Tilting At Windmills
-
It was Rock who spoke up first, with Lan being too stunned and annoyed to think of a coherent response. With a twitch of her eye, she snapped back, "The kid's not trying to put me at risk, let's make that clear! We wouldn't be here if we were hurting each other, y'know that?!" She stopped just short of listing what kind of bad things might've happened to them if they weren't so close, because describing the danger they'd been in would be a surefire way to make Aon trust them even less.
"Yeah! Exactly! I don't get it! Nothing's actually happened!" Lan shouted back at Aon. "Do people just not have any faith in me?! As if I'm just going to start running around and killing people or whatever!!" She stewed within her own rage for a few seconds, before she indignantly stomped her foot. "I'm not evil!! I don't want to be evil!!"
Both Lan and Rock were stunned into silence, however, when Aon loaded a chip that they'd never seen before. Lan was utterly clueless as to what the chip entailed, but as soon as the goop lashed out at Rock and slammed her into her own blades, an all-too-familiar cold feeling enveloped her. She writhed against the tendrils' grip - the same ones that had nearly subsumed her when they fought the Conductor - and could have sworn that, for the smallest of moments, she felt a strange sensation in the back of her mind.
"K-kid- that's-" Rock shouted, trying to recall her blades to slice through the tendrils. Her eyes flickered red again, like she was trying to send some kind of signal to her operator. "Wh-why do you- have this-"
Lan narrowed her eyes, then leaned forward once the dots finally connected. "Th-that's-" she began to blubber, narrowing her eyes. "Why are you yelling at me when you have that?! Th-that's- that's what the Conductor used, right?!" Slowly, she realized how Aon got that. "Idiot! I threw that away! Why did you keep that?! It's the Conductor! You hypocrite!!"
-
Nothing the pair said afterwards really registered anymore, until they were called out. Aon started, briefly stunned that it had finally happened, and not even for the reason they were trying to hide– directly anyways.
“Don’t! question me!” They argued, their voice raised in an uncharacteristic guttural bark.
Their footwork was messy in the fight, they were losing control of themselves, they needed to reign control back into their favour. They had to convince themselves in the same breath that this was on purpose and not the same.
“You are the ones being tested. You are proving yourselves to Me. Not. The other way. Around.”
Some of the tendrils sloughed off after impact with the blades, but that only caused Aon to try and tighten their grip with what remained. The goop rippled and a white glow began to creep from Aon’s end toward Rock as they forced their element into the attack. Their teeth ground together as if it was hurting them to do so.
“Show me that you can overcome it this time! Or don’t! Let it out for all I care!”
-
If Lan and Rock's synchronization would have wavered before, it certainly wouldn't, now, with the both of them united by their surprise at Aon snapping. Rock couldn't exactly bark out a response, however, when Aon tightened their grip and channeled a glowing energy that made it hurt even more. She screamed, trying to kick the white aura away as if that was even physically possible. "Th-the hell is...?!"
"What are you doing?!" Lan shouted, tensing up for a moment before she began to squirm in a strange way, almost as if she was trying to free herself from Aon's grip, too. "Wh-where is this even... why are you..." she blubbered as she attempted to rationalize Aon's sudden change in attitude, before something snapped all sense dived off a cliff. "You tricked us! Wh-what's this even about?! Was this ever going to be a fair fight?!"
Rock's eyes flickered as she tried to dig her blades through the remaining goop tendrils before whatever Aon was injecting into them could reach her. A burning sensation was growing in her emblem as she did so, however, and Lan's presence behind her grew stronger by the second. "D-damn it-" she growled, leaning her head forward as smoke began to surround her.
"I-if this is about overcoming this stupid Alpha crap, then it doesn't matter anymore! We can overcome anything!" Lan hissed, only forcing herself not to shout just because she was outside. "Y-you just wanted us to fail, didn't you?! Jerk! Jerk! I hate you!" She stomped her foot on the ground as her eyes, too, flickered a deep red. "You'll regret this, you'll regret this, you'll... you'll..."
It was concerning how much of a routine this had become, and it was clearly exhausting to both Lan and Rock already - but Rock exploded with energy and entered Shadow Trance once more, slicing her way out of the tendrils with her enlarged blades. She let the Roller Blades whirl around her for a moment as she glared at Aon. "Why?" she couldn't help but ask, before scoffing. "Just... whatever."
A second later, Rock was in Aon's face, grabbing one of her blades out of the air and holding it to Aon's throat. To stop them from escaping, Rock's shadow detached from her body and slithered beneath their opponent, jumping up to grab them by the neck.
-
“I stated what I wanted to see from the start! Why are you surprised?! Is it because I’m not coddling you like everyone else?! Letting you think it’s all fine?!”
Aon struggled to keep their hold while they argued, bracing their arm with their other hand attempting to pump more of their vaccine toward Rock.
“You’re arguing what I’m doing isn’t fair? After using illegal chips on me, and now this?” They knew they were going to be dealing with whatever this Shadow Trance was, and in all truth they hadn’t made any kind of plan for it, not even this.
But now here they were, unable to take it back. They could only attempt to excuse their way out of it.
“What’s with the double standard? First it’s ‘no one told me so it’s fine’ but it’s not fine when it’s used against you. Is it? I haven’t said one thing I didn’t mean!”
Their gaze meandered to the screen to glare at Lan, taking note of her reactions. It left them off guard for the sudden transformation and the swiftness of Rock breaking free, appearing directly in front of them and the shadow from behind,
They struggled briefly, slacking when it became evident they were far outmatched. They could barely keep up with these two as it was, this new form was as Ellen put it ‘Frightening’ but not fun by any means.
They couldn’t do anything about this, no matter how badly they wanted to.
“I’ll take the hate. I’ll take it all! If you brats would. Just. Get it!!” They hissed through their teeth, tilting their head up and to the right against the blade to shoot a direct glare at Rock with their good eye from under their visor.
-
The vaccine that Aon was attacking Rock with fucking hurt like hell. It was difficult to hide her pained expression, but entering Shadow Trance helped soothe the pain, at the very least. As she kept holding Aon up, her operator lowered her head, responding in a strangely calm tone. "I-I don't care if you think a chip is illegal," Lan muttered under her breath. "All that mattered... was that you wanted to prove you were better than us, right?!"
Rock's glare only intensified as Aon screamed at them. "I don't get it," she barked back. "What're you really after? Do you actually want to help? Or are you just tryin' to piss the kid off?" With a scoff, she tossed Aon to the ground, moving the giant Roller Blades to hover over Aon like twin guillotines. "You know she's not gonna be too happy to see all that Alpha shit. What'd you expect?"
Lan began to shake, which only made Rock more nervous in the cyberworld. It was all because Aon was with those Official people, wasn't it? All because of that. M-maybe Mayl was okay, but...! "P-people like you... th-these stupid Officials... with all the power in the world..." she seethed. "You just want to use it to hurt people! You want to feel superior to people! I-I won't let you!"
She slot in a Tri-Lance chip, which Rock used before her operator even had to say anything. Rock loaded a crossbow and pointed it at Aon as three shadow copies of her showed up to surround their opponent in the other cardinal directions. Lan swiped her hand, and the barrage of arrows fired at Aon, stabbing them in the back as the blades above them began to fall.
-
Aon growled through the grip on their neck as their own grasp loosened on Rock, the sludge receding. “I can feel you rejecting it.” They hissed, ignoring the damage they themselves were taking from their own element. “Why do that if there’s nothing to worry about?”
The next thing they knew they were on the ground, roller blades pendulating over them ominously while Lan and Rock verbally lambasted them.
Maybe some of what they were saying had some truth. There couldn’t be an argument that they preferred to be the one in control, and maybe they had come here today under less than decorable circumstances, but in their mind the intention never wavered. Gauge how much of a threat they were and have the proof they needed to trust them again.
“That’s not–” They started to argue, before cutting themselves short. “It doesn’t matter, I’ve already explained myself and you two won’t listen.” Of course, they elected to omit their own little crashout.
“You’re always justified.” Just like She said.
These two were dangerous. There was nothing they could do about it, and they had to somehow relax through it all for the sake of the rest of the team while they battled their own demons. They had to sit by and let them do whatever with this power no child should have until the next inevitable casualty.
‘All the power in the world’ What a thing to say.
Aon had barely made a move to try and get away from the descending blades, only to realize they were completely surrounded, all ways and up. Out of preloaded options, all there was left was to squeeze their eyes shut through the barrage of arrows.
A layer of white static clouded the back of their eyelids. Each arrowhead felt like they were being held further under while their Undershirt program desperately attempted to keep them afloat.
How were these kids all so strong for no good reason while they were a government funded project? Clearly they weren't funded enough, otherwise they'd be better...
‘All the power in the world’
Otherwise they wouldn’t have been the only one who lost in the last fight.
Otherwise they wouldn’t already be hitting their ceiling while everyone else grew taller around them.
Otherwise they wouldn’t be so broken.
’You will never reach your full potential’
An ear twitched, picking up a low, familiar thrumming. Louder and louder until it drowned out every other noise, the threat of the blades dropping and dealing the final blow. The world slowed with the pace of the dark, droning pulse.
A new chip loaded in their peripherals floating just off to the side of Rock’s dark figure. It would look right at home there if they didn’t know any better. It was meant for them.
DarkThunder
Aon made a desperate grasp for it, if they couldn’t win they could at least afford themselves the dignity of losing on their feet. Garner back some semblance of control.
The little ball of thunder would barely scratch a form like Shadow Trance, hell, she was practically made of darkness would it even matter? But the stun would be all they needed to avoid the blades and get back to their feet. Get some distance. Try to shake off the gnawing at every fiber of their being until they could get the hell out of there. Convince themselves they still had a handle on their own reigns while they frothed around the bit only to wedge it deeper.
They reached for it– and it dissolved from their vision before they could fully grasp it. A sick joke, a twisted hallucination, or maybe their heart just wasn’t in it. It would have looked really bad on them if they had taken it after all, and they had already done a fine job of doing that without making things the worst they possibly could have been.
“Enough!” They rasped through their teeth, glaring back up at Rock. “I yield.”
-
Rock didn't know what it even meant to reject whatever Aon was trying to do to her, but she wasn't going to let it stand. She wound up her blades once more, prepared to wordlessly finish off this piece of shit as soon as the rain of Tri-Arrows did its job - and then, a spike of something in the back of her mind made her pause. Like something almost rose out of Aon... but... didn't...?
She took one step back; Lan clearly felt something, too, as she flashed a pained scowl. A feeling both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. It was like a toxic aura that had become one with the air around them had wrapped around the two of them for the smallest of moments - and then it was gone. "Wh-what the fuck-"
It was stupid of her to let her guard down. In a real fight, the second she spent questioning that feeling could've cost her her advantage - and yet, the fight stopped dead when Aon admitted defeat. Rock couldn't even figure out a proper response for a few seconds, too confused and disoriented from everything else that was going on. "Huh? What?"
Lan winced, lowering her head a little bit as her eyelids fluttered. Her eyes were still crimson red, of course, but the rage fueling their fire paused to make way for fear. "H-hey, wait, no, you can't... you can't just..." she blubbered. This wasn't how a battle ended. There wasn't any satisfaction in a forfeit. Were they just going to leave now?! "Th-that's it...? Then... then what's going to happen?"
"I think they're just savin' themselves the pain," Rock observed, her coat fluttering as she crossed her arms. "Not sure if I get it. But let that be a lesson for what happens if you fuck with the kid."
Lan's breathing was getting heavier. Her surroundings felt... distorted. None of this made any sense. What just happened? Did they accomplish anything at all? O-or... were they just going to make someone... run away again...?!
-
Aon took a few good moments to get their own bearings, shake their thoughts of what just happened (Impossible) and come to terms with the fact that they were no longer under fire. In the following disorientation they backed off a few paces– just in case.
The fact that these two didn’t seem to understand what a surrender was was alarming on it’s own. Maybe they had given them that impression of themselves through the coliseum…either way they could use this to their advantage. To prop themselves up and convince them, and themselves, that they still had a grasp on any straw. The kids were the ones that were out of touch.
“I’m sorry were you expecting a fight to the death or something? This was just a test.”
Their reactions fueled exactly what they needed.
“You sound like I took something from you. Do you really not settle for less that total destruction even in a low-stakes fight? Even when you have an obvious win?” Still, their own goading had an effect, and Aon couldn’t help but scowl deeper at the assertion that they were ‘saving themselves the pain.’ when they had been handed such a glaring overkill.
“–or were you hoping for a jack-out finish so you wouldn’t have to hear the results?”
Crossing their arms in a mirror to Rock they carried on, though their address was more to her operator. Any disappointment they may have had with this outcome was easily overshadowed by their own moment of weakness. Any genuine attempt at peace of mind they may have had coming into this they had completely ruined on their own.
They were hardly one to talk at this point, and yet,
“Don’t think you’ve passed. There’s simply nothing that can be done about it. There’s no doubt in my mind that the two of you are impossibly dangerous.” It was just like Ellen had said. The kid was more of a problem than initially realized. “What’s going to happen is you’re going to get to keep acting as you are and see what happens. Far be it from me to stop you, I don’t have the words or ability.”
The thought of waiting something like that out…not acting until the damage was done like all the others wanted…not having the power to stop it when it did happen…What good were they?
The low thrumming returned to their ears, or maybe it hadn’t really left and it was just starting to melt into the background. Meanwhile their SoulCleanser had been flaring and threatening to deflagrate them from the inside out as badly as if they had actually taken that chip.
They needed to get stronger.
“As for me you’ll have to suffer my presence in these investigations a bit longer. Despite it all I’d still like to be proven wrong.”
-
Unfortunately for her, Lan instantly latched onto Aon's bait, getting even more offended. "S-settle for less...?!" she repeated angrily. "What the hell are you talking about?! You made it sound like this was super important to begin with...!!" She grit her teeth, but slowly backed away when the exhaustion began to catch up with her, and her limbs sagged involuntarily. "I... what were we even... testing, again...?"
Rock frowned as she dismissed the Shadow Trance forcibly, hoping to take some of the load off of her operator. Black smoke spiraled around her before seeping back into her, and she sighed heavily. "It's about if we'll lose control again, is all. Right?" she repeated, more for Lan's sake than Aon's. "This was nothin' like our battle on the train. I'm still here, talkin' to you. But you're saying we failed the test anyways, huh? In-ter-esting."
Lan went silent for an uncomfortably long time, sinking against the back of the building as she wobbled around. "I-I don't... I didn't ask to be dangerous! Stop acting like there's something wrong with us!" she demanded, gripping her PET tightly. "I'm not going to do anything! I don't want to be evil! B-but... but... you can't just..."
It seemed that she didn't have much of a coherent point left, since it wasn't like she was going to beg Aon for forgiveness. "Just let it go, kid," Rock mumbled in the meantime, lowering her eyes for a moment before glaring back at Aon. "It's pretty obvious we're not convincin' each other of anything. So, I guess we're done here." She shrugged, her tone beginning to drip with sarcasm. "Thanks for the warning, anyhow. I know I'm not lookin' forward to it. I'm sure you'll be a real team player with us."
-
“It was important.” Aon iterated. They opened their mouth and closed it again, watching Lan bluster before meditating a moment on her contention. They had fumbled their own plot somewhat embarrassingly, influences beyond their control that turned things personal; but they did come out with an answer regardless.
They turned their attention back to Rock with a slight shrug. “I should re-iterate. you proved you were in control for the most part, even if this new power is somewhat unnerving. I don’t think whatever is in you is…done with you though.
“It’s your connection…synchro or whatever it is that is the current concern.” Pulling one arm from their cross, they rolled their wrist in Lan’s direction again. A part of them felt bad. The part that accompanied the sad girl without her navi. Their rationale however, couldn’t allow for that to slide. For anyone.
It was her in the back of their mind with all the things she had to say about the two of them and what they were starting to perceive in the real. They continued to fester with the acrid residual darkness, that felt like a Sisyphean task to push aside in favour of Roll and Meiru’s advice. At the very least they could tell themselves they made an attempt.
“I think I would get some peace of mind to know why you so vehemently want to use awful chips like that–” The pulse in their ears quickened at the thought of the chip that got away. A burn under their frame could pass for the SoulCleanser at work– or guilt– or both.
“Or choose not to listen when someone warns you about them if you don’t want to be evil.”
It was clear that they weren’t getting through to each other no matter how disingenuous, it was one thing they seemed to be able to come to an agreement on. Their next venture wasn’t exactly something they could look forward to but they needed to put this excursion behind them as quickly as possible. The sooner they could part ways the better.
“I’m not the only one who’s concerned, so at least give that thought some grace.”
-
Lan only became more flustered and upset when Aon brought up other peoples' "concerns", remembering all too well how she'd stabbed Netto-san in the heart and been coldly rejected by her other counterpart. "Th-they're just normal chips, th-they're not Dark Chips, they're..." she quietly protested, before shying away and gritting her teeth. "I-I'm not a kid! I can deal with it!"
Rock lowered her eyes, too. Those chips fed off of bugs more than anything, and... there was nothing they could do about the bugs inside of her. "I... Look," she began, avoiding eye contact with Aon as she gestured at them. "If I could do somethin' about it, I would. But you can't just... magically fix all your problems in an instant, or..." She stopped herself, realizing that this probably meant nothing to Aon, and shook her head. "Nevermind. Sorry to say, but the Synchro's not goin' anywhere."
"It's literally a good thing, anyways! I know other people who use it!" Lan barked back. "I-it's not my fault you decided that my way is weird, or something like that! I-I don't care what other people think I should use!" She pouted. "They're wrong. People ordering me around... just want something out of me. They're not going to trick me."
In an attempt to be dramatic, she turned her back toward the display showing her in the cyberworld. "S-so... go away," she mumbled sadly. "I know. If that's all you have to say, then... then... we're done..."
-
“You’re so–”
To them they simply refused to listen or learn. Lan moreso. Telling them they thought her side of their connection was the problem wouldn’t make anything better or change anything as it stood now.
Aon was done arguing. They could only offer a disappointed click of their tongue.
They acknowledged Rock’s defense with a glance, but said nothing. They almost felt sympathetic. As much that could be had when every instinct was still wired to purge the problem. They had to push that down if they were to be a team player and follow Meiru’s advice. Like it or not.
They let out a scoff. “What could I possibly want from you? Besides compliance if we have to be a team.”
Catching themselves trying to argue it again, they backed off. Aon knew they didn’t have the skills or foothold to de-escalate or sort out this kid’s problems. God knew if anyone did. How such an unwieldly child came into a power like this was beyond their capacity to consider. It was little wonder anyone else would want to contain it.
For good reason, they rationalized.
“Fine. I said my piece and I’m keeping my promise. I don’t like it, but I have a better sense of what to expect from the two of you now. ”
There was no use trying to burn a hole in the back of Lan’s head, so they took their leave and logged out after giving a curt nod to Rock. As if this had put them on any kind of even ground at all.
-
Lan could only blubber in response to Aon's questioning. Well, seeing her beaten and defeated, obviously. Rendering her unable to do anything anymore. That's what all these adults wanted, and they were stupid for not being self-aware enough to realize that-
...Well, Aon had disappeared before she could vocalize any of those thoughts. Maybe it was for the better.
Rock sighed and shrugged, logging herself out before Lan could. As she appeared back on her operator's homescreen, the latter slumped up against the edge of the building they were hiding behind. "I don't get it either, kid," she admitted solemnly. "Like it or not, I think we're just gonna have to keep putting up with 'em."
It took a while for Lan to respond, her expression sinking into misery. "...I don't want to do that," she eventually mumbled sadly. "Why do we have to pair up with these people... for the Alpha stuff...? Why not Rockman-san, or..."
"Think of it this way, kid," Rock quickly interrupted. "It's probably part of Alpha's plan to make this so scuffed, right? So... we can't let it win." That seemed to immediately calm Lan down, though Rock immediately felt bad about the excuse; she didn't feel good about making it sound like they were throwing Ellen and Meiru under the bus. "A-and... it's probably better for us if we learn to work with anyone, right? Helps, uh, prepare us for the future."
The attempt to save face didn't sit all that well with Lan, but she accepted it nonetheless. "I... guess," she mumbled, rolling across the wall of the building in frustration. "But it's... stupid. I just want to..."
She went silent again, unsure of what she wanted to say. What did she want? She wanted to be strong, but people kept rejecting her just for that. She didn't want to isolate everyone... she didn't want to be alone again. If she kept trying to be stronger, would her friends leave her, too...? She didn't... she didn't want that, but she needed to be strong, she needed to be with Rock, she needed to do better so she could...
...She laid up against the brick wall, curling herself up as she gave her PET a tender glance. A little tear rolled down her face.
