Scene #8084: Do You Believe In Gravity

Owner	Pose
Timespace Riders	"The Concord really is amazing!" The Shrine is the perfect place for the 'lesson' Woz asked Persephone to teach Sougo. Having taken an advanced large-capacity hydrofoil to get here (planes are cool, but sometimes you just want the wind in your hair), he marvels not only at the extensive docks and landing strips, but at the excess of the main building itself. The setting sun bathes the flanking towers in red-gold light. Sougo's loose-fitting, yellow short-sleeve button-up, rolled highwater jeans and bright red sneakers seem appropriate, even as the end of summer is around the corner. A gentle sea breeze blows his medium-length brown hair gently as he enters into the Shrine proper. He is joined by the mysterious Woz, the man who proclaims himself retainer of the future Demon King. By contrast, Woz's clothes don't seem very summery--rather, if anything, they seem almost post-apocalyptic. A heavy, utilitarian double-breasted coat, with snap-button sleeves opened and revealing his arms. Tight black pants and leather boots seems like they might've been scavenged from somewhere, were all of his clothing (including his ever-present dark scarf) not so immaculately clean. "Indeed, my Demon King. " Woz purses his lips, brow furrowed. "I took the liberty of preparing concessions for you, and Persephone Kore. They await you within. And," he says, lips curling into a faint smile, "So, too, does dear Persephone." The Shrine's interior boasts a spread of snacks covering a broad selection of tastes, ranging from western deviled eggs to chicken skewers to onigiri. Throwing both arms (even the one that cradles his strange book) wide open, he twirls on his heels. "Indeed, only a space such as extravagant, as ornate as this Shrine, would suffice for the task at hand. Prepare yourself, my Demon King, for according to this book, the arrival of Persephone Kore, the princess of Space, who will uplift the sleeping, the dispossessed, and render outwards their inner radiance, is nigh."
Persephone Kore	Haha, I like that prophecy a lot! I'm happy to make it come true. Persephone's aura heralds her arrival, as vast as the clouds in the sky. It is warmth; it is serenity; it is a slightly terrifying gentleness, the feeling of being held adoringly in the hands of something that could crush you almost on accident. Clack. The echoing sound of her heels comes next. Finally the woman herself comes into view, in her comfortable blacks and vibrant scarlets. She is smiling, and it's impossible to imagine her not. There is a gravitas- gravity?- to her that makes it hard to look away, for more than the obvious reasons. "Why did you want to come here? Haha, that's really silly, you know." Her hand cups her cheek. Her eyes drift from Sougo to Woz, and back again. Teasing: "Did you think you could hurt me?" Warmly: "Did you think I could hurt you?" "Ahaha. But I won't complain! I love getting to feel your hearts. Thank you so, so much." There's no doubt that one has already felt hers. That's the presence filling the room, so heavy it seems like the walls should groan. But there is, also, the feeling of being seen. She picks up an onigiri with curiosity. I wish I knew what's in it, so it disassembles itself, its rice forming an orbital disk to bare the core of its fillings. That seems to please her, so it obediently reassembles itself, every grain in place. She takes a bite. I wish I knew what's in them, too. But I'm about to find that out, aren't I? "You made all of this, didn't you, Woz?" Nobody ever taught her not to talk while eating, but she manages. "It's delicious! Thank you so much. Haha, but you don't have to bribe me to bully Sougo! I promise." She turns to face the latter. Clack. Her expression is terrifyingly eager. "So! Are you ready to be almost, but not quite, unable to walk?"
Timespace Riders	Woz smiles at Persephone, the expression calling to mind 'the cat that got the canary.' "This place was my suggestion, dear Persephone, for that very question--but so, too," he adds with a flourish of his free hand, index tracing a graceful loop, "...because my Demon King wished someplace where the common folk would not be blinded by the clashing of two stars." Though he hides it well, Woz seems ill-at-ease being Seen in this way. Sougo very much does not. He already had a bashful smile on his face, from Persephone's very presence, let alone her teasing. "That's just how Woz is," he admits, on the topic of the food. "It's a little overwhelming sometimes..." But, his tone, his heart both say, definitely in a good way. Being looked at directly in that way, made to feel the terrifying weight of her full, eager attention, sends a chill through him that reverberates to his Heart--an electric, alert thrill. a momentary skip. Moments like this--where he has someone's full, eager attention, must have been rare for him before meeting Woz. "Right..." With his belt--the helpfully-announced TIMESPACE DRIVER--fastened securely, Sougo procures and presses the crown on a futuristic-looking pocketwatch. ZI-O! The name echoes through Space. With that watch slotted into place, the display on his Timespace Driver reads AU30 in blocky LCD font. The silver gears and hands of a great analog clock form behind Sougo, ticking away as his hands, held up and out, pantomime the movement of the clock hands behind him, in reverse. "Henshin!" Sougo's hands grasp the Timespace Driver and spin it--there's a shifting of space along with it that'd probably feel dizzying, were Persephone not used to its utter obeisance. RIDER TIME! Large pink gears envelop him completely before fading to reveal-- o/` Ka-meeen Rider! o/` ZI-O. . . He's an armored fighter in black, white, silver and pink, whose cuirass and helmet resemble the band and face of an analog wristwatch. The hands of this watch form the classic Rider 'antenna,' with pink katakana flying into place over the helmet's face to spell out "RIDER." "I'm ready! Please teach me, Persephone!"
Persephone Kore	"'Blinded by the clashing of two stars'. Future Demon King of Time, are you maybe, a little shy?" Persephone beams, and her eyes glint. The question is asked with utter love, but also just a tiny bit of cruelty. You don't want my eyes on you, do you, Woz? Haha, I'm really sorry! I'm not sure I can close them. It doesn't work like that. But if you'd rather I look at your king, I can try! The transformation takes her breath away. How could it not? She is wide-eyed, unguarded in her admiration, like a kid staring through the window of a candy shop. "Is that the shape of your heart, Sougo? Is this your true and perfect body?" She steps forward to touch the armor's shoulder, marveling at how it feels under her fingers. "No, wait! Don't tell me, haha. I'll find out soon, okay?" "But I'd feel awful if I didn't show you my own! So here." Persephone steps backwards, giving herself enough space, and then gently lifts into the air. Her mech- the Queen in Veils, a regal halo-crowned doll of white plastic with hair like smoke and eyes like stars- shimmers into being around her. For all its three-story-plus looming scale, it feels less 'dense' than its pilot. It's a toy, something to metabolize violence into feelings and not vice-versa. Persephone wills the Shrine to boot up, and it does, weaving novel un-real surroundings for them. This is the gravel parking lot of a mountainside summer camp, crowded with pine trees. Nearby is a lake, a burned-out campfire, some rustic-looking cabins. "You want me to go first, don't you? Don't worry! I promise it won't hurt." The Queen in Veils puts a hand on its cheek adoringly, exactly the same body language as Persephone's. There is just a tiny instant where physics perceptibly alters itself to tolerate what Persephone is about to do. It's like the water receding before the tsunami hits. Though she doesn't gesture or speak, instinct prickles, nerves rebel. Something terrible is about to happen- But it isn't terrible at all. The telekinetic hammerblow grinds gravel into dust, craters the soft earth for fifty feet around, flattens trees and crumples cars like empty soda cans. But the very force that ought to reduce a human body to jelly becomes gentle and soft, instead- it jars but does not fracture, presses but does not crush. Instead it invites surrender and submission, obliterating the will to fight just as it ought to obliterate the body. "Okay! Your turn. You're still in it, aren't you? I know you're special enough to keep going!"
Timespace Riders	Is this the shape of his heart? It sings, to be certain--especially at her praise. To touch the armor is something anyone can do. But to truly feel it is something only Persephone, or one of her peers, is capable of. She's touching a wish pulled from the inside out, across the yawning vastness of time and space, born in the past, stretching into the future; with endless possibilities like the branches of a tree. Here, and now... no--as she'd said, Persephone will find out if this is his true and perfect body soon enough. "Yours is amazing!!" A soft, startled noise escapes Zi-O as the Queen in Veils mimes Persephone's adoring gaze. Unused to such praise even from the effusive Woz, he is left speechless--and unprepared. Woz purses his lips--but nods his head at Persephone. Her discretion is appreciated. He has a king to uplift, after all. "Observe the strength of her heart, my Demon King," proclaims the retainer, arms thrown wide. "Look upon it, and know in its vastness the road that lies before you. Hold nothing back--for this bout is one between the strength of hearts, of wishes!" Initially knelt by the force of her gentle will, Zi-O forces himself to rise. One day, I'll be king... and make the world a better place. If this is showing her the strength of that dream... I have to do better! Pressing the stop on the Timespace Driver, Zi-O extends a gauntleted hand. A straight sword with a slot for one of those unusual pocketwatches (and a pink katakana 'SWORD' character near the guard) appears in his hand. His wish makes him stronger, tougher, even a little faster, as he holds the sword in preparation for a slash. Admirably undaunted by the towering size of Persephone's perfect self, Zi-O respects it exactly as he would any other opponent, making hip-shoulder (really, foot-ankle, given the Queen's size) slashes, first from the left, then the right. His wish adds burning pink crescents moments after the cuts are made, and a powerful leap carries him into the air to bring the sword down in (what he presumes to be) a surprise attack. "If your heart is this strong... you must be really special, too!"
Persephone Kore	The plastic is damaged easily- it's only plastic, after all. It accepts his attacks, and then it forgives them: the wounds seal over not by any physical mechanism, but as if they were simply smoothed away by an image transform. I can be hurt, but the universe refuses to acknowledge her as having been hurt. That Persephone, that the Queen, could be anything but their perfect truest bodies is utterly rejected! Sougo's blade cuts through the halo-crown and embeds in the Queen in Veils' head. The head tilts slightly as if to admire his handiwork. Those starlike eyes, each nearly the size of his face, turn to gaze at him fondly from behind bangs of rich honeyed woodsmoke. "I am! It's completely and totally unfair! But you don't need to be more special than me to win, you know. You only have to want it more! That's the kind of fight this is!" From this close, her voice isn't that loud, yet feels like it reverberates in his bones. The Queen in Veils holds out its palm, and Sougo is drawn towards it as if by magnets until it can close its fingers around him. Then gas and dust spirals inwards, compressing and igniting- a new star being born, with him trapped at its core. With the exact tension of the Queen's fingers, his utmost strength can pry him free, but not an iota less than that. "So, Sougo Tokiwa, tell me why you are the way you are!" It's a request made of both him, and his heart- one can fill in the details the other won't. A little giggle follows. "And maybe could you kneel again? I really thought that was cute."
Timespace Riders	Her heart is amazing--it must be really strong, really big, to keep its shape like that! I just have to want it more... is that what Woz wanted her to teach me? Then... The birth of a new star has him struggling in the Queen's grasp--but now that he understands, between Woz and Persephone, just what kind of contest this is, the star of his heart burns much more brightly than it once did. Uttering a shout equal parts exertion and exultation, Zi-O pushes himself to his limits. It's just enough, just as Phony had intended. His voice speaks up, and his heart with it. "I've always wanted to be king, ever since I was little!" A boy of about 5 or 6 enjoys a sunny day in the park with his parents. They ask him what he wants to be when he grows up. He proudly declares he'll be king. It feels right in a way he doesn't yet understand. His parents laugh, but even so, they're proud. Why? It might've been the idle dream of a child, at one time. But... The boy is seven or eight, now. He's boarding a bus with his parents, for a school trip to go pick strawberries. He's never been so excited. None of the kids that pick on him can touch him, even if they tried--the two people who believe in him the most will be there with him to enjoy a perfect afternoon. It is far from that--through the haze of memories occluded by scar tissue, Persephone sees the bus crash. It takes his parents, and those of nearly every other child on the bus. In his dreams, Sougo still sees the man in purple--the man who tells him he's a natural born king, moments before he loses consciousness from his injuries. "I want people to be safe, happy, and whole. There are people who could do those things right now, but they won't. And that's terrible! That's why..." Sougo and the time traveler who's come to kill him stand in a retention ditch. Geiz is his name--Sougo would feel something other than shame, to have Geiz's hands at his throat, were it not for the knowledge of his future self. That which he'd wanted, almost as much as the throne, was the love of others. But all Geiz, or Xion, or the creatures of desire which harass him, can see, is Ohma Zi-O, the tyrannical, apocalyptic Demon King of Time. "That's why I'm going to be the greatest, kindest Demon King! Demons are strong, and confident, and even charming, in a way that's maybe even a little scary! Their friends are in awe of them, and their enemies are afraid! " His desire for a throne, from which he can make a kinder, more just world, radiates outward. Removing the pocketwatch from the slot on his belt, he affixes it to the sword. The history of him, his struggles, the potential of what yet may occur, burns brightly, forming a golden pyre in place of the sword. GIRI-GIRI SLASH! Now large enough to be a dagger for the Queen in Veils, it is brought to bear against the mech, Zi-O's hips, shoulders and superhuman strength working overtime to make laborious, hewing strikes against it. Unlike the previous use, which brought forth searing crescents of energy after impact, this seems to create some sort of violent temperature differential with its passing. Each of his three cumbersome swings ignites the air itself after the cut, exploding with chest-thumping force.
Timespace Riders	Is this Sougo's true and perfect body? No--he's still figuring out where everything should go, and what shape it should all take. There is a part of him that he won't acknowledge--even though he wants for all the world to be loved, and to be a king that's kind, just and revered, Sougo won't love himself. Not all of himself. The loneliness and anger that, left unchecked, lead to futures of tyrannical destruction, are dark shadows on the walls of his heart, which he refuses to accept, runs from. His heart can be very strong--maybe even as much as hers--but that's a long way, a lot of introspection and learning from now.
Persephone Kore	The new little star does not dissipate when Sougo breaks free from the Queen in Veils' grip. Instead Persephone hangs it in the sky, a little dot of light. It is a true creation, if a small one, and she can't bring herself to extinguish what might as well keep burning. "It's beautiful," she says, and her voice is warmly reverent. "Your wish is beautiful, Sougo. Of course you believe in it. But I wonder if you really know how special it is?" His heavy swings carve deeply into the plastic of the Queen's legs, but find no electronics, no mechanism more complicated than a doll-like ball joint. The heat of his strikes melts it like candle-wax, the concussive impacts crack it into spiderwebs and splinters. This time, as a concession to his ferocity, the Queen in Veils defends itself. Let me show you some more of what I can do, too! The third strike meets with an invisible, irresistible force midway through the swing, halting it cold before it can meet plastic. The ensuing explosion is deflected the same. In the pause that buys her, its identity is asserted over the first two blows, smoothing them over too. "Ahaha. See? I almost feel bad about fighting you now. With a wish like that, you really do deserve to win! But I promised your boyfriend, so I have to keep trying my hardest." "My wish is... ahaha. It's kind of a lot like that! I want everyone to have what I have. The power to be more real than the world. To love, understand, and forgive each other! To reshape the multiverse into a beautiful story, where people's feelings and wishes matter more than mass and energy. But..." A vast, inconceivable force splits the terrain in half, obliterating the camp and the mountainside. A chasm yawns, hundreds of feet across and who-knows-how-deep. Sougo is caught in the very middle of it, slammed in the chest by the same force that effortlessly parts the earth. If he lacks any other option, he naturally begins to fall, surrounded by plummeting boulders and misty waterfalls of lake-water that cascade in around him. It's a rich opportunity for cool freefall platforming. And the Queen in Veils descends elegantly into the chasm alongside him, levitating to match his speed. "I was raised for that to be my wish. I'm this strong because my life has always been full of love. Nothing bad has ever really happened to me. It's always worked out! But you managed a wish that selfless even though you've been hurt so badly. That's why I'm amazed." "Sougo, I wonder. Are you safe, happy, and whole?"
Timespace Riders	The third strike is stopped cold, and struggle as he might, Sougo can't get the sword past Persephone's guard. He's never fought like this before--never against someone willing to put her heart, her wishes, as openly on display as him. It's dizzying. It's scary. It's wonderful. "...eh?" I have a... ? Is Woz... ? The retainer himself hadn't heard it used, either. Their mutual surprise is adorable, even as Sougo's mind races with questions, and Woz's with rationalizations. Is that why . . . does that explain . . . I am undeserving of such. Surely . . . With the terrain split beneath him, Zi-O doesn't have the luxury of pondering questions that make his heart race--there's the primal sensation of falling to fill that role, at present. The would-be king's sword, burning bright, is put out, the blade returning to its normal size that he might stop his descent. 'Might' is the operative word here. The cascade of water makes the metal edge slippery, the falling boulders make it gut-droppingly precarious. He makes a leap of faith-- he has to, or else he'll just be forced off--but there's a new pocketwatch in his armored hand, as he descends. Is he happy, safe, and whole? "..." Even if his voice doesn't answer, his heart does, try as he might not to hear it. He is only now approaching something like happy, having found Woz. He certainly isn't safe--to say nothing of others vying for the throne, or those who despise him for the actions of his future self, he often finds his intense desires attract monsters which feed on such desires. 'Whole' is a dream he one day hopes to hold, tangled in with his desire to be loved and the ever present wish to be king. It's not hard to see how these things could lead him to become a tyrant. But Sougo keeps a light alive inside him--one that can allow people to get by until they learn to love themselves. PADGETT! ARMOR TIME! What few friends Sougo makes, he loves and believes in utterly. PADGETT! Per! So! Na! The shape of the wish which armors him changes--the history and the heart of Stanley Padgett, given form. Blue takes the place of white, while the bodysuit beneath becomes a wonderful, garish splash of bright colors. Shoulderpads become blue stages-in-miniature, and his sword, falling to meet him, takes on the light, sharp form of a rapier. "IWAE!" Calls Woz, from the precipice, arms held wide. "He is heir to the power of all Riders. The ruler of time, traveling beyond time and space to reign over past and future... His name is Kamen Rider Zi-O Padgett Armor. And in this moment, he has received the power of another Elite!" "...Woz... thank you. My friends, and my subjects, they should come first!" That's wrong. But it's something he tells himself, to avoid having to say when he's hurting; to avoid having to take up space. Now much more agile, Zi-O leaps from boulder to boulder. Directed by his rapier, gusts of gale-force wind not only crash into the Queen, but direct falling chunks of terrain towards it. Mashing the stop on the Timespace Driver and spinning it, another call echoes through space. PADGETT TIME BREAK! His understanding of Stanley's heart, his subconscious tugging at the boy's history, manifests now in a whirling tornado that surrounds the Queen. Zi-O's foot crackles with energy as it scrapes in a tight, rapid corkscrew around the doll, before the winds carry him upwards, into the eye of the storm. Dropping with a dramatic axe kick, the winds die with an abrupt explosion.
Persephone Kore	'Audible' to both of them, Persephone's aura thrums with laughter. Ahahaha! I'm sorry! Forget I said anything, okay? You should really be the ones to get to confess it to each other. "Another Elite? Already? Ahaha. You really are amazing at making friends!" The Queen's starlike eyes track Sougo's acrobatic movements with awe, losing him entirely when he circles behind it. Debris pummels it, cracking its body, yet Persephone remains as relaxed as ever. "'Heir to the power of all riders'... yeah. I could really see it, you know? You have the potential for something incredible in you!" "But." Sougo's heel impacts the pack of the Queen in Veils' head. He has the satisfaction of feeling its plastic crack. But when it shimmers out of existence, there's nothing left for him to kick off of. Persephone- left floating where its cockpit was- catches him by the arm, telekinetically drawing him towards her hand if necessary. She looks into his suit-shielded eyes, trading her enthusiasm for something more solemn. "From one gifted, purpose-made child to another. The strength of your bonds can't be everything. You have to be whole on your own, too. You have to learn to be selfish, and make yourself happy." "You told me you want others to be happy, because you'd feel bad if they weren't. That's a responsible answer. But it's still just obligation. It can wear out. If you really want to be kind forever, the best answer is..." "'I want others to be happy, because that makes me happy too.'" Then she throws him, gently. And as he leaves her hand he accelerates to a close approximation of the speed of light. He goes through the side of the new valley, several trees, the entire mountain, several more trees, and finally impacts the remainder of the nearby lake with enough velocity to make the water explode. Gently.
Timespace Riders	The 'kamen' part of 'kamen rider' needn't apply here. Despite the suit's helmet, it's mask, Sougo's heart makes his emotions plain as day. Some would say that's the beauty of riders--that, armored in their wishes, their faces hidden, they still learn to be open, to let their feelings and truest selves be expressed. Thinking of himself, for himself, being selfish sometimes... is scary. How does he know the right amount? How much is too much? But of course, Phony has the right answer. Gifted, purpose-made children have to look out for one another. There is a distortion in space. As Zi-O struggles in Phony's grasp, still admirably attempting to show the strength of his wish, there is a disturbance in space. A bright, pink-white glow bathes the both of them in its light, as a new pocketwatch appears in his empty hand. His thumb mashes against the crown, attempting to activate it--but it doesn't budge. Maybe it's not time yet; maybe he needs more time to let that wish into his heart. The fact that it appeared at all, however, is at least heartening--on some level, she got through to him enough to put him on the path. "Impressive as always, my Demon King." Woz quietly, proudly utters, before tossing his scarf outwards. The retainer disappears, enveloped completely in a space-defying implosion of fabric. Impacts with the valley, the trees, the mountain, all set his armor to sparking, much as the earlier impacts of the chasm walls and the falling boulders, and the newborn star had. The lake--the impact of Phony's wish, her heart, against his, overcomes it. The depths briefly smother a pink burst of light. Sougo is brought back to the edge of the cliff, deposited soaking wet on solid ground, splayed on all fours and sputtering. The culprit, his retainer, wrings his scarf dry with pursed lips--but he does spare a smile for Persephone. Tossing the wrung-out scarf back over his shoulder, Woz places his free hand (the other still clutching that book) over his heart, and bows for her. "You have taught my Demon King a lesson of great importance today, Princess of Space. I offer my most profound thanks," he says. Sougo, as she'd promised, is able to walk, but just barely--which means that kneeling again for her is, just barely, within his power. After smiling up at her from behind lake-plastered locks, he rises. "I have a lot to think about, now..." The pocketwatch, rather than being one depicting a friend's face, appears to be the same pink, white and silver as his own armor. It's faded--not yet real enough for him to use, but a nice, tangible reminder that the path to being the greatest, kindest Demon King isn't so inscrutable as he'd feared. "Woz . . ." Sougo's eyes are full of warmth. "Why don't you let me cook tonight?" "In your current state? Unacceptable." Sougo's soft, pleading eyes cause him to purse his lips again. "However... such would not be unpleasant, once you have recovered."