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[cruciblemods]

[in contrast to his father, Orion is deadly silent as he charges down the hall. he's not weighed down by a bulky spacesuit, so he's gaining, his Sphere following steadily behind. he witnesses his father accessing a hidden room and hurrying inside.

he follows.

the darkness bothers him] Lights!

[dutifully, stark white lights snap on, revealing a

Comments

[notwithoutasoul]

... If you kill him, will we be able to return to our homes? Or will this continue on forever?

[conniving_flame]

[here's a familiar face for ya. His face is tired, a faint scar on his left cheek that's barely visible, and there's a way he holds himself up, arms folded in absolute boredom that speaks of long, hard combat riddled with a lot of sad endings. Despite seeing the scene unfolding, the redhead looks less than interested and more vaguely irritated that he's even watching]

I'm flattered, but you didn't need to bring me back for the finale.

[dawnward]

[of course Riku was paying attention to the Sphere network when this happened. how could he not? he knows he has to get through to Orion before they start this whole mess all over again.

but he becomes very distracted very quickly.

he's staring. silent.

he'd been thinking about what he would say to him, if he got the chance, for a long time. he had so many things planned out.

the thing is, no words will come. not one]

[conniving_flame]

[Riku's not alone. Axel takes one look at him and his mouth go dry, sucking away any smartass reply he might've been thinking of. Funny, that he hadn't even thought that they'd meet like this. Again. Here of all places. It's like a bad joke with an even worse punchline.

What's left of his heart is beating a mile a minute.

It takes a lot of effort for him to at least crack a tiny grin and wave, albeit sheepishly. The honest effort feels foreign, like he's almost forgotten how to do this and mean it]

Yo.

[dawnward]

[his mouth works silently for a few seconds as his brain rushes to catch up with what he's seeing. Axel's not alone in the heart department; he feels like his own is going to pound right out of his chest.

finally, he stumbles over a few real words] Axel.

It is...you isn't it?

Or... [he frowns, uncertain. there have been a lot of things happening lately. are illusions that far-fetched?]

[bit_impossible]

[desperation fills his tone, as does a note of relief to see the two men still alive, and he knows he has no choice but to plead and reason with the young man] Orion, stop! You're better than this! You've told me on numerous occasions that you'd never kill your father and I finally believed you after seeing the man you really are. There's still time to stop!

Look at him; he's not the man he once was, he's merely a shell! Don't remember him like this. Remember him as the father who used to give you treats even if you got a wrong answer, the brilliant military persona who earned all those awards and turned the name of "Ganymede" into something prestigious and honourable, and the man whose footsteps you wished to follow!

If you do this, you'll have nothing! You'll be nothing but a murderer! Stop now and save this set of passengers! You can still save us, Orion! And those people sent through the black hole could back mere moments after their escape from the Crucible all those months ago! They could still be alive! Nobody

[sos_chorus]

Doctor?!

[bit_impossible]

[blinks and his face bursts into a surprised grin] Kyon?! Is that really you?

[sos_chorus]

Well, obviously.... Yeah! What's going on? Didn't we just go through the black hole?

[thunder_raging]

[Well isn't this a funny time to return. Anyone remember her? No? Not surprised. Mostly my bad anyway. And while she seems to be rather... healthy, of sorts, or at least somewhat happier since anyone might've seen her last.

That is, she did, until she saw this. And even though she's pretty much shown up now, of all times, and even though her memory of this place is a little fuzzy, it doesn't take much to figure out exactly what that knife may be intended for. There might not be much for her to do, but... Chances are pretty good this isn't going to end nicely for anyone.

So even if she can't really do anything, she has to at least try.]

I will admit that I'm not sure what has happened since I left, nor do I know who you are. And because of that, it might not be my place to ask you this. But... Is that really the right thing to do? Do you believe that will solve anyone's problems?

Please... Before you do something you can't take back. Even he... No matter what he's done, to you, to us... To anyone. There must be a better way.

[celestial_okami]

Orion! Killing him won't solve anything, it will not lay the souls of your people to rest, and it will only make you hollow inside! He needs healing, not to be murdered at the hands of his son, his death and the death of the others would haunt you forever. You have to stop this, but not that way!

[thunder_raging]

His son...? That person is his son?

...... I agree. With everything you have just said. If he did kill him, he would only be hurting himself, and would regret making that decision for the rest of his life.

[celestial_okami]

Mm, Ganymede is Orion's father, though he has apparently been lost to madness for some time.

And if he kills him, the cycle will continue and we may never have a chance to stop this ever again.

[thunder_raging]

I see... I don't think he was around while I was here. Though if he was, I may just not remember him. It's... been a long time, a lot of things have happened, and I... [Was a bit of a brat back then--cough.] ... had a lot on my mind during my stay.

That's all the more reason he shouldn't. Unless one of us can get to him, though, all we can do is hope our words reach him instead.