dear_mun | New muse, testing voice for now.

My, aren't we selfless?

[...Ciel visibly flinches. Not just at the sight of Copy-X, but a combination of his words, as well.

Selfless. She tried to be. She's always tried to be, but...

She shakes her head.]

No...not at all.

Such modesty! Here you are, being so kind as to promise a stranger the freedom of choice, and you won't even accept the credit for your generosity.

But then again... a kind soul like you never would dream of imposing, would you?

[Freedom of choice...come to think of it, she hadn't given Zero much of a choice, had she? Well, he was gone now. He'd done what he could for the Resistance, and then went on to greener pastures. If such a term could even be used in her world.

And...well.

Ciel clenched her fists once, twice. But she looked evenly at Copy X.]

I just don't think it's right to tell her what she can or can't do. It's her choice what she wants to do, not mine.

[It positively churns his stomach to hear such hypocritical prattle played so straightforward. She's really not the least bit ashamed, is she...? He responded with a smile that was only barely a smile -- polite on the surface, but mocking and malicious underneath.

Oh boy! Time to be passive-aggressive and shitty!]

You're noble as always, Ciel. So quick to look out for a fellow human's best interests. But then... you'll say anything to make yourself look good, won't you?

[It probably would have hurt less if he had taken out his buster and shot her with it. She would have died, and it would have been a quick, painless death.

Her hands shook a little.]

...No. I...I don't care about how others see me. Why should I?

[Her fists clenched. Unclenched.]

It's a person's actions that ends up defining them, not the masks they wear.

[That smile fades a little. It's most likely that none of that was meant to be a dig at Copy X, of course, but that's not going to stop him from feeling stung by it.]

You certainly are full of words of wisdom. Very well. If that's how you see it, then you must be aware how your actions have defined you.

[She wants to take a step back, maybe back away from this. It hurts, and it's true that she'd never been confronted about this sort of behavior before. The Reploids around her had praised her for what she'd done, and she'd always had some sort of support by those she loved.

Whether it be her friends, or Zero.

Zero...

But she didn't have that now. It was just her, Copy X, and the knives he formed with his words. She had to be strong. After all, her actions had caused much good for other Reploids...

...Though...not necessarily for certain ones. Her eyes lowered.]

...I did what I had to. I...probably could have made better decisions, and I made a lot of mistakes. So many things that went wrong were my fault. I admit that.

[So many Reploids died because of her decisions.]

But I'm not going to stop until humans and Reploids can live together in peace.

[More empty, fluffy words. How lovely. Copy X just sits himself down, leaning his head in one hand with such casual, haughty elegance you'd think he was on the throne right that moment.

He's not the least bit interested in what Ciel has to say. She thinks she's getting off scot-free with one little token apology? He's not about to harm her -- she is, after all, a human -- but there's a bitter vindictiveness bubbling away in his core like hot tar. He very much wants his words to wound her.]

What a saint. It sounds so pretty when you wrap it up like that.

But you know, Ciel... you're really no different from the humans that you're so set on changing, are you? ...Ah, but then again, maybe it's not the humans that you think are the problem. It's not as though the Resistance ever cared much about reaching out to them, did they?

[It hurts. It hurts when you've got all your mistakes thrown in your face, and no buffer to help you. It was true that she could sometimes lean on others, especially in matters of leadership and decision-making; she was a scientist, more at home in a laboratory with her beloved equations and Cyber Elves than the command room she'd grown used to over the years.

It hurts, and her face clearly shows it for just one moment, before she shakes her head.

...No. Zero would have wanted her to be strong. To not let Copy X's words hurt her.]

That's...

[Completely true. They didn't really try to reach out. She just wanted Copy X gone; thinking that would solve everything. If the leader was gone, then everyone would start being kind to each other, right?

Even though she was a brilliant scientist, Ciel was still a young girl.

A young girl who could be terribly naive.]

I...

[Come on. You're the leader of the Resistance!]

I did say that I made mistakes. I'm willing to admit my failures; to say when I'm wrong.

But...what about yourself? It's not like you cared at all about the Reploids that you sacrificed for what you said was the humans' sake. You didn't try to make any sort of compromise, just went to slaughtering innocents. For what? What was the point of all of it?

[Why did there have to be so much fighting? Why couldn't they have solved it peacefully?]

Edited 2012-07-30 07:30 (UTC)

What right do you have to criticize me, Ciel? What sin have I committed that you aren't also guilty of?

The loyal Mutos reploids that your little lapdog tore apart... how many tears did you shed for those oh-so-precious reploid lives? Or are their lives somehow worth less than those cheaply-made drones you took under your wing? And what of the legend that you dragged from slumber and threw into danger, all so you wouldn't have to dirty your own hands? Were you interested in an individual with his own dreams and desires, or were you hoping for a war machine to dig you out of the corner you'd backed yourself into?

Zero is not a war machine!!

[She had to calm down. She had to calm down. But Zero wasn't a war machine. He was someone with a good heart, who brought so much hope when there wasn't any left. Even if he didn't say much, he always...]

I did it because I had no other choice! We were desperate; we never wanted to fight, but what other option did we have?! You weren't going to let any of us live!

[All she wanted to do was live peacefully; why couldn't he see that?! Why did he have to turn out this way?!]

I still mourn the deaths of the Reploids who were sacrificed; both on the Resistance and Neo Arcadian sides.

[Tears pricked in her eyes, but she ignored them. Tried to push them back.]

I...

I just wanted all of this to be solved peacefully. I didn't want it to come to this.

I would have let you live.

[Which is not the same thing as "I would have let you and your friends live," but as if Copy X cares at all about some nameless machines. The more angry Ciel gets, the more Copy X sinks into steely, intense calm. Let her be the child this time -- he'll be the one in control, thank you very much, no matter how bitter or painful the subject may be.]

You've got no shortage of lovely-sounding words, as usual, but it's funny how little they match your actions. Does someone who wants peace send assassins? Does someone who claims to mourn the machines she sentenced to death have her own creation scrapped like he's nothing more than a mistake in need of erasing?

So you're willing to be accommodating are you? How sweet.

[Clearly this is bring in all the horrible power hungry leaders of Neo Arcadia hour.]

While you're here why don't you give up your little Resistance charade. You're only causing unnecessary conflicts.

[Ciel's eyes widen, a quake of uncertainty shimmering in her eyes before they harden slightly in resolve.]

No, I won't. Not so long as innocent Reploids keep getting sacrificed for some false image of 'peace'.

[Cial stands, with an impassive expression. Innocent reploids? Innocent reploids? Reploid savages who all easily fell prey to that virus? How sickening.]

Do you not realize your course of action is only causing more strife and unnecessary conflict? Just how many more people need to be hurt or killed before enough is enough, Ciel?

You're right...all this fighting is unnecessary.

[Sadness ghosts across her face. Her stomach sinks.]

We should be using peaceful methods to stop this. Cial, why can't I convince you that bringing about the deaths of Reploids is wrong? Don't you care at all what happens to them?

Hmph, I am using peaceful methods. It's because of uncooperative reploids that all of this came about. Your little Resistance isn't helping the matters either.

[Oh, you're sad? Too bad Cial will counter that with all her MAD.]

I am not in the wrong here, Ciel. I am not promoting death, nor violence. I am simply working for a better tomorrow. I fail to see why reploids should fear being remodeled into one of my new-type reploid. Once they submit we can all end this fighting. We can all live together, in true harmony and peace!

[Ciel's fists clench. Holy crap, are you making her voice rise a little, Cial? There's a bit of power in it.]

If it was just a remodel, or fixing a bug, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

[Okay, no, forget that. Now her voice is getting louder.]

You're not 'remodeling' them, Cial; you're changing who they are! They're living beings, just like us! What makes you think you have the right to do something like that to them?!

I'm doing what is necessary for our lives. According to the laws, all reploids have to be remodeled if they are to live along side humanity! If they do not, they run the risk of going Maverick! You should know that as much as I do!

Yet instead you chose to run and side with those savage reploids! You have no room to argue with me!

'Savage'...? Cial, are you listening to yourself?!

Yes, the proper patches needed to be administered to hold back the Maverick Virus, but you're not talking about that, are you? You're talking about deleting their personality, their soul. Deleting the essential parts of making them who they are and re-setting them to what you want.

The patch has nothing to do with personality alteration; it doesn't even touch within those directories, Cial! So why?!

Of course I am. Are you?

[Cial shot back. There was no way, no how Cial intended on backing down. After all, like Ciel she believed in her own cause, power trip aside.]

Reploids are no different from machines. Why give them a personality to begin with? A "soul" if you will? Once their job is done they are to be scrapped. It has been that way since the last outbreak of Mavericks. You should know that.

[There she gives a tiny pause when realizing her own anger rearing its ugly head some more. Sighing, Cial straightens herself up while placing on the most pleasant smile ever.]

I am not heartless nor cruel. I may alter their personalities a bit but I don't take away what essentially makes that reploid identity. They keep their memories and they know what they were made for. Plus they do not have to worry about being taken to the scrap. Isn't that what any reploid would want?

They're not, Cial! They're--

[The fact that she's so calm and okay with this, with taking a living thing and molding them to what she wants, even trying to convince her that Reploids are no more than mere appliances...

She knows that humans tend to threat them that way. But it doesn't make it any less wrong.

Ciel took a few breaths, calming herself down, but her mouth tightens to a thin line.]

They're like us.

What if someone did that to a human, then? Altered them slightly, letting them know their 'place' in life. It's all okay, right? It's for the good of themselves, and for everyone else.

[There's an amused look upon Cial's face. Of course, even with her humanitarian views that idea may have been appealing to her. After all, she was already like God to those mindless masses in Neo Arcadia after creating her own models of reploids. Why not completely mold them to how she saw fit...? But she soon laughs, as if to mock Ciel.]

Hohohoho! I fail to see how you are trying to compare a human to a reploid, Ciel. They're made of latex and steel. With 1s and 0s in their brains. Their old designs were flawed! I made them better. More perfect. Just like my Four Guardians.

[Ciel bites her lip. She hates this. She hates seeing her dearest sister, who she cares about so much, doing this. Why can't Cial understand...?

It's almost like she can't. Or won't, rather.]

But they feel, don't they? They think, they feel, and they dream just like we do. They can fall in love, they have control over their own identity.

It's as Descartes said: Cogito Ergo Sum.

Don't make them casualties of some flawed quest for perfection.

[Cial doesn't understand. No, why did Ciel have to complicate things in this way? It was all supposed to be cut and dry.]

They're simply following programs. They are still machines, Ciel. Don't bring nonsensical philosophy into this. After all, isn't it true? Once they're perceived to be of no use....

[To the scrapheap. All of them. No were spared, not even the so called heroes of the Maverick Wars--all but one who rebelled and defied the government's orders.]

It seems talking with you is pointless. Not when it's clear you have no qualms in causing harm and trouble for the citizens of Neo Arcadia.

Don't underestimate mundanes and their willpower...

[Ohey, what's up Ciel? It's your favorite reckless ~~Barbie doll~~ robot, greeting you with a nod of his head.]

[Hey, Zero! Earn a happy smile from Ciel, so happy in fact that it seems to radiate happiness.]

Zero! It's you!

[That kind of smile is almost enough to prompt (a horrid attempt at) one of his own. Almost.]

Everything okay?

[She nods, though her eyes are more worried, glancing at him up and down to check for any sort of injury or abnormality.

...Didn't seem to be any...]

Yes. What about you; I was really worried about you, after...

[After what happened with Copy X. After having him fix the mistakes that she should have fixed herself.]

I was just really worried. But you're okay, so...it doesn't matter.

Edited 2012-07-30 18:30 (UTC)

[Oh, Ciel. You always worry. Zero's just fine, as usual.

Though, considering the last thing he remembers was the fall of Ragnarok... Ciel's response about it is...

His stare softens a bit.]

... Yeah...guess I'm okay here.

['Here' meaning this nexus they're in right now. Yeah, at least he's alive here.]

[He's okay...'here'? Just because she's young doesn't mean she isn't going to pick up on that.

Here, Zero. Have more worry heaped on top of worry. With a worry-cherry on top.]

You're okay 'here'? What do you mean? Did something happen, after you went to Neo Arcadia?

[After he went to Neo Arcadia? What does sh......

... Oh.

Oh.

See, Zero's been around this kind of place long enough to know about 'canon points' and what they imply...and uhh. Uhh. Uhhhh.

T-this might be awkward. Kind of like right now, as he stares quietly, unsure of how to respond.

Should he be honest...? Should he pretend it's still a point of time that it isn't anymore for him?]

New muse, testing voice for now.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Wanna twist the knife a little deeper there, Copy?

OKAY 8D

HOLY CRAP, THE TL;DR.

no subject

Way to be a little girl with a crush, Ciel >_>

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject