Broken Contracts

[lastfeather]

[Ryou's slumped on a chair somewhere with a bottle of wine in one hand and a hell of a lot of regrets in the other. Meaning it was pressed against his face as he was surrounded by what was more or less a cloud of bitterness.  A lot had gone down... and he was feeling the sting from all of it, from Texotic's death to Jack's senseless murder of fellow Ravens to Naiza (Now Zinaida) having become a Human PLUS. They still won, but it felt like dust.]

...

[He slowly swirls the contents of the bottle, an empty look in his eyes. 'A senseless death' he said. That was what was awaiting him, what he expected, what he knew.]

Its always because of someone who sets themselves up higher than everyone else...

[The bottle slips from his fingers and crashes to the ground. Ryou barely even notices. There was a dim light being cast on his face from a tablet on the table showing some Ark related info - things Jack had prepped to sent should he have died. It just made him more bitter really. A man making a terrible mistake and murdering people in hopes to single someone out to clean his mess. Nothing compared to what the Overbeing Father had done, but all the more frustrating because of his ties. He looks at his hand - a slight cut on it from the shattered wine bottle. He tilts it and watches the blood flow along it.]

Should I still bother being human at this point?

[He doesn't notice you at all.]

Comments

[not_the_deer]

...What?

[lastfeather]

[Ryou blinks, snapping out of his half-gone state.]

What? What's with that look?

[not_the_deer]

You said something that sounds both strange and worrying. Even if I don't know what exactly you meant.

[lastfeather]

Hm... it would be worrying to most people on here wouldn't it?

Remember Zinovie and Agraya?

[Ryou looked at his hand again.]

After what happened... I'm wondering if I should go through what they did.

Naiz-... Zinaida did the same after all.

[not_the_deer]

Isn't there some kind of cost? Something about Zinovie felt off...

[emorangerpink]

...What's your alternative?

[lastfeather]

I put myself through what Zinaida did.

[Ryou wiped the blood away.]

Its.... unpleasant to say the least...

[emorangerpink]

Naiza... that's why she's changed her name? She had something... done?

What is it?

[lastfeather]

She sacrificed her humanity. Human PLUS operations... they're messy, bloody affairs.

Machinery, chemical enhancements, invasive surgery beyond any acceptable medical institutions levels up here on the surface.

They take you... and turn you into a living weapon.

Most people don't survive from what I hear.

[emorangerpink]

...Why would she do that? Why are you thinking of doing that?

[gift_of_magus]

[Eibon announces her presence by slapping Ryou across the cheek.]

[lastfeather]

[And the Mercenary is slapped. By a book.]

Ouch.

[He rubs his cheek lightly, regarding Eibon with a slightly blank look and a raised eyebrow.]

Mind telling me why I deserved that?

[gift_of_magus]

Forsaking one's humanity will not solve your problem. It never solves one's problem.

What would drive you to even consider such a thing?!

[lastfeather]

Mostly because if that's what it takes to get the job done, then I have to do it.

Naiza took that step, she fared better than I did in that fight, and she was one of the strongest Ravens I know.

[Ryou let out a grunt of annoyance before looking at the shattered glass below.]

Besides... I'm barely even human to begin with.

[azure_savior]

Just don't set yourself up as something allegedly greater than everyone else. Duh.

[And Josh is already trying to find bandages.]

[lastfeather]

Hah... on that we can agree.

[azure_savior]

Good.

Now what part of what happened out there -because a lot of stuff did- got you thinking like this?

[lastfeather]

...Hah... where can I even start?

Realizing just what the Ravens were was a part of it... I thought they were better than the Corporations. Not true at all. I wasn't as free as I thought I was. Turns out Jack's coup was really because he wanted to get his campaign to weed out the ark until he could get his 'Last Raven' to sort out his own damn screw up.

[Ryou picked up the tablet and passed it to Josh.]

Ever since the mission at Silent Line, other Layereds underwent a change from self sustaining shelters to full out weapons factories. Internecines Jack calls them. But something shut them down right after they were finished. He turned one on thinking he could control it.

[There was a flat look on Ryou's face after he made the statement.]

Finding out Naiza went PLUS was another thing. I always figured up until this point it was just unnecessary, an option only people that wanted a shortcut. Then one of the best pilots I know goes and does it.

And...

I don't know how to deal with a lot of the things I've been exposed to ever since we came up to the surface. I'm not like a lot of people here. I don't know how to deal with this. I always figured that once my contract's done I could always go back to the Ark and be around others like me. Now its like I'm a gun in a doctor's bag.

I'm a human who doesn't know the first thing of being human...

[gurrenbrigbonded]

Oh look. Here is Matthew.

See Matthew bonk you on the head.

[lastfeather]

[See Ryou grimace.]

What the hell do you want Matthew?

[gurrenbrigbonded]

"To cleanse you of your muddle-headed thinking!" Mattthew clarifies.

"Muddle-headed thinking that treads dangerously close to cowardice!"

[lastfeather]

Hah, that's rich coming from the most muddle headed man on the ship.

I'm no coward, so I suggest you pick your next words as carefully as you can.

[gudbye_despair]

Being a giant robot isn't that bad. If you're bored of being human, go for it!

[lastfeather]

Hah. Sounds like a plan.

[gudbye_despair]

It's not like there's any downside of being a giant robot, right? Other than, maybe have yourself bump your head onto the ceiling often.