts! You would probably sooner eat her!"
"Okay, first off," Koda growled, growing irate. "If you ever say the phrase 'Okito with breasts' again, I will find you and turn you into a coat. Second thing... no."
"What, WHY?!" her counterpart shouted, playing havoc with the phone's speakers.
"Because you're belligerent asshole, an immature brat, and frankly... why should I? It's my phone."
Angry noises came out of the phone.
"Goodbye, Kodama Suzuhara," Koda said as she hung up the phone over her counterpart's protests.
"Well that was...something," Ikari said dryly.
"Quite," Koda agreed. "She has issues."
She sat in her chair, looking contemplative.
"I think I should head out early, meet Ria at WILLE."
"Why?" Koda asked.
"I want to see what caused all that anger," Koda stated, with a hard look in her eyes.
The sight before her was odd. Okito was in his cell, moaning in pain, his body twitching, as one nearly suicidally brave nurse worked to keep him alive.
Ritsuko rubbed her forehead. "I overestimated his ability to heal."
"I don't understand," Misato said as the nurse laboriously pumped Okito's chest, "He was enduring without any problems until now."
Okito was shouting, his words gibberish punctuated by the occasional curse.
"Yes but we failed to realize how much worse his health would get. His injuries caused more and more complications as time went on; Infections, his wounds refusing to heal properly, which caused frequent blood loss, putting greater and greater strain on his heart... The spine break and our preventing it from healing caused respiratory problems and created numerous blood clots. And that's just the start of the list. I haven't even gotten to how damaged his digestive system has become... His health just got worse and worse. For a time his healing could handle it, making it seem like nothing had really changed. But it's a reached a point where his health has just degraded too much for him to handle anymore. If we don't at the very least increase his IV soon he'll be dead before the next hour," Ritsuko explained.
Misato considered her options.
"Ma'am," Ritsuko was clearly annoyed, "he's our prisoner. We can't let him die. You know what happens when we disobey basic conduct of war with the Angels and you do not want to give them any excuse to mistreat any of us if we're captured."
"What am I supposed to do here?" Misato protested. "We let him heal and he's a far greater risk to us and will almost certainly try to escape. We give him just enough to survive and we're probably just going to be back here in a week."
She had promised Touji and Hikari a fair trial. They already had their hands full today with Sakura. Letting their son die, no matter how evil he was... She would be crossing a line there. She'd have more people hating her, and Shinji and Asuka would trust her even less.
But killing Okito was the best path for WILLE and humanity, the only path outside of letting him heal a bit then letting Ria have a go at him. Healing him would put everyone in danger.
'If I keep my soul but lose everything I care about, what is even the point of fighting?' Misato wondered.
Misato's thoughts were interrupted by the shrill scream of the nurse through the speakers, Ritsuko and Misato turned to see the nurse flat against the wall.
Okito was glowing. From the center of his neck, a ethereal red glow radiated throughout the room.
Misato watched in horror as impossibly, he began lashing out with his remaining arm, clawing wildly at the air.
His restraints were breaking. The bomb collars attached to him began beeping. On instinct Misato slammed the override button. They would have killed the nurse as well.
Okito's eyes were wide and terrified. The metal bar that had been inserted into his spine was ejected, embedding itself in the broken head restraints.
Then the skin around the broken remains of his lower torso and his missing arm began to bubble. For moment it appeared his skin was boiling. He screamed incoherently. Then slowly, horrifically, limbs began to form.
Bone jutted suddenly from his wounds, followed my muscle and finally skin. He was healed, though his were strange and deformed. The skin on them was incredibly pale, his new arm shorter than his other, and his legs looked barely strong enough to stand on.
Misato was terrified beyond all measure. Her body stood frozen as she watched Okito examine his new body.
...And then he fainted, falling to the floor in a heap. Misato blinked a few times in shock.
"...What... what just happened?" Ritsuko asked in open amazement.
/
There was a walkway in the Vault, one that went front of all of Evangelions; Unit-01 on one side, Unit-02 and the strange new Unit-00 on the other.
Ria found herself sitting on that walkway, leaning against the railing as she stared at Unit-02.
Her shirt was burnt slightly and her whole body ached. But it wasn't that that was bugging her, nor was the attack itself. That was ultimately an idiot lashing out like his kind are so want to do. What ate at her mind was Misato's words.
Why did Okito give up everything for this war? What was driving Ramiel and the others? Was it just basic misplaced loyalty and greed? Or was Misato somehow right? And what did that mean about her? What would she be driven to?
And what if Koda was right and they were fundamentally just humans? That meant all her loyalty to Adam, her honor, her pride, huge chunks of what she defined herself by since she could remember where what, childish fantasies?
'All that isolation, the trust I placed in Okito, the fear, the doubt, wondering if I would ever be found out, What I nearly did all those years ago…'
She backed away from that last thought. That was something she was not prepared to face. Still, a questioned lingered in her head.
'What am I?'
Once upon a time the answer had been simple: An Angel wrapped in human flesh. Now she had so many doubts.
She stared down at her hand, the one she had to regrow after her fight with Kyoko. She flexed it. It felt more or less exactly the same. No mere human could ever regrow their hand like that. Her father would have to make do with an artificial hand for the rest of his life. Or Uncle Touji, who would never be able to walk without his cybernetic replacement leg. And yet…
The Angels were built with purpose, organic machines designed for a specific purpose, to represent something and reclaim Adam. Most of them were little more than animals. And even the sapient ones had no free will, not even Tabris. Ria had that, she was free as far as she could tell.
So what was she then? Angel? Human? Neither? Both?
The sound of footsteps caught her attention. She turned her head. The younger Asuka was approaching, her expression unreadable.
Ria sighed, most of her regret over lying had turned to plain frustration by this point.
"I have to say, this feels like the worst place for you to hide," Asuka said, her voice filled with false cheer.
"And yet here I am..." Ria deadpanned.
Ria eyed Unit-01 reflexively for a moment before turning back to Asuka.
"What exactly do you want?" Asuka asked.
Ria raised an eyebrow, somewhat off put by the question. "Pardon?"
"You don't seem the type for conquest yet you poked around here, knowing Misato hates your guts. I'm trying to figure out what you game is here," Asuka explained.
"It's my job," Ria sighed.
"But why did you take the job?" Asuka pressed.
"Because I stood by and did nothing for too long," Ria admitted. "And because I want this damned thing to end."
"So what when this is all over...you'll what, go back to being a writer?" Asuka asked.
"That's the plan," Ria said. "Settle down, actual publish our own ongoing project, get married, maybe to a couple women at once, have a couple of kids... Well, there's been talk of a taco truck too, but nothing's been set."
"That's it?" Asuka was skeptical. "You're telling me your biggest ambition in life is getting polygamy legalized?"
"Pretty much," Ria shrugged.
'I wonder if I could ask the The Empress to do that?' she mused.
"Why?" Asuka didn't get it.
"Is it so hard to believe I just want to live, be happy, and have a family?" Ria was frustrated and exhausted. Why did no one seem to get that?
"I thought it made sense when you asked me if I thought you were a disappointment to the Soryu name," Asuka explained, "but after I discovered the truth of what you were, I just don't get it. You can fight an army by yourself! Why wouldn't you have ambitions with those powers? I know I would want do something if I was in your shoes!"
Ria stared at her incredulously. "I was attacked less than an hour ago. That's what my power has gotten me; hatred and fear from nearly everyone in my whole world."
"You could have stopped him. You could have made sure he never did it again," Asuka retorted. "You could conquer WILLE today and I, Shinji, Rei... we wouldn't be able to stop you. No one would."
"Tell me, if it was you, do you think Shinji would still be your friend if you did that?" Ria stared at her.
"I don't...oh." Asuka trailed off for a moment. "Yeah I... guess he wouldn't, would he?"
'Now she's starting to get it.'
"There's nothing brutal force would give me that I want and I realized a long time ago I would never surpass you, so I decided to aim lower."
"Don't you mean your mother?" Asuka said, growing rather annoyed.
"No, I mean you," Ria pointed directly at the Pilot. "You and Shinji. No kid is ever going to surpass the Great Asuka Langely Soryu and Shinji Ikari, the Saviors of the World. Every time you fought an Angel you saved everything, the whole world. I could be Prime Minister of Japan and History would always remember me second. So why bother trying? Instead I aimed for what I wanted."
Asuka nodded, understanding dawning on her face.
"If you had told me this when we first met, I would have called you pathetic," Asuka admitted, "but I can't really fault you. You grew up in peacetime, you didn't have anything to aspire to. For you making any impact comparable to me would have required, well, doing what Okito did."
Ria nodded. It was egotistical, but for Asuka that was surprisingly understanding.
Still, Ria was annoyed.
"What is this?" she questioned. "You're acting civil, dare I say sympathetic, even. You and Shinji have been giving me the cold shoulder since the attack. So what, now you forgive me? You're sorry?!"
"Oh so what, you get to act like the wounded party now?" Asuka's voice grew shrill.
"Yeah, I think I do!" Ria rose to her feet. "All I've gotten from you, Shinji, and Misato is hatred since this all began! I had every damn reason to lie considering the grief I've been given!"
"I never hated you," Asuka said defensively, "I just never understood why you didn't trust me!"
"Because you made it clear you're not my mother!" Ria nearly screamed at her.
For a moment they stood their, Ria's heart hammering in her chest. She wanted to cry. Asuka looked stunned.
"You and my mom were once the same person but now you're not, you've diverged. I've done my best to respect that," Ria did her best to force herself back to calm. "But you can't say you're not her so emphatically, then expect me to trust you as much as I trust her."
And when it came down to it, she had assumed for a while there that her parents had accepted her because they had to; they were her parents. It was their duty. It wasn't until Mari that she realized someone could accept her without obligation.
"But you said we were family. I treated you like family," Asuka countered.
"So did Misato," Ria replied grimly, "look how that turned out."
"Well…"Asuka fell silent, unable to counter the point.
Ria wanted to be angry with Asuka, furious even. But beneath her attitude, Ria couldn't help but feel Asuka was trying her best to extend an olive branch.
"What if we just say we both made mistakes and call it even?" Ria offered.
She surprised even herself with the offer. Why should she be the one to make the first step? Asuka had turned her back on her, so she should apologize, right?
'I want her back more than I want an apology,' Ria realized.
Asuka wasn't her mother, but at the same time she was. It wasn't like she needed Asuka there for her, after all, she had her parents. But being angry at them hurt. As confused as she was right now, she wanted them back. She wanted to have more than just Mari and her parents and maybe Koda to depend on.
"I... sure," Asuka said hesitantly. "Yeah, I can agree to that."
She offered her hand. Ria took it and gave a firm shake. They weren't back to hugs yet, but it was a start.
/
"So why are you doing this? I mean, we live in this city, we know what it used to look like," Kyoko Misato Ikari asked as she sat on the hotel bed, trying to pretend she wasn't bored out of her mind.
Koda walked out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her shoulders, her hair hidden beneath a shower cap. The stink of chemicals filled the air.
"Why not?" she replied as she sat in a chair. "I mean, it's a chance to see the place not blown up and remodeled into a bunker, parts of it anyways. It seems Okito managed to wreck a good chunk of it."
She shook her head bitterly.
"Man, I mean Okito was always a dolt, but in a, you know, lovable way. Okito here is just a monster."
"He's not your brother. These are not our friends and family," K. Misato Ikari insisted.
"Yeah, but they're close enough," Koda insisted right back.
Ikari shook her head. "Close enough isn't good enough. The only people that matter are our own universe. We should be worried about tracking down Leliel. And then figuring out how to get back home."
Before Koda could reply her phone rang.
She picked it up. "Hmm, unfamiliar number."
She put it down, placing it on speaker phone.
"This is Kodama Suzuhara. Who am I speaking to?" she asked.
"Hey asshole, give me back my phone!" a nearly identical voice shouted angrily.
Both Ikari and Suzuhara turned towards the phone in shock.
"Are...you me?" Kodama asked.
"Fuck off!" her counterpart shouted. "I'm actually human and not a goddamn monster! Now shut off your damn phone, it's screwing up mine! I had to use a freaking pay phone to even make this damn call because of that!"
Koda turned towards Ikari.
"Do I actually sound like that?" she whispered.
"Pretty much yeah," the younger girl replied. "Not normally that... verbose in the swearing though."
"So our aunt is in the hospital and your first concern is... your phone?" Koda prodded.
"Oh, like you care," Kodama snapped. "You're just Okito with breasts! You would probably sooner eat her!"
"Okay, first off," Koda growled, growing irate. "If you ever say the phrase 'Okito with breasts' again, I will find you and turn you into a coat. Second thing... no."
"What, WHY?!" her counterpart shouted, playing havoc with the phone's speakers.
"Because you're belligerent asshole, an immature brat, and frankly... why should I? It's my phone."
Angry noises came out of the phone.
"Goodbye, Kodama Suzuhara," Koda said as she hung up the phone over her counterpart's protests.
"Well that was...something," Ikari said dryly.
"Quite," Koda agreed. "She has issues."
She sat in her chair, looking contemplative.
"I think I should head out early, meet Ria at WILLE."
"Why?" Koda asked.
"I want to see what caused all that anger," Koda stated, with a hard look in her eyes.
- Location
- supernatural
Nice to know you have your priorities in order BW!Koda.
- Location
- National Capital Region, USA
Reframe it, Ria: What if you're all just people. You think Tabris wasn't?
Yeah... the idea that not only did you contemplate killing your own father out of panic and fear, but that it might have all been a mistake, too?
That is a pretty ewwww image.
She's also you, Koda, who has had a bit more trauma dumped on her head lately, starting with her brother deciding what he wanted to be when he grows up is 'A genocidal monster', threatening to kill their father in front of the whole family, and her best friend lying to her their whole lives about also being a monster. So yeesh, cut her a little slack. You of all people should sympathize.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Kodama is fundamentally lashing out primarily out of grief and frustration. Koda could be more sympathetic for sure but that would probably wouldn't help a bit. How they see the other is probably preventing them from trying to reach out to each other. Kodama certainly doesn't see Koda as another version of herself, just a monster wearing her face. Whereas Koda is perfectly willing to acknowledge Kodama is another version of her self and she doesn't like seeing someone who's more or less herself being so mean and angry to her friends.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I get you. To be fair if Misato goes back to starving him after this, he's dead. And he's pretty much a wreck health wise at this point.
- Location
- National Capital Region, USA
And the funny thing is even if Okito confessed that right now, they'd just think he was hallucinating. The only people who might believe him are the older Shinji and Asuka, who Misato won't let in to see him right now or tell them about it.
Timerider
That guy who really should get out more.
- Location
- The End of the World.
Maybe you're fighting the wrong battles. If you hadn't tried to re-fight the last war, things might be different.
A classic mistake: Trying to fight the previous war instead of the current one. Adapt or die, Misato. The Angels aren't mindless monsters anymore. They're people with minds and hearts of their own, and you pushed the neutral Angels into Ramiel's camp when you declared this to be a war of genocide. You are VERY lucky that Ria got that Imperial Pardon or you might have already dumped Ria into Ramiel's lap with an action motivated by pure bloodlust.
trob030490
Professor Kokonoe
- Pronouns
- she/her
She'd have dumped Ria into going on a search and destroy of every angel on the planet as well as herself.
Misato trying to kill her again wouldn't mean her ever wanting to work with Ramiel.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Probably not herself. But she certainly wouldn't ally with Ramiel. Her allying with Ramiel was pretty much impossible after her parents found out the truth. Now if there was no pardon she would probably also have lashed out against Misato eventually as well.
Chapter 16 Part 5
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Happy New Years Everybody.
/
Misato had gathered the senior staff, plus Shinji, the Pilots, and even Ria, into the conference room. Ria paced around the back of the room, her eyes focused on Misato. The two eyed each other like animals about to fight over territory.
This was a hastily set up meeting, one necessitated by Okito's near death and impossible healing. His bizarre recovery had borne some very unexpected fruit once they got him on the operating table, even more so when they did more advanced testing.
"We found the Angel's Core," Ritsuko announced to those gathered.
Mild surprise washed over those gathered, save for Ria who looked as though she had been punched in the face.
"For the longest time we weren't even sure if they had a Core anymore," Misato explained. "We could never find it no matter how hard we looked. Turns out we just didn't look close enough."
A diagram appeared on a large screen behind Misato and Ritsuko. It was a detailed drawing of a human Larynx, showing all the muscle and cartilage. A single red arrow pointed towards the center of it.
"The Angel's Core turns out be microscopic," Ritsuko said, "woven around their median thyrohyoid ligament. Nearly impossible to detect unless you know where to look. Thankfully the Third Angel's... episode gave us a very clear idea of where to do so. Now, we have to conduct further tests, hopefully with the cooperation of Ria Soryu and the other Kodama Suzuhara of course, but we believe…"
"What does this mean for us?" the younger Asuka asked with unmasked boredom.
"It means one good slice across the throat is all that it would take to kill Okito, and the rest of them as well. Which would have made several battles a whole lot easier," Ria answered, her voice carrying easily through the room.
"More or less, yes," Misato replied, keeping her tone neutral. "We've found an Achilles' Heel."
"Though this does raise a question," Ritsuko added, "one I'm hoping Ria here can answer."
"I suppose asking for some sort of neck guard is out of the question?" Ria asked casually.
"We can arrange something," Ritsuko replied.
Misato shot her a confused look. Why would she offer something like that to Ria?
"But more to the point," she went on, "I have a question for you concerning your transformation during the assault."
Ahh yes, the Mini-Zeruel did have a rather noticeable Core in the center of it's... Her… their chest. And it's not as though they could just grow another S2 engine. It could just be like the Cores made when the Angels turn into their original full-sized selves, a false shell.
"If this is a biology question I'm going to be of zero help," Ria admitted. "I'm honestly just as surprised to learn where the Core is as the rest of you."
Misato had expected as much.
Unexpectedly, the older Shinji's hand shot up.
"...Yes?" Ritsuko was taken off guard by the interruption.
"What did you do with Okito?" he asked nervously.
"Slapped a new bomb collar on his neck and put him back in a cell," Misato explained. "Don't have to keep him paralyzed now, so just turned it into a conventional prison cell."
He was secure, posing little risk of escaping or having another massive heart attack. Sparing him instead of letting him die on the operating table had been the right call after all. Maybe there was still room in this for her soul.
/
A year ago today probably would have been one of the worst days of Touji's life, now it probably didn't even rank in the top five.
His sister, Sakura, was in a coma. Stable, brain activity was fine, but no signs of any recovery, and the illness that brought her low was leaving the doctors baffled.
Part of Touji feared it might have been Bardiel but Hikari had insisted she was normal before collapsing. So at least there was a small bit of comfort there.
Now Okito had nearly died from a heart attack. Okito may have been...well, Okito, Kenny, and Kodama could be brutal drug lords and they would still be far better people than Okito was, but Touji couldn't pretend hearing that his son was on the verge of death didn't hurt. It hurt a lot.
The drive back to WILLE had been rough, Touji staring straight ahead as he drove through hours of construction, his eyes heavy with deep bags underneath.
He felt numb. He had cried at the hospital over Sakura but now... he was just too emotionally exhausted to feel anything. All he wanted to do was check in and see what was happening with Okito, if he was dead or not, and then go home.
He parked his car at his assigned spot in the underground garage, sighing deeply as he fixed the buttons on his uniform.
He put in his radio ear piece, thumbing the thing on. He was only going to be here briefly but he needed to be prepared for the worst.
"All squads, be advised there is a situation developing at the front desk," Dispatch announced. "One of the other Angels has attempted to enter. She's been pardoned but is not yet cleared to enter WILLE. Situation is under control but be prepared."
Other Angels? That meant…
"Oh, Hell," Touji swore under his breath.
He made his way brisky to the front desk.
An entire squad surrounded the girl, guns in hand but not leveled. Touji could only see the back of her. She had vibrant blue hair and was wearing a dark jacket and blue jeans, but she was very familiar.
"Look, just talk to Ria Soryu. She can vouch for me," The voice was unmistakably Kodama's.
As if this day wasn't frustrating enough as it was. Now he had Kodama's doppelgänger to deal with.
"Girl, General Katsurgi is in command here, and she was quite clear on who is and isn't allowed inside of WILLE. And you certainly aren't allow-"
"Takuboku, stand down," Touji called out.
Everyone turned towards him, the other Kodama looking at him with awkward shock.
He really didn't know how to feel about her. He couldn't muster the rage and hate he felt towards Ria when he first found out the truth, but it was hard not seeing Okito when he looked into her eyes.
He approached her, the two eying each other uneasily.
"Why are you here?" he asked her.
"Well, your daughter decided to scream at me over the phone over trivial sh-stuff, so I figured that griefing Okito over being a horrible person would make me feel better. Then I hear he's had a heart attack or something so that put a damper on that. Mostly now I'm just trying meet up with Ria. She promised me a tour of the city."
"Don't you live here?" Touji questioned.
She sounded like Kodama, though Kodama wouldn't have censored herself.
"Yeah, but it kind of got wrecked in our war and it kills a few hours if nothing else," Kodama explained. "And it's not like I have a lot of other people here I can hang out with."
Touji sighed and turned towards Takuboku, who was sitting at the front desk.
"Just let her in," he said wearily. "I'll escort her."
"You can't authorize that," Takuboku pointed out nervously.
"Do you really want to create another incident?" another Security Officer pointed out. "General was on a warpath after the Soryu kid was tased."
"Wait, what?!" Kodama blurted out.
"Someone attacked her?" Touji asked.
"It's a long story," Takuboku replied, sinking embarrassedly in his chair. "Someone got overzealous. Everyone's fine. Well, mostly. I mean, Masao is up on criminal charges now and I'm pretty sure Mr. Ikari gave him a concussion, but you know... other than that it's fine."
'Well, at least he finally learned to throw a punch,' Touji mused.
He took Kodama by the shoulder, escorting her away from the group and towards the nearest elevator.
The ride up was awkward, painfully awkward as neither said a word to each other.
"What on Earth did you do to your hair?" he said finally. "It looks like you dipped it in paint."
Kodama chuckled slightly. "Well, I like it. Makes me look distinct."
"Hikari would scream if she saw it," Touji commented.
He sighed wearily, a question was pounding inside his head. He had to ask it. "So what was Okito like... where you live?"
Everything he'd heard painted this Kodama being almost the polar opposite of Okito. Heroic, kind even.
Kodama sighed, she was staring at him, a look of sad sympathy on her face.
"He's an idiot," she said with a half smile, "but... you know, not a destructive idiot."
"So what went wrong with us?" Touji said.
"He…" She hesitated for a second. "I don't know, best I can figure, he was given a burden he couldn't handle mentally. I really can't say for certain. I'm honestly quite confused why me and him turned out so different. But it was beyond your control."
"I know," Touji replied, "but it's good to hear someone say it. Thank you."
/
Okito awoke, staring at a painfully bright ceiling. To his great surprise, he was no longer restrained, though a distinctive itch told him he still had an explosive collar attached to his neck.
He rubbed it, cold hard metal and plastic encircling his neck. But the rest of him was free. He wasn't even restrained. Of course, if he tried to escape...
Gingerly, he sat up. He was in a great deal of pain. Every part of him hurt intensely, his new arm was pale and misshapen, and there was a IV strapped to his good arm. Still, he could move around and he had most of his limbs back.
In his excitement, Okito swung his legs off the hospital bed he had been resting on, and stood up. For the first time in too long he could move, he was free to walk around. He took a step.
A moment later he collapsed to the ground, his legs giving out almost instantly.
"Ow," he said as his face hit the metal floor, cold steel pressing his face in.
Life was still pain for him, he just could move slightly now.
He picked himself up. Tabris was standing above him, smiling peacefully.
"Why are you here?" Okito spat as he climbed back onto the bed. "What do you want from me?"
Every time Tabris showed up, Okito wasn't sure if he was going insane or if that was simply what he hoped was happening.
He wanted nothing from Tabris, he wanted nothing to do with him. He should just go away and leave him alone.
"I want you to help me fix your mistake," Tabris said peacefully.
Okito nearly laughed. "Why don't you ask Zeruel? She's the only one of us who still has any sort of faith in you."
For a brief moment, Tabris frowned sadly. "She can not hear me yet. Few can."
"So why me?!" Okito shouted.
"You were my herald once. Reaching you was... easier," Tabris explained.
"Yeah, a herald of what?" Okito growled. "A god who abandoned his servants, of a failure who gave up!"
"I did not abandon you," Tabris insisted. "This is was supposed to be your reward. You all served well and proudly."
"REWARD?!" Okito screamed. "You think this is a reward?! You twisted and mutilated us into our own enemies! You gave us a second life with a no purpose, no duty! You abandoned us!"
'You abandoned me!' he added mentally.
"You are free. Free from me, free from duty, free to live life as you see fit," Tabris said softly.
A venomous sneer appeared across Okito's face. "'Life as we see fit'? Unless you disagree with what we've done with it, of course."
Tabris shook his head sadly, enraging Okito further. "Ramiel and Leliel both are meddling in things far beyond their understanding. Ramiel's efforts will end in failure and misery."
Okito glared at Tabris. "I don't believe you. I think you're scared. I think Ramiel has the power to usurp your authority and that worries you. That's what I believe."
"That's because you're an idiot," an entire different voice said sharply.
Before Okito's eyes, Tabris vanished, replaced by a blue haired girl in an unfamiliar school uniform. Her red eyes coolly judged him, and not kindly.
'Lilith!' Okito realized in terror. He immediately pressed himself against the wall, all but calling at it. Desperate to be somewhere, anywhere else as long as it was away from her.
She was working with Tabris, with Adam. No no no, it was more than that. She was controlling him. Tabris now served at Lilith's beck and call.
"W-why are you here?!" Okito said in abject horror.
"Because your stupidity has set into motion a truly dangerous series of events that has cascaded far beyond your control," she said nearly emotionlessly.
Okito mustered as much courage as he could.
"F-fuck off," he stuttered, shaking like a leaf. "I will not be judged by Adam, let alone you."
"You exist because I allowed it," she stated. "You still live because it could prove useful. If I had the power, you and all of your kind would be washed away."
"IF, if!" Okito struck back. "You don't! Ramiel will make us all gods in our own right. We will stop you, we will crush you! We will do what Adam never could!"
For a brief, brilliant moment, Okito found his zeal renewed.
"Ramiel will die screaming, a victim of his own crimes. His plans are not enough to save you. If I return, you will all die," Lilith said, her words hanging in the air.
Okito's mind raced. She was bluffing, she had to be. She used to be, part of her at least, was one of the Pilots. She wouldn't do anything she knew would upset one of them, right? After all, Ria was around.
...Would Lilith really go that far?
Okito shook his head. Even if he believed Lilith, even if he did want to stop it, nothing he could do or say would stop Ramiel.
"There's still time to save the ones you care about," she added.
"How?" Okito asked bluntly.
But she was gone, leaving Okito completely alone.
/
Misato had gathered the senior staff, plus Shinji, the Pilots, and even Ria, into the conference room. Ria paced around the back of the room, her eyes focused on Misato. The two eyed each other like animals about to fight over territory.
This was a hastily set up meeting, one necessitated by Okito's near death and impossible healing. His bizarre recovery had borne some very unexpected fruit once they got him on the operating table, even more so when they did more advanced testing.
"We found the Angel's Core," Ritsuko announced to those gathered.
Mild surprise washed over those gathered, save for Ria who looked as though she had been punched in the face.
"For the longest time we weren't even sure if they had a Core anymore," Misato explained. "We could never find it no matter how hard we looked. Turns out we just didn't look close enough."
A diagram appeared on a large screen behind Misato and Ritsuko. It was a detailed drawing of a human Larynx, showing all the muscle and cartilage. A single red arrow pointed towards the center of it.
"The Angel's Core turns out be microscopic," Ritsuko said, "woven around their median thyrohyoid ligament. Nearly impossible to detect unless you know where to look. Thankfully the Third Angel's... episode gave us a very clear idea of where to do so. Now, we have to conduct further tests, hopefully with the cooperation of Ria Soryu and the other Kodama Suzuhara of course, but we believe…"
"What does this mean for us?" the younger Asuka asked with unmasked boredom.
"It means one good slice across the throat is all that it would take to kill Okito, and the rest of them as well. Which would have made several battles a whole lot easier," Ria answered, her voice carrying easily through the room.
"More or less, yes," Misato replied, keeping her tone neutral. "We've found an Achilles' Heel."
"Though this does raise a question," Ritsuko added, "one I'm hoping Ria here can answer."
"I suppose asking for some sort of neck guard is out of the question?" Ria asked casually.
"We can arrange something," Ritsuko replied.
Misato shot her a confused look. Why would she offer something like that to Ria?
"But more to the point," she went on, "I have a question for you concerning your transformation during the assault."
Ahh yes, the Mini-Zeruel did have a rather noticeable Core in the center of it's... Her… their chest. And it's not as though they could just grow another S2 engine. It could just be like the Cores made when the Angels turn into their original full-sized selves, a false shell.
"If this is a biology question I'm going to be of zero help," Ria admitted. "I'm honestly just as surprised to learn where the Core is as the rest of you."
Misato had expected as much.
Unexpectedly, the older Shinji's hand shot up.
"...Yes?" Ritsuko was taken off guard by the interruption.
"What did you do with Okito?" he asked nervously.
"Slapped a new bomb collar on his neck and put him back in a cell," Misato explained. "Don't have to keep him paralyzed now, so just turned it into a conventional prison cell."
He was secure, posing little risk of escaping or having another massive heart attack. Sparing him instead of letting him die on the operating table had been the right call after all. Maybe there was still room in this for her soul.
/
A year ago today probably would have been one of the worst days of Touji's life, now it probably didn't even rank in the top five.
His sister, Sakura, was in a coma. Stable, brain activity was fine, but no signs of any recovery, and the illness that brought her low was leaving the doctors baffled.
Part of Touji feared it might have been Bardiel but Hikari had insisted she was normal before collapsing. So at least there was a small bit of comfort there.
Now Okito had nearly died from a heart attack. Okito may have been...well, Okito, Kenny, and Kodama could be brutal drug lords and they would still be far better people than Okito was, but Touji couldn't pretend hearing that his son was on the verge of death didn't hurt. It hurt a lot.
The drive back to WILLE had been rough, Touji staring straight ahead as he drove through hours of construction, his eyes heavy with deep bags underneath.
He felt numb. He had cried at the hospital over Sakura but now... he was just too emotionally exhausted to feel anything. All he wanted to do was check in and see what was happening with Okito, if he was dead or not, and then go home.
He parked his car at his assigned spot in the underground garage, sighing deeply as he fixed the buttons on his uniform.
He put in his radio ear piece, thumbing the thing on. He was only going to be here briefly but he needed to be prepared for the worst.
"All squads, be advised there is a situation developing at the front desk," Dispatch announced. "One of the other Angels has attempted to enter. She's been pardoned but is not yet cleared to enter WILLE. Situation is under control but be prepared."
Other Angels? That meant…
"Oh, Hell," Touji swore under his breath.
He made his way brisky to the front desk.
An entire squad surrounded the girl, guns in hand but not leveled. Touji could only see the back of her. She had vibrant blue hair and was wearing a dark jacket and blue jeans, but she was very familiar.
"Look, just talk to Ria Soryu. She can vouch for me," The voice was unmistakably Kodama's.
As if this day wasn't frustrating enough as it was. Now he had Kodama's doppelgänger to deal with.
"Girl, General Katsurgi is in command here, and she was quite clear on who is and isn't allowed inside of WILLE. And you certainly aren't allow-"
"Takuboku, stand down," Touji called out.
Everyone turned towards him, the other Kodama looking at him with awkward shock.
He really didn't know how to feel about her. He couldn't muster the rage and hate he felt towards Ria when he first found out the truth, but it was hard not seeing Okito when he looked into her eyes.
He approached her, the two eying each other uneasily.
"Why are you here?" he asked her.
"Well, your daughter decided to scream at me over the phone over trivial sh-stuff, so I figured that griefing Okito over being a horrible person would make me feel better. Then I hear he's had a heart attack or something so that put a damper on that. Mostly now I'm just trying meet up with Ria. She promised me a tour of the city."
"Don't you live here?" Touji questioned.
She sounded like Kodama, though Kodama wouldn't have censored herself.
"Yeah, but it kind of got wrecked in our war and it kills a few hours if nothing else," Kodama explained. "And it's not like I have a lot of other people here I can hang out with."
Touji sighed and turned towards Takuboku, who was sitting at the front desk.
"Just let her in," he said wearily. "I'll escort her."
"You can't authorize that," Takuboku pointed out nervously.
"Do you really want to create another incident?" another Security Officer pointed out. "General was on a warpath after the Soryu kid was tased."
"Wait, what?!" Kodama blurted out.
"Someone attacked her?" Touji asked.
"It's a long story," Takuboku replied, sinking embarrassedly in his chair. "Someone got overzealous. Everyone's fine. Well, mostly. I mean, Masao is up on criminal charges now and I'm pretty sure Mr. Ikari gave him a concussion, but you know... other than that it's fine."
'Well, at least he finally learned to throw a punch,' Touji mused.
He took Kodama by the shoulder, escorting her away from the group and towards the nearest elevator.
The ride up was awkward, painfully awkward as neither said a word to each other.
"What on Earth did you do to your hair?" he said finally. "It looks like you dipped it in paint."
Kodama chuckled slightly. "Well, I like it. Makes me look distinct."
"Hikari would scream if she saw it," Touji commented.
He sighed wearily, a question was pounding inside his head. He had to ask it. "So what was Okito like... where you live?"
Everything he'd heard painted this Kodama being almost the polar opposite of Okito. Heroic, kind even.
Kodama sighed, she was staring at him, a look of sad sympathy on her face.
"He's an idiot," she said with a half smile, "but... you know, not a destructive idiot."
"So what went wrong with us?" Touji said.
"He…" She hesitated for a second. "I don't know, best I can figure, he was given a burden he couldn't handle mentally. I really can't say for certain. I'm honestly quite confused why me and him turned out so different. But it was beyond your control."
"I know," Touji replied, "but it's good to hear someone say it. Thank you."
/
Okito awoke, staring at a painfully bright ceiling. To his great surprise, he was no longer restrained, though a distinctive itch told him he still had an explosive collar attached to his neck.
He rubbed it, cold hard metal and plastic encircling his neck. But the rest of him was free. He wasn't even restrained. Of course, if he tried to escape...
Gingerly, he sat up. He was in a great deal of pain. Every part of him hurt intensely, his new arm was pale and misshapen, and there was a IV strapped to his good arm. Still, he could move around and he had most of his limbs back.
In his excitement, Okito swung his legs off the hospital bed he had been resting on, and stood up. For the first time in too long he could move, he was free to walk around. He took a step.
A moment later he collapsed to the ground, his legs giving out almost instantly.
"Ow," he said as his face hit the metal floor, cold steel pressing his face in.
Life was still pain for him, he just could move slightly now.
He picked himself up. Tabris was standing above him, smiling peacefully.
"Why are you here?" Okito spat as he climbed back onto the bed. "What do you want from me?"
Every time Tabris showed up, Okito wasn't sure if he was going insane or if that was simply what he hoped was happening.
He wanted nothing from Tabris, he wanted nothing to do with him. He should just go away and leave him alone.
"I want you to help me fix your mistake," Tabris said peacefully.
Okito nearly laughed. "Why don't you ask Zeruel? She's the only one of us who still has any sort of faith in you."
For a brief moment, Tabris frowned sadly. "She can not hear me yet. Few can."
"So why me?!" Okito shouted.
"You were my herald once. Reaching you was... easier," Tabris explained.
"Yeah, a herald of what?" Okito growled. "A god who abandoned his servants, of a failure who gave up!"
"I did not abandon you," Tabris insisted. "This is was supposed to be your reward. You all served well and proudly."
"REWARD?!" Okito screamed. "You think this is a reward?! You twisted and mutilated us into our own enemies! You gave us a second life with a no purpose, no duty! You abandoned us!"
'You abandoned me!' he added mentally.
"You are free. Free from me, free from duty, free to live life as you see fit," Tabris said softly.
A venomous sneer appeared across Okito's face. "'Life as we see fit'? Unless you disagree with what we've done with it, of course."
Tabris shook his head sadly, enraging Okito further. "Ramiel and Leliel both are meddling in things far beyond their understanding. Ramiel's efforts will end in failure and misery."
Okito glared at Tabris. "I don't believe you. I think you're scared. I think Ramiel has the power to usurp your authority and that worries you. That's what I believe."
"That's because you're an idiot," an entire different voice said sharply.
Before Okito's eyes, Tabris vanished, replaced by a blue haired girl in an unfamiliar school uniform. Her red eyes coolly judged him, and not kindly.
'Lilith!' Okito realized in terror. He immediately pressed himself against the wall, all but calling at it. Desperate to be somewhere, anywhere else as long as it was away from her.
She was working with Tabris, with Adam. No no no, it was more than that. She was controlling him. Tabris now served at Lilith's beck and call.
"W-why are you here?!" Okito said in abject horror.
"Because your stupidity has set into motion a truly dangerous series of events that has cascaded far beyond your control," she said nearly emotionlessly.
Okito mustered as much courage as he could.
"F-fuck off," he stuttered, shaking like a leaf. "I will not be judged by Adam, let alone you."
"You exist because I allowed it," she stated. "You still live because it could prove useful. If I had the power, you and all of your kind would be washed away."
"IF, if!" Okito struck back. "You don't! Ramiel will make us all gods in our own right. We will stop you, we will crush you! We will do what Adam never could!"
For a brief, brilliant moment, Okito found his zeal renewed.
"Ramiel will die screaming, a victim of his own crimes. His plans are not enough to save you. If I return, you will all die," Lilith said, her words hanging in the air.
Okito's mind raced. She was bluffing, she had to be. She used to be, part of her at least, was one of the Pilots. She wouldn't do anything she knew would upset one of them, right? After all, Ria was around.
...Would Lilith really go that far?
Okito shook his head. Even if he believed Lilith, even if he did want to stop it, nothing he could do or say would stop Ramiel.
"There's still time to save the ones you care about," she added.
"How?" Okito asked bluntly.
But she was gone, leaving Okito completely alone.
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Timerider
That guy who really should get out more.
- Location
- The End of the World.
Nice to see some reconciliation with part of the Suzuhara clan.
So the Progenitors are getting fed up with all the shenanigans too eh?
Also, that mention of Ramiel and Leliel messing around too much is very telling.
Okito just doesn't know when to quit does he?
So the Progenitors are getting fed up with all the shenanigans too eh?
Also, that mention of Ramiel and Leliel messing around too much is very telling.
Okito just doesn't know when to quit does he?
GoukaRyuu
Shadow Cabal Made Man
- Location
- New Jersey
It's also interesting that the other-Kodama shows that all things being the same it wasn't any problem with Toji and Hikari as parents. It's some innate quality in Okito that made him do all this. Apparently he's an idiot in other-Kodama's universe too. But, not an angel. Just a young teenager with perhaps a lower Wisdom score than average. But, mix that with the memories/soul and powers of a/n (once) enemy of humanity and you get some real problems. Also, at least this confirms that Tabris/Adam was trying to do good by his brood.
Nice Reason you Suck Speech tag-teamed by Tabris and Lilith. And Ria is apparently one of the few Angels who actually understands what the rebirth was all about. All she ever wanted was a normal life, which is exactly what Tabris and Lilith intended for them. Then Ramiel went all mucking about with things he cannot begin to comprehend and his resulting plotting is messing things up for all the other Angels. Though I'm a little worried about the fact that the Progenitors are pigeonholing Leliel in the same slot as Ramiel as that means they see what Leliel is doing, not as a means to counter Ramiel's madness, but merely more meddling with forces they cannot comprehend.
Lilith: "You will end because I demand it."
Lilith: "You will end because I demand it."
- Location
- National Capital Region, USA
Just like Tabris...
And it never even enters his mind that 'Hikari' might be lying to him.
You had friends, family, loving parents... it was all in your head that you decided this wasn't enough, Okito. Adam tried to let you free. You're the one who threw it away.
I note he doesn't say the same for Leliel, just that she's meddling with things she can't understand. I guess the 'panic and randomly start crossing universes' move has irritated some copies of the Progenitors, and made a mess of universes that were previously trouble-free.
Yep. Leliel took what should have been a local mess, and made it a now spiraling and expanding problem for who knows how many worlds now...
Damn it, I was going to make that joke.