Chapter 22: Subsequent Symmetry
Note: I don't not own Steins;Gate. Only this fanfiction story.
This story follows the events that happened after the following Steins;Gate titles. Steins;Gate, Steins;Gate OVA, and Steins;Gate 0. Also, there are situations from other Steins;Gate titles that inspired multiple events in this story.
Author's Notes: I apologize for not posting this chapter on the intended date. I have recently acquired a job which this will take up some of my time, and I have been doing concept drawings. Therefore, chapter release dates will be later than usual. Hopefully, everyone understands this, and will stay up to date on my profile for expected release dates for chapters on Steins Gate: Epsilon.
December 18th, 2021
After almost a couple of days dealing with the authorities, the case is over. Okabe is free from harm and all the lab members are safe. Not only that, but they have managed to deal with the American Organization and won't be hearing from them for who knows how long. The authorities will have to keep this incident hidden though, because it would seem this problem might involve world powers which will clash of not dealt with properly. However, everything seemed just fine in the end and going back to normal.
Just when life would seem to get back to normal, a new issue arises. An issue of the situation between Okabe and Kagari. As afternoon approaches, all the lab members have gathered around the old lab, and all with curiosity and confusion.
"Well, are you going to explain what is going on, Rintaro Okabe?" says Kurisu with an emotionless face.
"I already said that I don't know anything!" says Okabe.
"So, you're telling me that this little girl is lying?!"
Faris turns to Kagari. "Hey hey, little girl-nyan. Can you say your name again?"
"It's Kagari Okabe." she says with a smile.
"Wow, who would of thought Okarin would already have a daughter." says Daru. "This girl looks like she around her early teens too."
"How old are you Kaga-nyan?" Faris asks.
"13."
"So then, that means Kagari-tan was born when Okarin was turning 17?!"
Hearing this from Daru makes Kurisu realize, that this means Okabe was a father over one year before he met her. She didn't like the idea and gets very upset. "So, you never told me that you were a father even before reaching a young adult age eh?"
Okabe notices Kurisu's face and gets sacred for her possible, harmful behavior. "W-W-What are you talking about?! I have not dated or done it with another women ever in my life that time!"
"But, since this little girl is right here before us, that means you've done it! Am I wrong ?! I'm not wrong am I?! You should know well that you're not supposed to be dishonest about this right?!"
"Okarin…" says Mayuri with a concerned face.
"E-E-Even Mayuri is giving me the disappointed face….." says Okabe as he is now back into a corner.
However Maho decides to help a bit using her brain of a scientist. "Everyone, please calm down, ok? We need to carefully think about this situation. Kagari has recently regained more of her memories. We need to think about this situation more carefully."
"Umm, but how?" Yuki asks.
"Since Kagari has regained more of her memories, we should carefully ask her what she knows now, and see if she is confusing people with anyone else in her memories. There is a chance with gaps in her memory could mean depend on what she knows, her brain will use people she already met recently to help remember important events from the past."
Everyone calms down for a moment and all agree that would be the right option as this stuff is so sudden. Maho then starts. "So Kagari, do you know where you are from?"
"Mhm. I am from the future."
Everyone is shocked. "The future?" Luka asks.
Kagaris nods again. "Mhm. Kagari is from the year 2036."
"Who is your father?" Maho asks.
"Rintaro Okabe."
"Do you have any evidence?"
"Evidence?!" Kagari responds.
"Evidence that you are from the future and that Okabe-san is indeed your father."
Kagari thinks for a moment, before responding back. "I don't think I do, but I can act like Papa."
Maho is now very curious. "Act like Okabe-san?" There is a pause. "Can you show us?"
Kagari smiles. "Yep! Kagari Okabe, will begin acting like Papa Okarin." She takes a moment before she puts on her persona. "Hmmmmhahahahahaha, I am the insane mad scientist who has plunged the world into chaos!" Kagari strikes the same mad scientist pose like Okabe would. " Hououin Kyouma! El Psy Kongroo."
Mayuri applauded at the cute act. "Amazing!"
"She acts just like Kyouma-san!"
"It looks like she's indeed Kyouma's daughter nyan." sasy Faris.
"Eh? Why is it that now you see resembles out of all time?" Okabe asks.
"That is because no child other than yours would talk like this." Maho responds.
"But, wouldn't that be because she has been around Okabe for a while now? She does like his act surprisingly." Kurisu asks.
"Well that is one reason, but we can only as of right now believe that she is Okabe-san's daughter. Besides, Okabe has yet for some reason to deny everything we are saying."
OKabe gets embarrassed a bit. "I-I-I am shocked just as everyone here is!"
There is a moment of silence. It seems from the proof of acting, Kagari may indeed be Okabe's daughter. However now another thing arises. "But, this girl claims she is from the future." says Moeka with curiosity.
"That is very hard to believe that she is from the future." says Yuki.
Suddenly, the door to the old lab opens. Everyone questions who just entered the old lab, but the only thing currently known is a voice comes through. "It would seem you all have found out about Kagari's origin, the person says."
"Ah she is finally here to explain this situation, my agent!" says Okabe.
"I will. However, before I can, I unfortunately need Suzuha Amane to leave the old lab."
There was a moment of silence as to why only her. "Why?" Yuki asks.
Okabe then helps. "Don't worry Yuki. Mr. Braun is below the old lab today. Just ask him to look after Suzuha while we go through this situation. Trust me."
After a moment of thinking, Yuki agrees to do just that. She asks Mr. Braun to watch over Suzuha for now and he agrees to. Then, she returns back to the old lab.
After another moment, the mysterious person enters the main room. She currently has a black cloak on, just like the day at the World Science Festival. However, she then takes it off and sets it aside. She then introduces herself. "Hello, my name is Suzuha Amane, and I am from the future. It is nice to meet all of you."
Everyone could not believe what they just heard. An adult Suzuha in front of them claiming she is from the future. However the one who can currently confirm this, is Daru. "N-No way…...I know you. You are the girl just who I used to dream from years ago….."
"Yes." She responds. "You know me because Uncle Okarin told you that your dreams of me were from the Alpha Worldline, right?"
"Y-Yea…" says Daru with nothing else to say and her response is correct.
"So then, everything Okabe-san said… about worldlines and time traveling…." says Maho
"Yes, that is also true. In this world, there is also a time machine in existence, but not known to the world. It is only known to those who are part of the Future Gadget Laboratory." There is a pause. 'I came from the future in a time machine alongside Kagari."
Although everyone other than Okabe is shocked, Yuki and Daru could not believe their future daughter is in front of their eyes, grown up. Yuki slowly gets up and walks to her. She carefully looks at Suzuha to see if she is who she claims to be. She slowly begins to cry, as she sees Suzuha having a similar face, the same hair color, and the same eyes as her father. Not only that but she already gets the feeling of the girl in front of her is connected to her, like a link through time. Daru also walks up to her to see, and he quickly recognizes her, and he begins to shed a tear. "It is you, my daughter." says Yuki as she puts a hand on Suzuha's face.
Suzuha gets emotional as this is a special moment for her too. They all hug each other for a moment to see the Future Suzuha in front of them, doing well. Every other lab member gives them a moment of silence to enjoy their moment.
After a minute, they sit down to allow Suzuha to explain about Kagari. "So, you guys wanted to know if Kagari is in fact Uncle Okarin's daughter? I will tell you, yes, that is correct. In the future, Kagari Okabe is the daughter of Rintaro Okabe."
There is a pause. It is unbelievable to see even the daughter of Okabe from the future in this current time of year. "T-Then, what else can you tell us about them?" Kurisu asks with huge amounts of curiosity.
Suzuha nods in disagreement. "I cannot explain much more about them unfortunately. Until Kagari has regained all of her memories, I will want to avoid altering the future by saying things that you guys shouldn't know about the future. Besides, she doesn't completely remember everything yet."
"Then, Mayushii wonders, how did Kagari-chan lose her memories?" Mayuri asks.
There is a pause "I don't know. She was losing her memories when I traveled back a couple of times before arriving this year."
Hearing Suzuha's response makes Okabe worry. "Wait, you traveled back in time before arriving in 2021?!"
"Yes. The goal was to change something in the past to hope that the future in this worldline can be avoided. However, nothing seems to change in the end. Because of that, I don't even know if we are in the Steins Gate Worldline."
Okabe sighs in relief as nothing seemed to change. There is silence for him however. He begins getting flashbacks to the same thing Suzuha said in the past. She already went through trial and error to change the past to make it a better one, and it is taking a toll to her humanity. This situation is like how Okabe remembers her back in the Alpha and Beta Worldlines. She would do her best to try and save the world from the future of World War III. However, it unfortunately ended in her failure, as the only way she could have done anything is convince Okabe to change it, since he is the only one who is at the center of everything . This same situation begins to trigger his PTSD, but he quickly snaps out of it for a cause. "So that is why you wanted me to fix the divergence meter."
She nods in agreement. "Yeah. Without knowing the exact worldline we are in, I can't say for sure if we can easily change the future or not."
Okabe thinks for a moment. With bad things beginning to occur around him, and that Suzuha is here from the future with Kagari, that must mean something is currently not right. However he doesn't want to believe they are indeed in another worldline, since the Steins Gate Worldline is a world of the unknown future. So he has no choice but to fix the divergence meter at this point to try and see if he is right or not. "Ok. I will focus on repairing it so that we can see if we are indeed in the Steins Gate Worldline. That is my promise."
Suzuha smiles a bit as that is a start and possibly already a start to changing the world's outcome. "Thank you, Uncle Okarin." There is a pause. "Well, I will leave for now, as I still need to find out about certain things in this timeline.
However, as Suzuha begins to leave for the door, Kurisu then becomes shy and curious for something very important. "U-Umm…...can I have a moment?"
"What is it?" Suzuha asks.
"That's…..If Okabe is Papa of Kagari, then who is her Mama in the future?"
Both Okabe and Kurisu think about one thing when it comes to this topic. That is the event that people must go through if they want children. Not only that, but this topic gets them very shy for each other as they are also a couple; the WILD action that is needed. However, Okabe thinks too much of this and then becomes embarrassed. "H-H-Heeey, Assistant! What the heck are you asking?!"
"I-I-I-It's nothing! I'm not concerned with who your future wife is or anything! I-I-It's just….I was thinking that we could plan ahead for when that time actually….comes."
"Oh? You are trying to plan ahead?" asks Maho with a teasing tone.
"N-No!"
"Hmm, Faris is curious too, nyan."
"Mayushii wants to know who Kagari-chan's Mama is too!" says Mayuri.
"I want to know….too." says Moeka.
Okabe's face becomes very shy and full of embarrassment to find out. "No-no-no-no-no-no wait-wait-wait! We shouldn't pry into the future-!"
Faris interrupted him. "Kyouma, be quiet-nyan!"
"Yes!" he says with shock in a high tone.
"Now then, who is Kaga-nyan's Mama nyan?"
Kagari thinks for a moment. "Umm…..my Mama is…."
"Y-Your mama is…..?" says Kurisu with her heart racing.
"My Mama name is…" says Kagari as she is still trying to remember. Everyone looks at her, as they are really wanting to know her mom and their heart beats also race. Suddenly, her head begins to hurt. This makes her fall to her knees. However, for the first time, every lab member is seeing this happen. The more shocking thing for them, is they are also seeing Okabe react as he is also having a huge headache. Everyone quickly checks on Okabe and Kagari to see if they are all right. Fortunately they manage to regain focus as their heads quickly stop hurting. "Are you guys alright?" Suzuha asks.
"Yea." says Kagari and Okabe.
A moment passes as everyone settles again. Then Kurisu becomes curious about what just happened. "Suzuha, if you are really from the future, then could you tell us the reason behind this problem with Kagari and Okabe?"
"I can partially." says Suzuha. There is a pause, before she speaks up. "You all may be aware that Okabe has told you before that he has a memory ability known as Reading Steiner."
"That is the ability to retain memories across worldline divergences, right?" says Maho.
"Yea. That is how we originally known for Reading Steiner to work. With that mentioned, Kagari also develops the same ability as Uncle Okarin. However, from what I know in the future, her's is different from his." There is a pause. "Kagari has never experienced a divergence in worldlines and never time traveled before coming here with me. Instead, she has experienced seeing other worldlines through dreams." Suzuha then turns to Kagari. "Kagari? Can you give us an example?"
"Yea." she responds, as she then activates her Reading Steiner, making her eyes turn yellow. Everyone becomes shocked as her eyes are not completely different. "Well, I remember dreaming about something with Big Sis Mayu and Papa. Papa tried to save her all the time, but it always ended her dying. Papa always cried and looked like his soul was disappearing."
Okabe stands up in shock. "H-How…..do you know that?"
"I told you, that is what her Reading Steiner is capable of," says Suzuha.
"Then what else can you remember?"
Kagari think for a moment before responding. "Well, I remember a dream, where Papa was not a good person."
"Not a good person? Well he was never to begin with." says Daru.
"Hey!"
Kagari nods in disagreement. "That is not what I mean. I remember a dream, where the world is in ruins, and an evil organization rules over Japan. The strangest thing I cannot understand, is Papa for some reason is leader of this evil group and is like a King to them."
Okabe is shocked to hear this, but he has no memory of this worldline at all. "I never heard of me being a leader of an evil group before." He then puts on is persona. "However I am a mad scientist! The one who will plunge this world into chaos with my allies of The Future Gadget Laboratory!"
"Then, would that be a memory from another worldline?" Maho asks.
"Seems so. Probably a worldline where Okabe has never traveled before." says Kurisu.
"What about her eyes changing color?" Yuki asks. "Is that suppose to happen as well?"
Suzuha nods in agreement. "Yea. That however is because she also has a mental condition. Dissociative Identity Disorder."
"Huh?" says Kurisu with shock, as she knows what it is already by definition.
Suzuha explains for everyone else. "It's a mental condition where the memory fails to recognize who you originally are, and begins showing a new set of ideas and emotions that vary from the person's experience. This mental condition is caused by Kagari's Reading Steiner. She is able to tell the events of other people that happened in their lives, but then she gets confused about which one is the real thing. This then disrupts her awareness of reality and identity, which then pulls out another version of Kagari."
"So then, when she uses her Reading Steiner, Kagari switches to another version of herself." says Kurisu.
"That is right."
"Then, how does that relate to her headache that causes Okabe's head to hurt as well?"
There is a pause, before Suzuha responds. "I don't know. You see, since coming to this year, this is the first I have seen Kagari's Reading Steiner cause Okabe's head to hurt." She thinks for a moment.
"Then could that be because Kyouma and Kaga-nyan are related by blood nyan?" Faris asks.
"That would also explain why Kagari also has Reading Steiner." says Maho. However, that then raises something really strange. "Wait, if this is the first time this is occurring, why hasn't this thing occurred in the future you are from?"
Everyone becomes curious about the same thing as this is rather strange. Suzuha has to stop there however, because with that question Maho asked, something very important hasn't been revealed yet, and Kagari has yet to also remember about it. "I will not tell you at this time. Exposing more future events will have a chance to alter the future. I would want to avoid it at all costs. So, I will leave all of you with the following. She may or not be biologically related to Okabe. Her Reading Steiner may or may not also be related to Uncle Okarin's as that ability is still yet unfamiliar how it works in the future, and appearances may also be coincidental. Always expect the unexpected."
Everyone didn't like to be left with the unanswered, but because time traveling and altering events of the past is a serious topic, they have no choice but to accept it for now.
"So, now that you, Uncle Okarin, know that Kagari is your daughter in the future, she will want to be with you everyday and night now. Even though you're not a father yet, you will be in the future. You should let her stay with you from now on."
"H-Huh?!" Says Okabe as he really doesn't know what to do.
"Can I not, Papa….?" says Kagari with a sad tone.
Okabe's face shows guilt after hearing Kagari say that. He is still confused as all of this parenting stuff is so sudden to him. However, for the sake of Kagari, he decides to roll with it. "G-Got! You can stay, Kagari!"
"Yay!" Kagari runs over to her and hugs Okabe tightly with excitement. Everyone else around watch as they are charmed by the scene between Okabe and Kagari.
There is a pause, before Suzuha speaks again. "Well I unfortunately cannot stay any longer." She then turns to Daru and Yuki. "After all, my mom and dad have to take care of the little version of me in this world."
Yuki is more shocked than ever to hear that the adult female in front of her is her daughter in the future. She wanted her to stay longer to know more, but then Maho asked another thing. "Wait. Before you leave, Suzuha. Why did you reveal yourself instantly to us if you're worried about altering the future?"
Suzuha smiles and responds. "Because, it has been done in the past before, but on a different worldline. Right, Uncle Okarin?"
"Yea, it has." he says.
"Well I will come by another time when it is needed. Until then, I will see you guys later." Suzuha leaves the old lab.
There is silence for a moment. After everything said today, it is now very believable that time traveling, Okabe's Reading Steiner, and the divergence in worldlines all are true things and not just anything someone can make up.
The sun begins to set. All the lab members are still gathered in the old lab to relax and play with Kagari for a while. As that goes on, Yuki gets curious about something that was never mentioned. "Umm, Okabe-san? Why couldn't the Future Suzuha be around with the Suzuha of this timeline?
Everyone hears the question and stops as they are also curious about that. Okabe then explains. "It is because of a time paradox."
"Oh? You mean like those time paradoxes you see in those sci fi movies and TV shows?" Daru asks.
"That is mostly true. Although it is yet to be proven in reality, the idea of someone from the future meeting your past self and looking at each other eye to eye will cause a huge time paradox. Now we don't know what will happen when a time paradox occurs, but it is best to avoid it as it can be a one time thing."
"Umm, what does that mean?" Mayuri asks.
"I don't know. It is possible the world could end, or even the universe can collapse because the universal law was broken. It can be catastrophic is what I'm trying to say."
"Wow. That means Suzu-nyan is brave enough to risk her life to try and alter the past nyan. She is in big trouble if she ever says her past self nyan." says Faris.
"That is how she was in the past too." says Okabe. "She was also a time traveler in other worldlines. She tried to convince me to alter the past to try and find the Steins Gate Worldline. She also had very good athletic skills and always knew how to be a soldier. On another worldline, she worked as a part time to be an observer while still having the same goal and skills to find a way to alter the past." Okabe then turns to Daru and Yuki. "Cherish every moment with Suzuha. She has always been a strong girl with the will to fight to the end." He then puts on his persona. "After all, she has been an agent to the greatest mad scientist that has ever lived!"
"Well I wouldn't say an agent under you, but taking care of her has always been the goal since the start." says Daru.
"Indeed. We will always try to do our best to love and raise Suzuha to be a strong person." says Yuki.
Okabe smiles, but then quickly remembers about Suzuha in the Alpha Worldline. Unfortunately, that is a worldline where she is destined to fail, because of the IBN500 and how the time machine in that worldline could only travel back in time and not forward. However, he snaps out of it, as that is in the past, and this is a different worldline. This then makes him remember that he needs to fix the divergence meter.
Suddenly, Kagari comes up to Okabe and speaks. "Hey Papa? Can I sleep next to you tonight?"
"Huh?" He responds. "No you can't. Sleeping on the floor at your age is bad. You will be sleeping on the couch to feel more comfortable."
Kagari becomes sad. "I can't, Papa…...?"
"Hey, look what you did?" says Kurisu. "You need to be more careful about your words and go along with what she wants! She is your daughter after all!"
Okabe gets scared by her words and then thinks about it. "I-I'm surprised you're siding that she is my daughter."
"Well…...the Future Suzuha confirmed it already! And we received enough evidence that she is indeed your daughter….." Kurisu gets a bit upset thinking about it.
He does need to be careful as he has no parenting experience, and that Kagari still does not completely remember everything yet. So Okabe changes his mind. "Ok, Kagari. You can sleep next to me on the floor if you want."
Kagari sadness turns into happiness. "Yay!"
"Then, Mayushii will go get your stuff so you stay with Okarin from now on." says Mayuri.
As time goes on, everyone eventually leaves the old lab for the night. Okabe is now officially in charge of Kagari as a father. Kagari is happy to sleep beside her father, and she has a big opa pillow to sleep with thanks to Mayuri.
The only person not ok with this, is Kurisu. This is because of the thought that Rintaro Okabe is the father of Kagari Okabe. There is the fact he has no parenting skills. However, the other thing bothering her a lot is who is the mother of Kagari. But then, she remembers that Suzuha hasn't revealed that Kagari is in fact biologically related to Okabe. So this eases her a bit since she also mentioned to expect the unexpected. She decided to sleep for now and set the thoughts aside.
As the day ends, over at the Radio Building, the invisible time machine currently rests in the same place it has since it's arrival. There, the Future Suzuha currently is outside, looking at the night sky, glowing with stars all around it. She takes a long moment to think about everything that has occurred today. This makes her smile, as the plan she needs to follow is currently going well. She then thinks to herself. "Well, this is not what the plan was suppose to be, but the result is so far working." There is a pause. "I don't how she lost her memories, but it is beginning to wake up Uncle Okarin, so it does have an advantage to this plan. Well, that is what you wanted at least. Am I right, Kurisu? Or should I call you the successor of the insane mad scientist?"