Scene #8695: Records

Owner	Pose
Angela	M.O.M HAS DIED. But Angela is spiteful and is intent on at least trying to claw back the Agent from that final shore. She has asked for Kukuru's assistance in this matter and asked Sougo to come along because it is well known in the facility that he and M.O.M were close. Once the Information Team was able to M.O.M's body back to Lobotomy Corp, it was quickly taken to the Records Department. What happened there? Neither Angela or Hokma say but after some time, Angela put out the request for the two to come by under the auspices of trying to save M.O.M. Chewie of the Information Team meets with Sougo and Kukuru near the Warpgate to lead them to Records--though Sougo doesn't really need a guide. "Just warning you but... Sal blames...Well, either the Concord or ''You'' for what happened to M.O.M. They know better but .... they were close so..." Chewie seems sober, serious...even downcast but he doesn't seem capable of having larger expressions of sorrow than this. Down the elevator into Records, Angela is waiting for the two Concord agents at the elevator's exit point. "He is with Hokma right now. HP Bullets and our own ressurection methods have not proved fruitful but we hoped Miss Kukuru may have better luck. Regardless, it is a long shot."
Timespace Riders	You think you're gonna get everything you want without paying any kinda price? Don't dislike the attitude but it's pretty greedy. M.O.M.'s words have never been more present in the Demon King's mind than they are right now. Just warning you but... Sal blames...Well, either the Concord or ''You'' for what happened to M.O.M. They know better but .... they were close so... "They're right," Sougo says, unable to muster even a weak smile. "Moebius forced me to make a choice between two ugly things, because he's scared of what we represent and can't imagine anything better. So... I chose." There are times when the world seems a very spiteful place, despite its often crushing apathy. There are times when it seems as if there is a will at work, even if Sougo's love of history tells him rather plainly that there isn't. Sougo Tokiwa still believes that he can have it both ways, precisely because he wants to thwart that perceived will. Maybe if he does, then he can be a king that stands for something, that builds something, instead of one that rides on, and protects, 'the way things are.' "I believe in Kukuru," says Sougo to Angela.
Kukuru	When Kukuru gets the call from Angela that one of her Agents needs revival, she wastes little time in heading to the corporation through that warp gate with a quick jump through space right into an adjacent warpgate to get there that much faster. Knowing what she already knows about Lobotomy Corporation and how expendable the individual clerks are, getting the call to actually revive an Agent from Angela must be some manner of potential disaster control. She also knows time is short when it comes to pulling someone back from the brink even with her abilities, and even letting one more day pass than needed could very well mean the difference between someone coming back and restoring a mindless husk that might as well just be sent to the morgue as extra parts. That's why, when Kukuru does show up, she's not even wearing her usual work-work clothes nor her frilly casual getup. Instead, she looks like she just threw on a shirt from a nearby hamper that would've otherwise been left for the wash, her hair is bundled up in a towel rather than left to just kinda float wherever, and the towel and the shorts she's wearing still smell pretty damp. She's even arriving without her usual fake-smart glasses, and Kukuru's usual sleepy mirth when meeting with Sougo and Chewie is... "He-llo, Chewie. He-llo, Sougo... Mmn. That's fine. He's going through a rough time, so..." She replies with her usual sleepiness, of course, but she also manages to actually sound focused. After giving Chewie a sympathetic pat on the shoulder, she turns to Sougo with the same ruffling of the shoulder. "Sougo, step back if you need to, okay? I dunno what a Moebius is, but... I can take whatever Sal needs to throw out if it's too much." With that reassurance given, the frown fades somewhat when Kukuru spots Angela. "Oh, Angie... He's with Hokma? Okay. How long ago did this happen? Have you been able to keep any of his parts going since he died?" There's a pause as she tries to recall where M.O.M. could be getting treated right now, but she comes up with nothing, and might have to just resort to actually jogging there. "That'll make it easier if it's been a while since this happened." Strangely enough, she doesn't actually ask what happened. Learning probably doesn't matter to her right this moment compared to what she could be doing.
Angela	''They're right'' "Well don't tell them that." Chewie suggests a bit lamely. Then just as lamely he adds, "They." In a mild pronoun correction. Angela explains Kukuru's condition as they walk to Records. "M.O.M was struck directly in the head, he died almost instantly. However, HP Bullets were administered quickly. M.O.M is still deceased but he is in as good condition as we could get him without a Reset to the whole facility." Angela hesitates, unsure how to tell Sougo that while she certainly doesn't want M.O.M dead--She definitely isn't goung to reset the facility for him. She ultimately decides.... To just not say anything. Instead she tells Sougo, "I know you two were friends." She leads them to the strange clock filled land of Hokma's...office? Hokma has got M.O.M's body on a portable table and seems to be studying him. Sal's eyes, red with grief, turn to look to the Outsiders. As warned, her expression fills with fury. "YOU...You three... M.O.M survived everything but ever since you started getting into his head..." They push towards Sougo, clenching a fist but Angela steps in their way. "Sougo is innocent. Stop being ridiculous." Angela's tone turns cold. Sal laughs in Angela's face. "Fuck you! Your future...clone...whatever did this! And you are the one who sent us to help Raziel. Well we followed him around and around and he died for NOTHING." Chewie murmurs, "Every second counts..."
Timespace Riders	Sougo is dressed in one of his usual pastel-and-khaki ensembles. Today it's a sky blue button-up, oversized as his shirts so often are, paired with a pair of rolled khaki pants showing a black-and-white paisley pattern on the revealed inside of the hem. The bright yellow socks rising above his outdoorsy ankle boots seem quite at odds with his somber demeanor. In all, though he's dressed as well as he usually is, it seems today that his outfit doesn't so much suit him as it does betray just how anxious and sad he is. "Yeah," says Sougo to Angela, feeling like even that one word is impossibly heavy and cumbersome to speak. His feet are like lead as he follows Angela through to Hokma's office. He winces as if struck when Sal lets loose. Angela sticking up for him is like a knife in his stomach; he can't even bear to look Sal's way when Angela intercedes. "Angela... thank you, but, um... Sal isn't being ridiculous. They have a right to be upset with me." "Sal, I'm so sorry. I didn't want this. Please, let Kukuru through. Like Chewie said, time is precious right now, and if anyone's going to save him, it's her."
Kukuru	"Right in the... Mmn. At least it might not have hurt so much, then. If M.O.M. knew it happened at all." Kukuru scrunches up her face briefly as she mulls over that mental image, then breathes out a sigh of relief a moment later. "Maybe he didn't, then. He'll be able to take it a little better when he wakes up." She comments, trying to look on the brighter side of things while smiling softly at Angela. "When someone dies and comes back, it's... It can be kinda rough if they know what happened and felt everything before passing out, you know?" She really does mean it as a source of comfort, even if it might not sound like one. She certainly seems relieved hearing that M.O.M.'s in good (enough) condition, though, as that'll make the work easier if things all go as expected. Heading into Hokma's office(?), Kukuru spots both the Sephirah and the dead Agent rather quickly, and she doesn't even allow herself to gawk at all those weird clocks for more than that cursory glance. She'll have time to look later after fixing M.O.M., and she beelines right for the pair before stumbling to a sudden stop when Sal approaches them with clear anger in their eyes and tone. She's about to step in front of Sougo when that happens, but Angela does so first, prompting Kukuru to rest a hand on both Angela's and Sougo's shoulders. "If you wanna blame me, that's fine. I've caused plenty of problems for Angie and everyone already, so..." Kukuru trails off with a quiet sigh, then steps around them (or even pushes right past with uncharacteristically firm steps, if Sal won't let her walk by after Sougo's request) towards where Hokma and M.O.M. are waiting. "You can hit me all you want later if that helps you feel better, too. It's..." She hears Chewie even from that distance, glancing back only momentarily before shutting up and approaching the table with a small smile towards Hokma. "Thanks, Hokma. Do you know if his body went through any... Um. Dying processes? Getting stiff or anything, or if there's any dead switchmans somewhere inside...?" Even though Kukuru's asking Hokma those questions in the most I-heard-this-word-once-ever kind of way, she's already getting to work on what she can. She checks for signs of the entry and/or exit wounds, licking her index finger once as she lets her eyes settle on M.O.M.'s head. From there, she seeks out any bits of shrapnel or other foreign objects before tossing subtlety to the wind and just using her fingers to start prying anything that shouldn't be in there out. By all means, Kukuru isn't a doctor. She doesn't have nearly the level of training to know what other things to look for other than what her enhanced eyes can find for her, or how to properly dress a wound beyond what she's heard from more experienced and actual licensed medics have taught her. What she does know, though, is that she shouldn't revive someone with bits of whatever killed them still inside them, and her healing nanites can restore whatever tissue she damages to get to those things.
Angela	Sal's shoulders push up near to their ears at Sougo's words but then just lets them srkop and steps out of the way. "Yeah." They say. "Alright." Angela gives a long look at Sougo but doesn't argue. She just exhales softly and steps away, turning from M.O.M and Hokma and the rest. "It can be easier to forget." Angela agrees. "If he is simply missing time from all this..." She cuts herself off. She won't get any hopes up and continuing in such hypothesizing can only lead to that. Instead she doesn't say anything Hokma says, "Oh please do not disparage yourselves so. If you were truly so awful the Manager would have asked you to leave. Let alone her. There will be no hitting. We are allies. Our losses are shared losses." The one eye slants towards Angela for a moment as Kukuru steps on through. Sal isn't going to get in the way of M.O.M's one chance. "I have removed--No. No dead man's switch." Hokma says. "We have kept the body warm through continued HP Bullet usage." There is no shrapnel or anything. Its like his head got sliced itself all the way through. The heart is no longer beating either but the tricky part will be the brain. That is always the tough part. There is some skull fragments in the brain that Kukuru can put in the right spot and she can restart the heart. She can even do her best with the brain. But M.O.M doesn't wake. Not at first at least. "Is it working?" Sal asks. "Even if it is," Angela says. "We cannot be sure he will wake. Do not rush her." Hokma turns and settles his eye on Sougo. "...We meet again. Putting something back together is always harder than destroying, or even building in the first place, is that not so?"
Timespace Riders	At first, for want of looking at anyone but Sal or M.O.M., Sougo's eyes are solidly on the floor. In the back of his mind, he knows that the figure lying there is M.O.M. But in his heart, he can't accept that. It's just a body--not the person he'd come to know, who met every hardship with a laugh even as he hurt on the inside. Unwittingly, M.O.M. had shown Sougo the most secret, vulnerable, sad parts of himself--and Sougo had been there for him, through and after that ordeal. That there should be a body, absent any of that internal landscape, absent any laughter (genuine or affected), absent any dreams of a better future, or dreams at all--seems cruel. In Sougo's heart, that isn't M.O.M. that Kukuru is working on, but a crude approximation that hurts more for the absence of the real person. Hokma's observation rouses the Demon King from his thoughts. "It is," agrees Sougo. "But it has to be done." An itch on his cheek, damp and warm, alerts Sougo to the fact that he's crying. He wipes his eyes with his sleeve. "It has to be, because... if he stays 'broken,' then..." The words are difficult to find. After trailing off, he continues, from a different perspective. "Woz likes to say that what we do in the Concord is transgressive, in a way. I think I know what he means, now. Have you ever felt... the weight of everything around you, Hokma?" Sougo sniffles. "The way there's a sort-of... 'business-as-usual' that the City enforces, just by being the City?" "It exists outside of the City, too. And even though it's a source of comfort for a lot of people, it's our enemy, in the Concord. 'The way things are' is the enemy of 'better.' The person who did this is... someone who values comfort over everything else, and he's very good at taking things apart in the name of 'the way things are.'" Sougo's breath catches, and he feels his fists clench at his sides, before slowly uncurling his fingers. "He's... someone who has the full force of that 'weight' behind him, when he acts. This... isn't my first time fighting someone like that." It won't be his last, no matter how much he wishes it. "It's... easy for them to break what's important to us, and hard for us to put that back together. If I wanted to do something easy, I wouldn't be in the Concord. But... this still hurts."
Kukuru	Inhaling softly, Kukuru takes a moment away from her work to smile softly at Hokma's comment. "That's the name, right... Hmhm~ The Manager and Angie would do that, wouldn't they? Thanks, Hokma. Thanks, Angie. I'll make sure M.O.M. isn't a loss." She asides, trying to sound reassuring even though her work doesn't appear to be bearing fruit at first. She even looks up at whatever might look like a camera at a glance. "Thanks, Manager." She knows what a human body should look like, inside and out. Organs go here. Limbs go there. The brain should be this big, maybe this snug inside the skull, and the spine should be nice and connected to that brain so everything works the way it should. The heart should be pumping like when she hums that one song, and the hard bits should be in the skull rather than the brain. "In a bit, dear. Just a little longer." Kukuru answers Sal, putting on a reassuring tone. It should all be working right, so why isn't it? "You and Sougo... Should try to get along better. Please. I'll let you know once..." Kukuru trails off as she focuses more on M.O.M in front of her. Why isn't he waking up yet? She's put his brain back together with none of those offending hard bits stuck inside anymore. She's restored the missing parts of the brain, too, so nothing's physically missing. When he doesn't wake at first, she checks his heart, and she even makes a small incision with her oversized claws to get to it and pump it manually briefly until it can start working again enough for her to mend that wound, too. She's glad to have that towel binding her hair up right about now. The sweat is becoming unbearable, but she doesn't have time to redo that. Once everything seems physically correct, Kukuru sets her claws aside to place both palms against M.O.M.'s chest, not unlike someone about to give CPR. "Everything should be working normally. Now... Last part." The glow from Kukuru's nanites turns a faint greenish-blue, slowly intensifying into an almost pure cyan as she forces even more of them into his body. It's time to begin the resurrection process, but it's more focused this time than she's ever done it before. Of course it would be. Failing here, after putting herself out as the one that could save anyone, would be letting Angela, the Manager, Chewie, Sal, everyone with those expectations down. 'I know you two were friends.' 'It's... easy for them to break what's important to us, and hard for us to put that back together. If I wanted to do something easy, I wouldn't be in the Concord. But... this still hurts.' "Sougo, dear... It's, hard, but not impossible. We're all in the Concord together, you know? And plenty of hands..." Kukuru gets that confidently gentle tone back in her voice, grateful that she's facing M.O.M. and not everyone else at that moment. She can't let Sougo down, but she looks like she's on the verge of freaking out if this doesn't work. "M... Make for lighter work. I can do this because... I know you're all with me." She can't screw this up for them. Not again.
Angela	Sal doesn't answer Kukuru immediately. She doesn't even look up to her. Maybe they don't want to district her. "M.O.M was like...the glue of this team." Sal says softly. "He always laughed even when he didn't mean it but zmhe always worked to keep our spirits up. Even in this Hell, he was real. Even with his dumb name. He carried a lot on his own but... He should have been the captain. I'm just...angry and..." As Sougo describes what the Concord is about, what it really intends to be about, Angela thinks about the Director. All the work she struggles just to end a single stupid conflict. All the people in the way in defense of the stupid status quo. Angela holds her hands together and closes her eyes. But she is a victim of a challenge to that status quo, isn't she? No, perhaps even that challenge was ultimately coopted into the way things are. But the chance of success isn't purely zero percent even in this. Hokma is touched by Sougo's words, approaching him and placing an appendage on his arm. "Your grief speaks well of you Sougo, and your choice to take the hard path speaks well of the Concord. Do not grow accustomed to the breaking, no matter how inevitable it may seem. We have struggled long to change the way things are...And...." He looks to Angela. "Even in the Multiverse, this battle exists. There is no escaping it." "Kill yourself," Angela tells Hokma despite Eggman's warning. "Oh wait." And as Eggman warned, Hokma ignores it, stepping back to M.O.M, "He did not die for nothing. He fought for you and he was happy to. Such sacrifices--we must never grow accustomed to them, but we must accept loss or we will go mad attempting to correct every stumble."
Angela	Kukuru is determined and does the best anyone can do. She can feel his heartbeat return, slowly. But it is there! "He's breathing--" Chewie says. Angela turns around, starting to feel an uneasy hope. She opens her eyes, hoping that will be enough. It would be nice if they could keep this living streak going. It would be nice if she didn't have to see herself killing him even when she closes her eyes. This is the last loop. This must be the last loop...! But M.O.M doesn't open his eyes. There's nothing there. Angela is quiet for a long moment, staring at M.O.M. He was too far away. "Kukuru, thank you," Angela says. "I appreciate you coming out here even though it was too late." Sal wails and throws herself on the body. She is too broken to be mad right now. Hokma looks to Sougo. "We can hold him in Records. If there is a reset he will return. If there is not...Perhaps one day he will wake up. Thank you for coming."
Timespace Riders	Sougo tries to maintain calm. He's quiet, at least--but not calm. His hands tremble at his sides, as they slowly curl into fists again. Slowly, his head turns downward, and his pained effort to maintain even a frown gives way to an out-and-out bereaved grimace. His body gently trembles with paroxysms of grief, punctuated by the soft whimpers and sniffles. A gentle susurrus of fabric sounds, just outside of Hokma's office. Woz's boots click softly against the floor as he enters, wearing a grave, determined frown. He doesn't need to consult the book to see that things here hadn't gone at all the way Sougo had hoped. Sougo clutches at the collar of his shirt, uncertain of whether he's holding onto something for support or seeking something to tear off. Maybe it's a little of both, for the frustrating uncertainty and the undercurrent of fear. Gently, another hand finds Sougo's, loosely prying it from the sky-blue, now-crumpled collar. Woz takes Sougo's hand into both of his own. Without pause, Sougo turns to Woz and embraces him, burying his face in the retainer's olive drab coat. Woz's other hand finds the back of Sougo's head, fingers gently stroking through his auburn hair, embracing his king with eyes closed. "Thank you, Hokma," says Woz in Sougo's stead. "Your forethought is appreciated in this matter... as is your counsel, even if my--" The retainer sighs through his nose. "Even if Sougo cannot express it presently." "Kukuru... please remember to be as kind to yourself as you would be to others." Woz reaches for his scarf, but Sougo gently takes him by the wrist, backing up to shake his bleary-eyed head. "Not yet. Just a minute, please..." The Demon King turns to M.O.M., composing himself and stifling his tears for a moment as Sal wails. "I meant what I told you," he says, shakily. "That there's no point in being king if I lose everyone I care about. ...Even if I have to put everything back together a thousand times, I won't build a future without you in it." He wipes his eyes with a sleeve, sniffles, and turns to face Angela. The Demon King wraps his arms around her and squeezes, hugging Angela with his eyes shut tightly. "Thank you for thinking of me. I haven't forgotten what you told me. I know I can't save everyone. But I have to try. Good kings always do." He lets go, and steps back, nodding to Woz. One impossible flutter of fabric later, they're both gone.
Kukuru	"Is." Kukuru corrects Sal, or at least she tries to. She needs to keep everyone's spirits high, after all, since she's seeing movement in M.O.M.'s body. "He'll be laughing with you all again soon. Just a little more..." The usual level of nanites isn't working. Kukuru turns it up further, even though she knows his body is already as alive as it can be. That cyan light starts to pulse, then glow somewhat eerily, and Kukuru's focus keeps her from properly hearing Angela when she tells Hokma to do something. She could swear she had heard something a little strange, but... No, Angela wouldn't say something like that. She probably just told him to fill himself because he hasn't eaten or refueled yet today. Angela's always been so kind despite her position pressuring her not to be, so that's even more reason Kukuru has to make sure this works. He's breathing now, but he hasn't woken up yet. More nanites. This might make his M.O.M.'s body grow a bit, but it's temporary. It'll be worth it when he opens his eyes, crack some jokes, and get everyone to laugh just like Sal was expecting, right? 'I appreciate you coming out here even though it was too late.' 'Kukuru... please remember to be as kind to yourself as you would be to others.' "It's not too late. I'm not done yet. I can still...!" Kukuru speaks before her mind catches up to her. What can she even do in this situation? Putting more of that juice in won't change anything, and even she knows that. At most, she'll just make a bigger former corpse for everyone to see how badly she's screwed this up. At worst, she might make him explode or something. Closing her eyes, Kukuru starts inhaling slowly to try and recollect herself. After all, Hokma gives some small hope of M.O.M. waking up, and... She hears and sees Sal crying right next to her. She can see Sougo holding his tears in as well, even if the situation going this way must make it even harder for him to do so. How could she possibly think about being kind to herself when she couldn't even save someone close to her family? Kukuru can't hold it together any longer, and she collapses right where she's standing, legs buckling under her while her head just bangs into the side of the table on the way down. It hurts, but she doesn't flinch at the impact. Kukuru pulls her legs to her chest and buries her face in her knees, muffling her own sobs and incoherent apologies to somebody all the while. If nothing else, that towel, having fallen off her head, helps to muffle the sound a bit more.
Angela	Angela hates seeing Kukuru suffer. Maybe she isn't as smart as she looks, and Angela isn't the sort of person to just appreciate someone on effort without results, but despote that she feels Kukuru is harder on Kukuru lately than she is and she doesn't really like it. Angela steps forward but-- Can M.O.M hear Sougo's words? Maybe one day Sougo can make a dream reality. Maybe he can find a path. Right now, perhaps he understands the people of this place, why Angela goes through these loops instead of just laying down and waiting for something to make it all fall apart. Sougo hugging her feels like a knife to HER gut but as ever, this doesn't show on her face. "Sougo." She says. "Do not underestimate the good a friend can be for someone even if it ends sadly." She wants to be honest and comforting rather than just comforting, even if it is hard to really feel these deaths anymore. They vanish and Angela crouches down by Kukuru. She is glad she is not smart. She doesn't want her to be smart. Once you wisen up you stop... Crying this hard, it feels like. Maybe it is just her. Not that she has ever cried but she has definitely... Angela holds Kukuru from behind. Sal grieves with Kukuru but at least... Grieving together is a kind of comfort relative to grieving alone.