For the Sake of Cheap Sentimentalism

[empress_without_a_throne]

[1]

[So many revelations brought on inside of the Lady's Good Men's base of operations.  Ingram and that impostor Calico.  The Lady herself.  But on a more personal note...]

... He... was right.

On our own, the Savior machines have done decently enough, but whenever we've combined things have rarely gone well.  And it's getting worse and worse...

[Sara nearly disabling the machine with such ease.  SolEraser trashing the machine once, and her own self-destructive attempt to defeat it the second time.  And now SolSavior's strongest attack more a threat to its pilots than anyone else.  The cuts, bruises, bandages, and bloodstains on Mizuki's clothing do not paint an uplifting picture.]

[2]

[video]



Everyone... I've made a decision.  It's entirely mine and mine alone, but...  In light of what we did... what happened out there I mean...

I'm stepping down from being a member of the Savior team.  I won't be leaving the Unity Group or Solaris, but... but I've gone as far as I can, done as much as I can to make the idea work.  But I guess the Lady's Good Men weren't the only ones at odds with the laws of reality.

Also, just to test the water... do you think "DawnBird"... would make a good name?  For a replacement machine?  Solaris's already made two new mechs... one more should be doable.

Comments

2

[jianai]

Are you sure? What are you going to do, Mizuki?

I was under impression that you wanted to be a pilot for a long, long time.

[empress_without_a_throne]

I still will, but SolSavior... just... needs to be taken off the table. Just because something can be made doesn't mean it'll be practical, or safe.

[jianai]

Don't give up! Think of it like a prototype. Which means you can make an improved version, right?

Even if it won't use void power, and even if you won't be the pilot...

Sol Savior would never reach where it did without you, would it?

[empress_without_a_throne]

Yeah... that's exactly what I have in mind, actually. I did help us get to this point and I'll never forget that, but we need to go further. SolSavior needs to be safer; all Sol with no Void.

[jianai]

You thought it out pretty well, didn't you? It's not a momentary decision. I'm sure it needed a lot of pondering.

[But Mizuki does not seem any less unhappy about it.]

Say, Mizuki...

[empress_without_a_throne]

[It'd been in the back of her mind since the last fight with SolEraser. The recent problems just brought it to the surface with a vengeance.]

... Yes?

[jianai]

Would you like to do something enjoyable?

[empress_without_a_throne]

... Why not?

If you don't have any ideas... I wouldn't mind fishing.

[jianai]

That's a good idea, isn't it! I actually have experience with fishing - well, not for fun though.

[empress_without_a_throne]

Good. Never done it myself since I couldn't eat it, but... I'd like to have the experience.

[And make up for the fish she'd taken to Willis recently too.]

[jianai]

It'll be a new experience for the two of us, then!

[Ren claps their hands in enthusiasm.]

I think finding a good place is the most important thing, yes?

[empress_without_a_throne]

It does, yes. So clean water, like a pier or a river. And we'd need fishing poles too.

[jianai]

Organized fishing is also a thing. Did you ever hear about it, Mizuki? It is done at privately owned bodies of water, which you rent for a bit and buy fish that are let into them, for you to fish up.

... Though there may be a problem regarding the two of us going to such a place.

[The problem meaning that between the horns and the long ears, it will look like a fantasy convention out there.]

1

[actuallyselfish]

"There must be something we can do!" Dido says. "Added radiation shielding, power flow cut-offs...I dunno, a device that spins really quickly! I'm sure we can crack this problem...!"

She doesn't sound sure.

[empress_without_a_throne]

... And what if any of those counter-measures break?

[Mizuki's much more sure than Dido is.]

SolSavior was a nice proof of concept, but if all we can do is put our hopes in some mechanism because the machine as a whole is flawed... that's not good for us.

[actuallyselfish]

"But it did work out, sort of!" Dido protests "That attack at the end...you and Ken combining your attacks, directing your energies in parallel instead of opposition..."

Her voice trails off. "I know how much SolSavior matters to you, Mizuki." Dido says at last. "And that's why I want to see this work! Maybe it's sunk cost fallacy, but I don't want to see the system we've created go to waste!"

[empress_without_a_throne]

Dido, it's not... about SolSavior. It's about Solaris.

[And her hands fall on her copilot's shoulders.]

It's about you, me, and Ken as people. It's knowing there's still a place in the world for us. And there is. We've been proving it.

But the world's been proving right back that our machine was good at the start, not so much the long haul.

[actuallyselfish]

"...perhaps." Dido says softly.

She snorts. "Gods. Just last year, I was convinced SolSavior was just a propaganda stunt, a flagship vehicle that wouldn't see action."

She shrugs. "Then stuff happened. Horrible stuff. So many assholes came crawling out of the woodwork, and it sucked. But...but with you and Ken, I could do more than just hang back and pray. The three of us together could...can change things. 'Fight the Hurricane', like that Yancy guy said."

She rests a hand on Mizuki's. "Maybe I'm scared of things changing again. But it's like you say. Even if we have to scrap SolSavior, we can still fight together."

[empress_without_a_throne]

We're not "scrapping" SolSavior.

[Even if she's lost confidence in being a pilot for it, Mizuki's tone makes it clear she hasn't given up on things as a whole.]

You did plenty of fighting out there all on your own, more than anyone would've ever thought or expected of you. Ken too. And I'm not going anywhere either; we just... have to put SolSavior as it currently is off the table. At least until there's a proper, third component finished for it.

2

[tiger_ken]

...How the hell does any of that mean that you have to leave the team?

[Ken's taken a while to find Mizuki about this, after gathering his own thoughts.]

The Saviour Team was never just about whether or not we could combine into SolSaviour!

[empress_without_a_throne]

Ken, that was what we were building towards. If we can't form that machine, we're just three pilots, working within the Unity Group.

The one big call for me to make, when and where we form SolSavior is off the table... so there's nothing wrong with dropping pretense and just accepting things for how they've turned out.

[tiger_ken]

Pretense? We're a team, regardless of that combination or not! You named the team, not for the machine, but because of what we wanted to achieve! Helping people, not just fighting bad guys!

You may feel fine tossing that aside, but I sure as hell don't! Its part of who I am - Ken Torao, knucklehead and ninja of the Saviour Team!

[Well, even with the yelling, at least he has some self-awareness.]

[empress_without_a_throne]

[The loud outburst makes her wince, but Mizuki steels herself.]

Who said I was going to just throw everything I've done?! I'm not going away and I'm not going to just give up on the team's ideals! But sooner or later there's bound to be a replacement pilot...

Ken, you don't actually think I'm leaving, do you?

[tiger_ken]

You're leaving the team. 'Replacement pilot', right?

[His gaze remains hard for several seconds, but softens with a sigh.]

I guess you're just following the advice the grown ups are giving you... The stuff that says you can't ever really be part of this world. That you can't reconcile what you are with everyone else.

[From his tone, Ken doesn't really believe it.]

Even where its already done some good.

[empress_without_a_throne]

[And then finally she's had enough. Her hand strikes out, smacking Ken across the face.]

Now you're sounding like Yuuya on one of his worse days. Don't jump to conclusions and don't act like this is the end of things! Nobody forced me into this... or even suggested it...

And I still have a place in this world, right here in the Unity Group! I might've been a little off the mark but that's all!

[tiger_ken]

[Ken takes it, not even blinking.]

Don't act as if you made this choice in a vacuum either. Your father made it quite clear what Solaris thinks of the situation.

And I'd say we hit the mark against the Lady's Good Men more than a couple times. Made our differences into a strength, and proved Loni and his friends wrong.

[empress_without_a_throne]

They've made it clear they don't want us killing each other, and that's a feeling I share. Those differences are a two-edged sword, Ken, and I've put you and Dido in the hospital once already, and we were lucky it didn't happen a second time!

And we made our best showing acting separate. What could SolSavior have done at their headquarters that we didn't accomplish just as three individual pilots, working together?

[tiger_ken]

I dunno, but I'm pretty sure Birmingham wouldn't have gone the same way, particularly at the end. Or when the Lady's Good Men had hostages in Russia. SolSaviour worked when we put it to use saving people, not just fighting them. I get that doesn't come up often in our line of work, for we which we should be thankful, but...

[...He stops, sighs, and simply turns around.]

Forget it. Your choice anyway, guess I should should respect it. Or whatever.