Crumbling Ground (Eryl)
| Crumbling Ground (Eryl) | |
|---|---|
| Date of Cutscene: | 14 April 2015 |
| Location: | Scorched Earth-1 |
| Synopsis: | According to some, Eryl's involvement in the Multiverse has interfered with his ability to carry out his own mission. |
| Cast of Characters: | Eryl Fairfax |
Eryl walks carefully, up a steep, dusty hill. When the ground is so ready to crumble, too much stress will make it fall apart. Carefully testing each point with his toe before putting weight on it, he thinks on the past few days. He was certainly prepared to be someone who helped to save a continent, but a whole universe?
Everything that happened in Mizuki's mindscape. The impossibilities, the worry, and the anxiety that comes with not being allowed to know anything... it was all worth it. Just for the payoff, the fact that things were better there now. Although, what came after certainly soured that mood.
=*EARLIER*=
"Three days Fairfax. We had to open up sealed options literally a century old. We were about to put a child under the knife to replace you!" DeFoe yells over the comlink. Eryl bites the inside of his cheek, focussing on putting one foot before the other, not wanting to give DeFoe another reason to yell at him. "I understand that, and I am sorry. But I couldn't not help. I am designed so that wanting to help is in my nature, remember?"
On the other end, DeFoe lets out an aggravated sigh. "You were designed to help US. The Multiverse has lasted this long, it doesn't need you. WE need you." Eryl has to suppress an urge to sigh himself. DeFoe can probably tell he was wanting to, thanks to the constant data stream from his implants, but he hoped that she would appreciate the effort.
"Social exchange theory, Miss DeFoe. Should I help people out there, they will be more willing to help us here. Just look at the reclamation effort. What was ReGenesis's projection for retaking the skies and seas again? 10 years after the end of my mission? And now, it is done, and we have power too on top of that. I understand where you are coming from, and I will endeavour to make up those three days, but my involvement in the Multiverse has only been positive, for the most part."
There is silence on the other end. After half a minute, DeFoe speaks. "This is your last chance Fairfax. If you go out there, and it takes too much time from your mission, you are to stick with it until it's over. You drop out of the Union until then too. No arguments." She hangs up immediately.
=*PRESENT DAY*=
Eryl shakes his head. No more mistakes, that's all. He can do that. Right now, he just reached the top of the hill without a single slip. Absolute perfection. And he looks down on a dusty plain, a row of street lights jutting out of the earth. And they're on, casting light on the dusty ground.
The cyborg grins. It's true, too much stress on crumbling earth will make it fall apart. But this Earth is improving. It won't fall apart so easily now. And it won't fall apart ever again. Not ever.
