Roleplay Area

[Raptordude115]

"Mmh, alright then. Besides, two Frames are better than one."


Zack leans forward a bit attentively.


"So, any ideas for a plan we could use?"

 

[PercyJacks]

"Unfortunately, no." Her eyes drifted towards the ground. "My mind's been kind of…messy and blurry these past few days. I'm having difficulty living like I usually do."

 

[Raptordude115]

"Damn...I know how you feel...I've been feeling depressed over the past week due to the mission failure..."


Zack shakes his head as he begins thinking of a plan.


"Hmm...well...Eclipse has Homing Missiles, Phalanx, and Wisp...what were the specs on Amaterasu again, Alrize?"

 

[PercyJacks]

"Amaterasu? Um…if I'm not mistaken, Amaterasu's meant to be a long-range unkillable turret, so it has Homing Missiles, Homing Lasers, Comet, Decoy, and Mummy, along with the primary Long Claws, Hip Cannons, OPTIONs, Shot, and Distortion Rifles…"

 

[Raptordude115]

Zack nods his head as he begins brainstorming plans they could use to fight Ren effectively.


"I see, I see...alright then...hmm...we've seen how well Tsukuyomi was able to block our Homing Missiles, but what if I fired off Homing Missiles while you used your Distortion Rifles..."


Zack sighs as he continues trying to think of plans.

 

[PercyJacks]

"I did that during our first fight. He did get hit, but he might have learned from that mistake."


Alrize felt a slight sense of awkwardness, and tried to dispel it somewhat by looking around the room, to let new information enter her mind so she wouldn't be completely stuck on how to defeat Ren. It seemed like a normal room, with similar features to her own quarters.


This is my first time in a male's bedroom by myself, and with someone who isn't family. It doesn't seem all that different…

 

[Raptordude115]

"Hrm...well okay then, um...ah, how about I use Wisp to try and hold Tsukuyomi down while you follow it up with Comet?"


Zack noticed how Alrize was looking around his room, but he didn't seem bothered by it. He was too focused on coming up with a plan to defeat Ren.

 

[PercyJacks]

"That might work…although what will happen if he slashes through, or my Comet misses and hits you, or if he does that thing again…"


Alrize felt herself getting worked up. She couldn't help it. Her last experience in combat had scarred her.

 

[Raptordude115]

"Aye, that's true...argh..."


Zack sighs as he leans back in his chair, tapping his foot on the floor impatiently. It was clear that he had a difficult time thinking of a plan.


"Jeez, there's just so many risks and variables to take in..."

 

[PercyJacks]

Alrize nodded silently. She didn't have anything else to say. She couldn't think of anything. All the plans she made before that fight seemed useless against him. Even SERA and Adalia don't know much about Ren's new ability. Alrize felt like there was nothing she could do against him.


"Zack…can we even win?"

 

[Raptordude115]

Zack stares at Alrize for a few seconds before slowly looking down, clearly trying his hardest to come up with an answer. He didn't like Alrize's question. On the one hand, he felt that they could win against Ren if they outsmarted him, whether by skill and planning or by sheer luck. On the other hand, seeing how ruthless Tsukuyomi was when attacking them in the final stage of the mission, and how close they both came to dying, he feared that maybe there is no way to defeat Ren. Zack looks back up at Alrize directly, his face clearly showing his concern.


"...I don't know, Alrize..."

 

[PercyJacks]

Alrize remembered the battle. The glowing frame, the slew of blades, the deathly rattling sound of metal grinding against metal. She felt weak, and had to sit down onto Zack's bed, the memories of her experience flowing back into her mind.


"Is that thing even human…there's no way…no, that wasn't a human, that was a monster…a monster that nearly killed me, and single-handedly destroyed our fleet."


Alrize began shaking.


"I can't defeat it. Not me, not anyone. How could I think I could win? I was naïve…I was stupid…I had no idea what I was doing…I underestimated him…I made a mistake…I cost us the mission…I cost us the fleet…I…I…"


Alrize hated the trembling in her voice.


"I'm scared…"

 

[Raptordude115]

Zack looks at Alrize with a sad frown. He knew exactly how she felt. He was there the whole mission, witnessing the destruction of the fleet and losing to Ren once again. To hear Alrize berate herself like this, however, was too much for him to bear.


"Alrize, please, don't say stuff like that! It's not your fault...it's none of our faults...Tsukuyomi was simply too powerful for us to defeat...it's like you said. That thing we fought wasn't Ren nor Tsukuyomi...it was a monster...a monster that none of us could have predicted..."


Zack sighs heavily as he stands up, still looking directly at Alrize.


"I understand that this loss cost us immensely...not only to our skills as Runners, but for Neo BAHRAM as a whole...and I know how scary it is, fearing that Tsukuyomi could attack once more in...whatever state it was in..."


Zack clears his throat before looking at Alrize with a determined face.


"But as long as we're still alive, as long as we still have Amaterasu and Eclipse with us, and as long as Neo BAHRAM is still standing, we can't just simply give up nor run away. Tsukuyomi may be strong, but you gotta remember, it's not invincible. We just need to discover its weaknesses...whatever it may be..."


Zack sighs as he sits back down in his chair, his hands gripping his kneecaps firmly.

 

[PercyJacks]

Alrize stared at Zack. After hearing his speech, she didn't know what to say. There was nothing they could do…yet Zack stayed hopeful and didn't despair like she did. She hated that. She hated that she was weak enough to be discouraged and broken just because of Ren. But there was nothing she could make herself do. She felt something dripping from her eyes. Upon realising what was happening, she quickly turned away.


"Tch…"

 

[Raptordude115]

Zack notices Alrize look away from him. He didn't see her wet eyes, but he could sense Alrize's despair.


"Alrize..."


Zack sighs quietly as he moves his chair up and puts a hand on Alrize's shoulder in order to comfort her, a face of concern and understanding on display.

 

[PercyJacks]

Alrize felt something touch her shoulder. Slowly, she turned back, and saw Zack's face before her. Her tears kept flowing.


"I'm sorry…I'm sorry…I'm sorry…I…"


She tried wiping her tears, but it was no use. They had no intention to stop. 


Oh…on my shoulder…that's his hand…isn't it…

 

[Raptordude115]

Zack shuts his eyes briefly before opening them back up, filled with grief. He gently pulls Alrize in for a hug, sliding next to her. He speaks to her in a quiet, solemn tone.


"Don't be sorry, Alrize...sometimes, we just need to let our emotions pour out...it's just, natural..."

 

[PercyJacks]

Alrize didn't say anything. She didn't want Zack to hug her. It made her feel pitiful. Like she was sad enough to need comforting. It irritated her. Her eyes still wept. But…she let him do it. Just this once. It was kind of warm, after all…

 

[Raptordude115]

Zack closes his eyes and nods as he continues hugging Alrize. Although he was hesitant to hug her at first, he didn't just want to standby and look at her with a sad look, making it seem like he was just listening to her woes and nothing more. He genuinely felt concern for her, and giving her a supporting hug was his way of showing that he cared. After a few minutes, though, Zack eventually breaks the hug, though keeps rubbing her back comfortingly. He opens his eyes and looks at Alrize.


"I understand what you're feeling, Alrize...I'm feeling exactly how you are, feeling like I failed everyone...Adalia, my comrades...TESS...it's just hard to take such a massive loss...but, I know that I won't be able to get better if I keep dwelling on my losses...I just gotta accept my losses, and move on...it's hard, yeah, but I have to if I wanna keep getting better, and learn from my failures to get stronger..."

 

[PercyJacks]

Alrize kept her eyes towards the ground in embarrassment. She felt that if she made eye contact, the situation would've been a lot more awkward. But after thinking about what Zack just said for a while, she made her decision. She shook her head, pat her cheeks, then, with a determined face, looked up and nodded at her fellow pilot.


"Yeah. Understood."

 

[Raptordude115]

Zack nods with an equally determined face, then casually looks at his now beeping clock to see the time.


"Hey, it's Dinner time. Hopefully the food will be better compared to yesterday...though, a part of me doubts that."

 

[Ishi123]

Ren had been lying down in his infirmary bed for the past few hours. He was bored out of his mind. He always hated hospitals; being unable to leave or do anything on his own. He wondered what Leo was doing in the meantime... whether or not Cagalli was getting that info to the people who needed it. However, his thoughts were broken when a couple of high-ranking Space Force officers entered his room. They looked at him.


"Ren Silber?" They asked.


"Uh... yeah?" Ren responded.


They then turned to the single doctor in the room.


"Commaner Weinberg requested his presence. Is he clear to leave?"


"Well..." The doctor said. "He really should rest up a bit more, but presently there aren't any huge risks to his health..."


"It'll have to do." The man said, turning to Ren. "Come with us, please."


"Uh..."


---


Ren was taken out of the infirmary and led through the compound towards the main building. He entered the building and was led through the halls and up several floors via elevator until he arrived at what looked like a command room which overlooked the hangars. In the room Ren recognized Leo and Cagalli talking to a woman in a Space Force officer's uniform. The two turned to Ren as he stepped into the room and the two other officers promptly left, closing the doors behind them.


"Ren." Cagalli said. "You feeling any better?"


"I'm feeling not dead." He said. "I think that's as good as I'm gonna get right now."


"Well with what you went through, I wouldn't doubt it." Leo said. "Ah... this is Elena Weinberg. She's a commander of the Space Force."


Commander Weinberg seemed to be sizing Ren up as she looked at him, making him feel a little uneasy.


"You've taken an awful lot of risks in getting here." She said sternly. "It was practically suicidal, doing what you did."


A moment of silence passed.


"However... the information you've provided is... well... I wouldn't say it's a hyperbole to say that it changes everything."


"So you saw their plans." Ren said.


"I did." Elana sighed, turning back and looking out the windows into the hangar, where Tsukuyomi was being kept. Ren walked up next to her, looking down at the frame. "That Orbital Frame you brought as well. It's top of the line. Far beyond anything we've seen before. The plans were one thing, but bringing us one of the two most advanced weapons Neo BAHRAM possesses is another thing entirely."


"Well, it wasn't easy." Ren smiled nervously.


"It's incredible..." Elana said, seemingly lost in her own thoughts. "Jehuty was the most advanced Orbital Frame in existence just a few years ago... to think that Neo BAHRAM had advanced this far in such a short time..."


"Uh..."


Elana then turned to Ren.


"Well... the good news is we know what we're dealing with." She said. "The bad news... is that nothing we have could stand a chance against it."


"Oh..." Ren's shoulders dropped.


"The only thing that could... is that frame." Elana said, looking back to Tsukuyomi.


"Well... you're welcome to have it." Ren said.


"Is it that easy for you?" Elana asked. "Giving up something like that?"


"Well... to be honest, I never wanted anything to do with this..." He said. "Fighting isn't for me... I hated it..."


"Well... I'm certainly glad you're willing to give us the frame. But you'll have to take the biometric lock off of it."


"Yeah... I can do that." Ren said, nodding.


"Additionally... there's the matter of being integrated into Earth society." Elana said. "You were Neo BAHRAM... but I think the information you've provided as well as the frame has granted you complete immunity to any charges that may be placed against you."


"Oh... well, that's good." Ren chuckled nervously.


"We'll sort all of that out." She said. "In the meantime, go ahead and unlock the frame. Afterwards you got some free time for yourself."


"I can stay around here, right?" Ren asked.


"For the time being. At least until you can make it on your own on Earth." Elana said. "Unfortunately, you won't be able to go anywhere else... Neo BAHRAM will hunt you down across the system, so Earth is the safest place for you."


"I see..." Ren sighed, figuring that would be the case. He wished he could go back to his family around Jupiter, but... that wouldn't be happening now. He'd left all that behind.

 

[PercyJacks]

Alrize nodded her head and stood up. She opened the door and moved to walk out, but stopped in the doorway.


"Do you want to…come with…?" She asked, without turning her head to look at Zack.

 

[Raptordude115]

Zack stretches his arms before looking at Alrize.


"Eh, sure."


Zack gets up and stands about a foot away from Alrize, ready to walk to the Mess Hall with her.

 

[PercyJacks]

Alrize headed immediately for the lunchroom with Zack in tow. Upon hearing his response, she was able to successfully stifle a small smile that would have appeared on her face. She wondered what dinner would be, and felt a little more relaxed knowing that she had someone with her.