|
Post by Zane on Jul 27, 2020 19:38:57 GMT -8
#://i~imgur~com/g15czaV~png "He was present at New Life, but not the ultimate source of its end. He was absent from Rammount's destruction. In fact... no harm in being honest about this."
The attack had yet to come, but it still was increasing in intensity. It was practically as if it had no real upper limit. And yet despite that intensity it didn't fly out of control or go berserk. A flawless manipulation of the overbearing, yet tamed force.
"New Life was my handiwork. Rammount was because of Genesis and his favorite friend. They were fighting a larger threat than themselves and it served as collateral for them to prevent the two Cybeasts from leaving."
Rather than it be because they were fighting each other, they ultimately had taken the network to that end to prevent a larger threat. And while it was a valiant effort, it was ultimately a vain effort given where things now stood. But none could claim them as those who would sit back and do nothing: they would fall after making a stand rather than on their knees.
|
|
|
Post by Warrior on Jul 27, 2020 20:24:50 GMT -8
#s://i~imgur~com/dk4CQm0~png " ... "
Warrior was silent for a moment. He seemed to reach to grab his sword, but stopped halfway as the confidence in his eyes seemed to wane. Part of the story he had heard before was true was what mattered: Genesis and the Armored Destroyer did destroy Rammount of their own volition. His hand lowered back to his side, his expression not quite as headstrong as it had looked just a moment prior, and the enemy would easily notice it.
Wounded resolve was what looked back at him now.
And it didn't stare for long; Warrior closed his eyes and looked away to gather his thoughts on the revelation.
" ... "
He himself destroyed a network recently in attempt to defeat a larger threat, justifying it as collateral as well. The lines of right and wrong were becoming blurred, as neither situation resulted in the greater good.
It was difficult to determine whether confrontation was helping anything at all, or just progressing the agenda that he still didn't understand. And as his thoughts spiraled on, he was beginning to wonder if that agenda would be the greater good if it resulted in a better outcome.
" And to what end is all of this for, Var? "
Warrior knew the Reaverkings by name, though the same may not have been necessarily true the other way around. He had become aware of them during Juno's era, but did not think they were related to current incidents when he had come across Vestil in Sharo. Vestil couldn't speak though, so Warrior couldn't have asked him the same question, but Var seemed in an honest enough mood so far and Warrior's motivation was on obviously shaky grounds now.
He'd always had difficulty operating in gray areas, and there wasn't anything black and white about where he found himself here.
|
|
|
Post by Zane on Jul 28, 2020 17:59:48 GMT -8
#://i~imgur~com/g15czaV~png It was always a bitter pill to swallow, knowing that one you believed in was not what was believed. And from the battle he had back at Sharo and its conclusion leaving his target alive but the collateral sacrificed for naught, something not unlike what the others had done, it showed that they themselves were largely causing more harm than not. It only made sense for one's resolve to be shaken because of the reality stretching out before him. Though this was one of the few who would know them by name. He couldn't claim to have intimate knowledge, just the essentials on this one in particular. Because he was one of the ones who were obscure, but not entirely unknown.
"It's largely my part to follow the path assigned to me as a soldier. But even with my limited perspective I can see that what lies at the end of this is a world changed."
In the grand scheme of things he knew his position in it all as one of the cogs in the great machine. He didn't need to be some grand figure however, because knowing what one could do and doing it was more important than reaching beyond and failing even their most simplistic of duties. Not every unit in the world understood this, as many wanted a variety of things to accompany it. An advantage they possessed was that such a thing was not a problem for them.
"Many claim to know the effects of long-lasting change. They look at all the variables at the time, and in a system that is set on a simple course, this works flawlessly. But in the organism known as life, the variables can always change over time. So whether or not the change is ultimately good or evil is dependant on the individual. But the one value that does not shift is that change is necessary. Otherwise as things stand, events like this, like the ones before, will repeat themselves. Be they for the greater good, out of apathy, or because none find themselves fit to take to the forefront. Without change, that will remain the reality of the world at large."
|
|
|
Post by Xypher on Jul 28, 2020 18:28:45 GMT -8
With a flash of light, Merrill, Lalonia and Lumena appeared above pride castle. Merrill's spirits were looking somewhat up as he made Lalonia smile. He had hoped to hold onto that feeling, when he looked towards the castle. Or... What was left of it. What he saw caused his jaw to drop.
Letting go of Lalonia, Merrill floated next to her, surveying the damage. Death hadn't been kidding. The utter destruction of the castle, along with anyone in it, had been eviscerated. He turned.
"We should look --"
As he turned to look at Lalonia, his senses caught up to him, and he noticed a familiar energy. Completing his turn, behind the adorable lady, was Warrior.
He froze. His hand that was still in Lalonia's slowly lost grip, as he struggled to express the sudden pang he felt. His voice was a whisper.
"What... is he doing here?"
Seeing the devastation, his mind flashed back to that moment.
"That's not what I think."
...
Then it hit him. Was the shaking of the net earlier because of an attack that Warrior had caused?
Taking a breath to try and calm himself, he felt the warmth from the hand in his, and the little one on his back.
"WARRIOR!"
He shouted it loud enough that his voice would be heard. He tried to keep his voice neutral, but one could tell there was a hint of frustration, a hint of restraint.
|
|
|
Post by xoDeathy on Jul 28, 2020 18:58:44 GMT -8
As they landed, Lalonia frantically looked around, connecting the same pieces as Merrill. As Merrill slowly released his grip on her hand, so did she as she simply fell to her knees.
"No..."
She knew not of the land, she knew not of where she currently was, yet she found herself with a single tear shedding as she saw the destruction. A massacre.. a complete and utter massacre.
Warrior..? A friend of his..?
Lalonia looked on towards Merrill's direction, but rather than focus on Warrior she saw the other strange individual. This.. Navi was unlike the other two. She had met another strange Navi, a glowing orb, but this one was different. Sinister almost. Someone who couldn't be up to anything good.
|
|
|
Post by Warrior on Jul 28, 2020 19:30:53 GMT -8
" ... "
Warrior winced as if Var's words made physical impact with him -- he wasn't a hard one to defeat with words alone. In truth, he didn't have much in the ways of his own ideals, just fought for others to achieve theirs. It left a gap in his determination that he couldn't fill with his own devices. And when the world was painted in an even more gray picture just then, that gap became a chasm.
" WARRIOR! "
" ! "
The voice behind him startled him, but he didn't look to see who it was -- he knew that voice well, though it had been nearly six months since the last time he had heard it: and they didn't leave off on friendly terms.
Warrior's eyes scanned the area once more before they returned to Var. The destruction here was absolute.
" I suppose your work is done here, and my stance is too shaken to cause more damage fighting back. I still have more questions, but my past is back to haunt me. "
A repeated cycle, no less -- a reminder of another miscalculated collateral.
" Go, Var. You win without the fight. "
There wasn't much tension between them to begin with, but clashing ideals would often lead to combat. There was no clash here, though -- one simply overpowered the other. The real clash was standing behind him now, one that he turned around to finally face head on after avoiding it for so long.
" ... "
He noticed Lalonia immediately. Her pink hair reminded him of the girl he recklessly deleted; another bitter recollection of a regretted decision.
He wasn't sure what to say to Merrill. He wasn't sure if he could say anything. So he stood there silently, allowing his friend to confront the tension, if they could even be considered friends anymore.
Betrayal was a difficult sin to forgive.
|
|
|
Post by Zane on Jul 28, 2020 20:54:08 GMT -8
#://i~imgur~com/g15czaV~png To win without a fight in a clash of ideals was often more telling than if one were to force their ideals on another through combat. While many would say that it was due to one having shallow ideals, those types that had unshakeable resolve often were unable to see the flaws in what they were doing. Even if they were wrong they would press on no matter what rather than attempt to veer back toward the proper way to handle things. So in his eyes rather than see someone who was weak-willed, he saw someone who could accept defeat, but thanks to that had a chance to remind others of the same. Even if he himself didn't have a firm ideal of his own.
"Understood."
The ghosts of the past were important, as if one committed an action that haunted them, it should remind them of an action that they should learn from. To not repeat those mistakes. But it might have served as a nail to the coffin he exactly spoke of now. To bring about the terminus of the cycle at hand... was there truly a wrong to be found in that? He moved, not yet to depart, but to what was left as the portal to the satellite above. And rather than his blade arm being brought to bare, it was his other hand instead, as the rift that felt so threatening began to lose its intensity, petering out in the end so that the one who walked alone would disappear alone. For one who was unwilling to share their burdens, no matter how grave they may be, with one willing to extend their hand... such was the way of things. And like the distortion from before, it happened again as Var was gone.
|
|
|
Post by Xypher on Jul 29, 2020 14:14:02 GMT -8
At first, Merrill didn't register that someone else was there. The sense of death and destruction had infiltrated his senses, making it difficult to focus. But then he realized someone else had been there, and was making their exit. But they were already halfway gone before he could act. So for the moment, he let it go.
Shifting his focus, Merrill bent down, switching his focus to Lalonia. He reached down and patted her back, and reached to take her hand back into his own. Seeing the tear on her face pained him, surprisingly more than he expected.
"... Miss Lalonia..."
He struggled to find words. They had arrived late to the scene, and the destruction was far beyond what he expected. The power that had been wielded here caused such devastation that he couldn't even feel any life signs other than those present.
"We need to be careful. I know... I know this is a lot to take in, but we cannot give up..."
He even wondered if he believed himself. But, this girl had caused several changes in him today. Those differences, allowed him to not fall in complete despair.
He looked back towards Warrior, just in time to see him turn around. They locked eyes.
"I'm going to see if I can get some answers."
Lumena hopped off his shoulders on to the ground next to Lalonia. Merrill squeezed her hand gently before letting go, standing up once again. He slowly began walking forward towards the man he once idolized. At first, each step was like trying to move a mountain, even though Merrill refused to show signs of it. His thoughts raced, anything he had prepared to say seemed to vanish, as the last place he expected to see him was in the middle of what looked like mass slaughter.
Step.
Step.
STEP.
As the distance shrank, Merrill could feel the essence of death begin to settle. Death had already started to react, embracing that essence permeated around them. Occasionally, a crimson spark would flicker close to his body.
Stopping several feet away, he crossed his arms. He couldn't hide the frown that had formed on his face. It took him a minute, but he decided to deal with the present first.
"What... Happened?"
He tried to keep his voice calm, his voice barely above a whisper at first, getting stronger with the second word. He tried not to sound accusatory, but his gaze said otherwise.
|
|
|
Post by xoDeathy on Jul 29, 2020 16:20:15 GMT -8
Lalonia was speechless. Any words that she could formulate seemed to die in her heart. How, just how could anyone do this? Could it be Merrill's friend that is the cause? Can one even cause such destruction in a moment's notice?
She found solace in Lumena's presence. She didn't move, she didn't speak. She simply accepted Lumena being there. These two definitely knew each other, and even worse they aren't on good terms. To her, they seemed more as rivals, consistently getting in each other's way.
She brought a hand to her chin, her arm bent in front of her giving a curious interest of what the Navi's answer would be.
|
|
|
Post by Warrior on Jul 29, 2020 20:01:27 GMT -8
Warrior remained silent as Merrill approached, and even for a moment longer after he'd asked his question.
" Creamland fell. "
It was just as it looked, really. Minus the assumption that Warrior would have been the cause of it.
" Sharo, Electopia, and Netopia are all the same, just different instruments used for each. "
Genesis and the Armored Destroyer for Rammount in Netopia. Then Var for New Life and Element City in Electopia. Assumedly Warrior himself for Sharo's Arbor Woods, but Rosso and Nero were what struck Com Square, Pandemic having a hand in it as well. And now Joker for Pride Castle in Creamland, along with Var's coup de grâce.
" ... "
He paused for a moment, acknowledging that they both knew what had to be brought up next, but he still lacked the words to initiate it himself, so he continued.
" I don't know where will be next. My encounters with the ones responsible have been brief. "
It was at least soft-confirmation that Warrior didn't destroy this area, even if a deleted network was basically his own calling card now. What he was doing here had more or less been covered as well, but as for what he was doing about it: he was still trying to figure it out himself.
|
|
|
Post by Xypher on Jul 30, 2020 5:56:12 GMT -8
Merrill couldn't hide the shock that crossed his face. All of the continents had taken on battle with this extensive damage? He knew Electopia had, as he had been caught up in it at first. But Netopia and Sharo as well?
"Was that...One of them?"
His head started to hurt slightly, between the acceptance of what he had learned, the stress, and his own anger and frustration.
Then he was quiet for a moment. He knew, he couldn't focus on now, until he dealt with the past. His face changed slightly, confusion and anger clearly visible to one of the people he had trusted the most.
"What... the hell.... Were you thinking?"
A tear streamed down from his left eye, with the slight light blue hue. His voice had shaken as he spoke, struggling to keep it in check, without shouting. Several crimson sparks flared.
Warrior would know exactly what he was talking about.
"We were supposed to stand up.... For those who couldn't. How do you think... They felt... In that last moment?"
His voice started breaking at the end. Not only had Warrior betrayed him, but the poor girls as well. He had even harmed his own, someone that Merrill had thought he cared about significantly.
To Merrill, Warrior had destroyed the small... albeit strange, "family," with one swing of his sword. Not everyone was always on best terms together, but they had always banded together, and had each others backs when the going got tough.
Now Warrior had to own up and explain. He had thought about this day for a long time, and now that it was here, Merrill was more confused, in pain, and angrier than he thought he would be.
There was no running away from this now. For either of them.
|
|
|
Post by Warrior on Jul 30, 2020 7:20:34 GMT -8
There wasn't an easy way to answer the question.
" ... "
The past's situation could be summed up quickly: Merrill and Warrior were in pursuit of an ill-intentioned Navi that had kidnapped a girl named Phoebe. During the confrontation, they were charging their most powerful attacks, but just as they were about to unleash them, the kidnapper restrained Feint and Xylia as a means to hold them hostage for his escape. While Merrill forfeited his attack, Warrior made his anyway, deleting half of Aqua Net in the process.
Both Feint and Xylia were caught in the blast -- his terms with Feint were simply more complicated than most realized, even Merrill. Swinging lethally at her wasn't hard to justify, and she had even taunted him before the blow that day. The only difficult part was having to explain it to Faith Nymphra, who did care a bit more about Feint's well-being.
The issue was his justification for Xylia's deletion, or rather, his old self's justification. Navis could just be rebuilt after being destroyed, so the cost seemed easier to pay, but as a Human making that call, it was an unfair judgement to have. It implied their lives were less valuable; it implied that they were expendable tools that could be discarded for what a human considered to be the greater good.
Jake had told Merrill that he was human just prior to that whole episode, so there was no masking the insinuation. His mindset that day would have made NIA proud, but their core beliefs were not ones he affiliated himself with at all.
" The truth is... "
Despite the losses, their enemy was deleted (they had been led to believe, that is: nothing was left after the attack, and he hadn't been seen since). Feint managed to make a recovery, but neither of them had heard from Xylia since that day. It was difficult to determine how things would have gone differently if Warrior had let him live.
The enemy could have killed them both anyway. He could have struck again and found more victims. He could even have killed Warrior and Merrill at some point later on.
He found his mind justifying it again, and in reality, both outcomes had their pros and cons. After his recent endeavors, it was becoming harder to overlook the cons now that all things were being considered.
He didn't just exchange two lives, he also left a permanent scar on Aqua Net and the Cyber World as a whole.
" ... I was more afraid of failing to kill our enemy than I was of failing to save our friends. I made a mistake. "
He turned his head to the side and looked down as he went on -- his body language expressing the shame he felt for it.
" Part of being human. "
He didn't want to make it sound like he was blaming his species for his decision, but it did emphasize that there was a perspective that they each had that the other could never understand. Normal human behavior wasn't to necessarily "prioritize defeating an enemy over saving allies", but it was prone to reacting more aggressively to the greater of two fears, as was the case in this situation.
There was a lack of trust in that action, though: at the time, it proved that he didn't believe in himself or in Merrill to be capable eliminating the threat by any other means, and it was the thorn that probably stung the most about it all.
|
|
|
Post by Xypher on Jul 30, 2020 8:24:21 GMT -8
The silence in itself after Warrior responded was deafening. Merrill stared silently. He recognized that Jake was indeed shamed by his choice. A choice they both had to live with.
"... Part of being human, you say?"
His voice trembled slightly again. He snorted angrily. He clenched his hands into fists.
"You made more than just a mistake. We were a family! You can't just hide behind your "humanity" for that!"
His vocal volume increasing by the last sentence. He could still feel the tears slowly falling from his face. He took a breath to calm himself, before continuing.
"You know, beforehand, when you had told me the truth, I was really curious about a lot of things. About humans, and their lives. You have to remember, where I am from, the terms "human" and "navi" mean nothing."
He looked down at the ground, recollecting.
"But in the end, I don't believe that there is much difference between us, regardless of your origins. We share worlds. We can co-exist. We can all perish. We come from sentient species."
He looked back up, staring right back at Jake.
"And on top of all that, none of us are perfect."
He crossed his arms yet again.
"Do you believe their lives were worth claiming his? Tell me, how would Remnant feel about this?"
Merrill's voice still held an accusatory tone. Knowing Jake would understand his last question, he would still do his best to keep his name and origin a secret. But he was not satisfied with the answers he had so far...
|
|
|
Post by Warrior on Jul 30, 2020 9:03:48 GMT -8
" ! "
Jake's eyes went wide, he almost looked shocked. His entire body trembled slightly at that name, as if a fight-or-flight instinct made him tense up before collision with an attack, but then relaxed immediately in realization that the impact was abstract.
" David Pele... "
"The Remnant", as he was better known. "Warrior", as he was originally known -- before Jake took up that title for himself.
" ... "
The name left him visibly stunned. He had almost forgotten it, it had been so long.
Their history was too much to condense in such a way that he could reminisce in that short amount of time, but the important details and the core interactions shot to his mind during the silence.
Just an acquaintance of Jake's in the Real World at first, David Pele died before he really got to know him. "Faith's fiancé" was all he really thought about him.
Revived as Warrior.EXE, the two became a Navi and Operator pair for a while and had met the many friends that Jake still knew today: Merrill, Genesis, and Megami. Even those he didn't still see anymore: Phenoix, Mirrorman, Havoc, Finale, Embera, and others.
" ... "
The silence continued as the recollection went on.
When it came time for the Eternal Endgame's conclusion against Forte, David died once more during the aftermath. Unbeknownst to Jake: his Darksoul survived it.
Jake went on to call himself Warrior to hide that failure from his closest friends, Pulsing In and resuming David's footsteps from that day forward. David's Darksoul later came to confront the imposter, but when they came to an understanding, he became known as "The Remnant of Warrior's past", or just "Remnant". He served as Jake's mentor since that day; his closest friend.
They constructed many stories to protect Jake's identity from ill-intentioned Navis, as some were quite prejudice toward humans -- outside of Cherish and Faith, only Merrill was really aware of who they were, and Megami had learned some of it recently as well.
Remnant was erased from history entirely by the act of a divinity named "Vinyl" sometime during Juno's era. Only five people remembered it at first, but Eon and Vinyl later restored the forgotten history sometime later; Remnant still nowhere to be found.
" ... he wouldn't approve. "
Beyond the notion that striking down Cherish Pele, David's sister, was detestable, punishing the innocent alongside the guilty was simply unjust. For someone that sought to be able to see the world in black and white, Jake was reminded again of how his own decisions fed the gray area in between: if he was no different than his enemies, then he wasn't any better than them. If they could justify their means by their ends, just as he had, then the path they walked wasn't much different.
It put him at risk of becoming like them in the future. It was only a matter of time before he sought bigger ends that demanded bigger means, if he continued down this road.
Jake had nothing further to say after that. There were two crucial pillars that held him up and kept him in line: Faith Nymphra and David Pele. He'd gone so long without one and leaned so heavily on the other (who wasn't with him right now) that he'd failed to hold himself up in the mess he'd caught himself in.
Merill called out this shortcoming and was quite on point. One would never want to disappoint the people that they respect, but now that the disappointment had been done, Jake was unsure how to pursue reconciliation.
|
|
|
Post by Xypher on Jul 30, 2020 18:41:39 GMT -8
Not only did Merrill have good hearing, but he saw that bringing up Remnant caused Jake to be very surprised. At first, the name David Pele didn't mean anything, until he put two and two together. So that was the name of the original "Warrior."
Now he had more questions, but he didn't really want to get that far off track. So he continued to apply pressure. He had to admit that these short, curt answers were somewhat frustrating.
"So, knowing that he wouldn't have approved, you still did it anyway..."
He sighed. While he was holding back his anger, he was still struggling. His voice would somewhat raise, as he finally vented his emotions.
"Did you not trust me or us to get through that? No matter what we had faced previously, I have always trusted you! I have always believed in you, in the future that we, including Remnant, had desired to see! Had you been the one in that bastard's clutches, I would not have sacrificed you like that!"
"!"
He could feel it, the inner turmoil that Merrill was facing. Even better, he could feel his own connection to his divinity being empowered from all of those who had died. It was invigorating, and to assist the boy, he felt the urge to want to fight the man in front of them.
"Let me fight him!"
"No. This is between them. Let him handle it. Do you actually care for the boy?"
"... Hmph"
Merrill was shaking by the end of his outburst. He couldn't hold back the tears anymore, his body physically reacting to the essence of death now, sparks clearly flaring off his body.
"You betrayed them, you betrayed us, and you betrayed him!"
Merrill's fury was beginning to peak.
|
|