Ambiguity 2.0

[break_away_from_fear]

[That was it.... the Lady is gone and Leos no longer has need to fight anymore and he could go back to his treatment. After some deliberation the Filial was to be disassembled and studied in depth in order to gain a better understanding of the Precursor Martian Technology.  But that at the current moment was neither here nor there. With the Raven's Nest collapsing completely, people needed an alternative to the arena battles, a chance to watch pilots give it their all in head to head mechanized chaos...  and PROGTECH - after much redevelopment and reworking of their goals and hierarchy delivered.]

GO LANA! YOU CAN DO IT!

[Cheering loudly from the stadium seat, Leos threw his hands in the air without shame. An advancement in Virtual Technology, miniaturized robotics and a complex particle emission system known simply as HIDEO, Project: Formula Front allowed for people of all ages to purchase and design miniature Armored Cores with ease and pit them against each other in configurable arenas - allowing everything from standard combat in non-standard environments to multi-Core Races through obstacle laden tracks. It was the last lap through a volcanic arena that was under considerable stress, often tearing the track apart - destabilizing footing or making unexpected ramps... and Lana - on the board as Hustler Nine with her AC Cueball just barely managed to cross the finish line, the gundam-colored machine stretching its arm across it as the rival it went head to head with was just mere millimeters behind her. The crowd went absolutely wild as the contestants who didn't have their ACs wrecked all crossed.

Within moments the area reconfigured, a winner's stand with an erupting Volcano as its backdrop and jumping in joy was not just her machine, but also Lana herself.]



I... I WON! I DID IT! I WOOOON! I'M THE STRONGEST!!! I'M THE GREATEST! THE CUTEST! YEAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!

[From the looks of it, her competition had no issues with their loss as well, the second and third place contestants having their AC's put the Cueball up on their shoulders. The three beaming brightly as they held their trophies up for a picture.]

[1]
[It was a truly big day and Lana was happily chattering away, not just about the events of the closing event, but every moment that preceded it. This was a far cry from the disconnected apathy of Lana 1.0... or the brutal competitiveness and ruthlessness of Hustler One. Lana genuinely enjoyed herself... she connected with the other contestants, she embraced the challenge... and everything she put on display was all her own skill, no tweaked variables, no nudged systems. She hugged her trophy proudly... and yawned...]



Aww... someone sleepy after their big day?



No I'm not! Imma robot remember... I don't need... sleep...

[Lana stumbled a little drunkenly... before Leos picked her up with surprising ease, trophy and all and held her close.]



Bweh?! P...papa?

[The only answer Lana received was a doting smile. A pout formed on her face as she tried to claim that she wasn't sleepy at all... and failed as a yawn escaped her lips, rubbing her eyes with her free hand.]

Well... maybe... just... a little nap...

[Finally accepting her need to rest with that mumbled compliance her eyelids flitted for a moment before closing softly, slowly but surely being lulled to sleep by the sound of Leos' heartbeat as she snuggled against her father figure.]



... Its funny isn't it... how things ended up between me and her?

[2]
[It would be a while before Leos would have to head back to the institute, so for the time being he was crashing at Sakihama. Still with Lana - who refused to let go as she clung to Leos with all her might. The former Raven, once the Ninebreaker, once the leader of the Frighteners... now simply a person slowly being eased through the pain of his past, a writer of children's stories... sitting on a sofa with the newest incarnation of the machine that turned his life on its head. He felt... truly at peace. Everything felt light... and though the past hurt.... the pain wasn't as bad.]



This is nice I guess...

[He let out a soft yawn before planting a light kiss to Lana's forehead, letting himself just sink into the softness of the sofa as he started to drift off. One hand holding his daughter, the other on a yet to be opened pack of pudding.]

Night Lana.... sweet dreams...

Comments

1

[an_inherited_mind]

I don't think I'm in any position to say anything about weird endings to relationships.

[break_away_from_fear]

Yeah... but everything still worked out for the best... didn't they?

Guess even a pair of not so generic mercenary guys like us can find a happy ending.

[an_inherited_mind]

Somehow...yeah.

Maybe the world is a bit less bleak than I thought it was.

[break_away_from_fear]

It probably never was... because there were people to make sure it didn't.

We have great friends don't we?

[an_inherited_mind]

If we didn't I don't think either of us would still be here.

2

[herodrawing]

[Izuru enters but without the usual ruckus. He speaks quietly too. Does he want the robot not to wake up? Or is it because he too feels similar?]

Good job, Grey Zero.

[A dorky thumbs up.]

[break_away_from_fear]

[Leos smiled back sleepily, holding out the pudding to Izuru.]

Thanks Team Leader... couldn't have made it this far without you. So... lets celebrate yeah?

[herodrawing]

Yeah. And I know exactly how to do it.

[break_away_from_fear]

Friendship Pudding?

[herodrawing]

Sounds like a plan!

[A little while later...]

"This is my cutting blade! TOH!"

[Empty pudding cups are strewn around the sofa and the TV screen, the latter showing a live action costumed hero decapitate a monster while brass-heavy music is playing.

The headless monster flails its arms in panic and explodes.]

They used real explosives for that, you know.

[break_away_from_fear]

Yeah... I think I can see it. Fake ones wouldn't kick up that much.

[Leos happily polishes off another cup of pudding.]

I haven't seen this since I was a little kid... its nostalgic.

1

[agedup]

Sorry for being late, I still saw the race and-

[Ah. She's already out that fast, huh?]

... And yeah. I wouldn't have figured it myself but...

It's worked out for the best, hasn't it?

[break_away_from_fear]

It really has. It was weird when she woke up for the first time. A bit awkward... but... I'm glad for everything.

You did great work with helping her get the Cueball ready for today Flit. If she wasn't asleep... bet you'd have to deal with Lana clinging to you for a while.

[agedup]

And then she might've not won.

[But there's an honest chuckle at the image.]

It's so different to trying to design something that small though. It at least gets done faster than the Gundam did.

[break_away_from_fear]

Mhmm. Maybe one day we could jump in to one of these contests too. Make a family day out of it.

[agedup]

She'd probably love that a whole lot. But we might end up just holding her back.

[Considering all the pitfalls Flit's avoided to get to this point, something about this seems to raise a red flag for him. But it's probably nothing.]

Still... finding some time to be with you both, it's been long overdue.

[break_away_from_fear]

Heh... That's probably true. We'd probably end up breaking our stuff and she'd have to bail us out.

[There was a slight shake of the head from Leos.]

One day things'll probably get busy again... heck, there's a lot of stuff that all three of us will have to do. But that just makes times like these more worthwhile right?

[agedup]

Definitely. And the fact that things have finally quieted down's got me thinking.

If things with the Lady would've gone bad... we'd set it up for Lana to be transmitted back to the Nineball SID back on Mars.

But... what about bringing it to Earth now? We might need to keep it on the down-low so nobody tries to seize it, but combined with the Filial, it could put us ahead in understanding the Martian technology by... well who knows how much!

[break_away_from_fear]

It would... I mean with everything they made, it could push everything we already know forward... and more than that.... it might help us understand the people who made Lana too.

Dido asked me back on Phobos why I never tried to use what I found to help people. I think this might be another second chance.