Chapter 36: The Ties That Bind Across Time
I've never seen Daniel quite this anxious.
Maybe it's just what he allows himself to show us. Or maybe it's something he doesn't even realize he's showing. He's older than our universe, after all. How much of the man do we really know of?
It's a question that I've thought of more than a few times as I've experienced him utilizing the seemingly bottomless depths of wisdom and knowledge that he's gained over so much living. But I think, however recent his current personality might be, we know what's most important. We know he cares for us. We know he cares for this world, and keeping it safe. And we know that whatever else, he's got his whole soul into defending this world.
But even with SEELE and Azazel, utterly foreign things to him, he was utterly calm. Perhaps familiarity brings a fear all its own.
- From the personal journal of Shinji Ikari-Soryu
Village-3, May 5th, 2028
Daniel Theisman sat down in front of the Ikari-Soryus and the Nagisas in the quiet solitude of the Suzuhara household, empty of its owners for the moment in the early afternoon after lunch. "Alright," he began, his voice level and serious, "with what's going on, and the battlefield that we're going to be tumbling into, I think I should give you some pointers about non-Physical Realm combat."
"In the Minus Space, right?" Shinji said. "Fighting there seems… challenging."
"You're too kind, Shinji," Asuka interjected, a slight derision in her tone. "From what we saw, fighting someone effectively boils down to having a particularly harsh argument."
She regarded Daniel silently for a moment. "But I'm guessing that having a few witty retorts ready isn't what your advice is going to be," she said somewhat slowly.
Daniel nodded. "You're not wrong. Simply throwing a punch isn't going to do much of anything in the Minus Space. It's probably what the Worldstriders like to call an Interstitial Realm; a place that acts as a bridge between the Physical and the Mental. Trying to simply damage a body enough to kill someone won't work because, more likely than not, you can just think back to a point before they got wounded, and have it happen at the speed of thought."
"Then the assumption would be to use Frameworks and Expressions to directly attack the soul?" Rei asked.
"Got it in one." Daniel smiled slightly. "Compared to anyone else who goes in there, we, and anyone who goes against us with similar capabilities, have the edge with Interfacing."
That smile disappeared. "However, there are other concerns in a Mental battlespace. Soulscars are all too easy to collect, and those soulscars can be a far more crippling matter. And, if we don't have a connection to the outside world, it becomes amazingly difficult to make our way back to the world we're supposed to inhabit."
It was silent for a sober moment, and no one missed Asuka's hand going up to her chest.
"One more thing to be aware of." Daniel finally said. "Like you've seen, the world around you is going to be influenced by every memory and thought you have and have ever had. Environments, at the very least, can and must be molded by you if you want to have an upper hand."
"Daniel," Kaworu said gently. "If… Commander Ikari is there, and this world's Shinji is there to stop them… then who else do you expect to be there?"
It was a question that all of them knew the answer to. Daniel didn't want to say it. But he knew he had to. "The Hollow Saint, in the body of Tavis," he said grimly. "If he hasn't fully linked with Tavis now, Hamar'ramah will do so by the time that Commander Ikari initiates the next Impact event."
He swept his gaze across the four somewhat apprehensive faces before him. "I will tell you this outright. You cannot beat him if you face him in this Realm. I cannot beat him here. He's wise to the little trick that Eleanor pulled to free me here in the physical space, so that's right out. Our best shot is to try and separate the two beings in the Minus Space."
"How?" Asuka asked, far too plaintively for Daniel's comfort.
Before Daniel could answer, he heard his clear pad ringing, the catchy little ringtone a minimalistic, subdued jingle of 'It's All Coming Back To Me Now'.
'Eleanor.' Daniel knew who it was from the first few notes of the ringtone, answering the call. "Hey there, Ellie."
"Daniel."
From that first word, Daniel could tell that she was utterly exhausted. "What happened?"
"We're on our way. Unit-02 is done, and we're escorting a supply convoy headed to Village-3. It'll be two more days, maybe three, seeing as we're traveling with the whole fleet as well. We don't want to mess with anything in the cargo shipment, after all."
Her voice was worn, even as she tried to stay optimistic. "Eleanor," Daniel said somewhat sternly, "what happened?"
It was silent for a span that made Daniel's skin crawl. "He's back. The Guide is back."
The whispered words made his skin run cold as the blood drained from his face. "You saw him?"
"I had to fight him to stop him from killing Ymris." Eleanor paused. "Kauri, one of Ymris' friends, died distracting him to let us get away."
Her voice quivered on the last two words before she took a deep breath. "Either way, we're on our way, and we can do some more planning. Ymris has a plan. More of an idea, really, but she wants your input and your help. So… I'll see you soon."
"You too, dear. It'll be good to hold you again."
Daniel paused before continuing. "I'm going to be busy all day, and I'll be out of contact for a little while. I'll call you and we can talk later tonight. Alright?"
"Alright. You're going to find Kodama, right?"
"Yeah. Things are… interesting in the Suzuhara-Horaki household right now. Toji's a little frantic that his wife's going into enemy territory, even if it's with me and Kyu."
Eleanor chuckled softly. "Well, he's always been a bit of a worrier. But I think they'll be fine with you. Good luck."
"You too. See you soon."
With that, the call ended, and Daniel took a deep breath as he regarded the concerned looks on the Children's faces. "Yeah. The Hollow Saint is here, now. And we have to make sure that when we engage him…"
The words caught in his throat for a moment. "When we engage him, we do it in a place where we have at least a chance."
He took a deep breath as he stood. "But that's for later. Right now, I have to go get ready for a road trip."
"Hey," Shinji said quietly. "Good luck."
Daniel nodded. "Thanks. When I get back, and when the Wunder gets here… get ready."
With that, he exited the house, stepping onto the porch and finding Toji, Kensuke, the Horakis, and Kyu waiting for him expectantly.
"So," Daniel said, putting on a warm smile. "Everyone ready to go?"
Kensuke, clearly nervous, nodded a little more slowly than the others. "I, uh… hope that whatever you do keeps us all protected over the day."
Daniel reached into a pocket, extracting a nodule that looked like one of the vestigial fins that went on the roofs of some cars. It was the first of two projects for this little excursion. "I think I've got that figured out. You and Toji should be able to make it home safely."
Hikari, Tsubame in her arms, took a deep breath. "Well, let's not waste any more time then, shall we?"
They began to walk, the trek taken in a somewhat expectant silence until Daniel looked over at Tsubame. "Are you leaving her with someone?"
Hikari nodded, smiling slightly. "Yes. Athena volunteered to take care of her while we were gone."
She looked up from Tsubame to Daniel. "How is her adjustment coming along? She's rather quiet about it right now."
Daniel's smile became a slight grin. "It's been coming along quite decently. I'm surprised that you haven't seen much. She's become far more… expressive."
"I'm sure I'll catch her somehow." Hikari chuckled. "She spends so much time at Nozomi's house, I can tell."
She looked over to Nozomi, narrowing her eyes slightly as her little sister maintained a look of exaggerated innocence, not meeting her sister's eyes for a moment. "What is Athena doing there, exactly?"
Nozomi looked over at Natsumi, who smothered a grin. "Athena asked us to keep it a secret. But she wants to do well by you."
Daniel's grin relaxed into a slight smile. Whatever Athena was doing, he was all too interested in seeing the results now.
They chatted on about village life, the little troubles, the mundane triumphs, the daily nothings that made life, stopping only as they finished their approach to the house that scientists from another world made their home in.
As if they'd called ahead, Athena, her hair starting to grow out from the chin-length bob that was typical of most Ayanamis, opened the door and stepped out, Kyu following behind her with the second project in a closed hand.
"Hello, Mrs. Hikari." Athena said with the ghost of a smile. "How is Tsubame?"
Hikari stopped in front of Athena, Tubame looking over and cooing as she reached out to Athena. "Looking forward to staying with you for a little while." Hikari chuckled as she handed Tubame gently over to the girl. "Take care of her until we come back."
Daniel couldn't help but wonder at the joy that was now mixed with the curiosity that had always been there in Athena's eyes as she regarded the baby entrusted to her. "Of course, Mrs. Hikari."
She looked over at Kyu, who smiled slightly at the whole affair. "Good luck on your mission, Kyu. I hope you bring Ms. Kodama back safely."
Kyu nodded. "I have every reason to think that we will, barring any extenuating circumstances."
"Is the necklace ready?" Daniel asked Kyu.
She nodded, raising the rather simple little pendant in her hand, smooth stone with a geometric rune, likely one of Ritsuko's designs, on its face. "Mother just finished the calibrations and handed it to me. It should cut through any Pneumaic interference and link us to the Errant largely without incident."
"Good." Daniel turned to Kensuke. "Now, you parked your car close to here, right?"
"Right near the ACC Pillar line."
"Right, then. Off we go."
A few more quick goodbyes saw the group, Kyu joining them, on their way, the walk from the house to the car a much quicker affair. Even still, they slowed down somewhat to take in the fruits of the Akagis and Ikaris' work, the core material that had been right at the edge of the Pillar's field like water held back by a dam having receded by several dozen meters.
"That's still pretty crazy to me," Toji said quietly. "That we can just… push this stuff back."
Daniel nodded as he walked over to Kensuke's Jimny, putting the nodule in his hand on the rear gate of the car and activating it, the rear seats once again multiplying as a glimmering haze swept over the car. The seats stopped duplicating after reaching five, three in a new 'back' and two between that and the driver's seat.
Kensuke stared in open admiration. "That's the nicest upgrade anyone could give my car, ever," he whispered as he made his way to the driver's side door.
Daniel looked at Toji as the group piled into the now far more roomy vehicle. "And you're sure that the village will be okay while you're gone? It's an all-night drive once we're dropped off where we need to be."
"It'll be okay," Toji reassured him as he got into the back with Hikari. "Komuko and my other nurses will have things well in hand, and everyone that I make my rounds to is up to date and able to bear me being away for the day."
Daniel nodded, getting into the passenger seat. "Well, let's not leave your patients for longer than we need to, shall we?"
With that, they were off, rumbling past the walls of their little paradise and into the unknown.
. . .
Daniel watched the landscape pass by as they drove, glancing back every once in a while at the people in the back of the car as they got as much sleep as they could.
His attention was grabbed by a Failure of Infinity as it strode across their path, Kensuke slowing down slightly as they waited for it to pass.
The silence of the drive gave him time to think. To stew in the fears and memories that swirled in his mind. It was not a state of being he was unfamiliar with. But even that familiarity didn't make it any easier or more enjoyable.
Was he going to be there? What could they do if he was waiting for them? Kodama might be able to be extracted quickly, but what of the others? What of him? What happened if the Hollow Saint killed him, as he was sure might be the case? Worse still… what would happen if he decided not to?
He couldn't afford to be bogged down by what might be. Right now, the mission was simple: Go in, get past the defenses, convince Kodama to return to Village-3, and get out. Easy. Hopefully.
The sun began to set, and Daniel watched it as best he could.
"So, do you usually think that deeply?"
Kensuke's words stirred him from his reverie as he regarded the man, who idly flicked the car's headlights on. "I've had plenty of time to become good at it," Daniel said somewhat wryly.
"Well, it looks like it's made you good at helping people like Shinji out." Kensuke paused as a guilty look settled on his face. "Thanks for helping out Shinji so much. I've been too busy. Haven't checked in on him often enough, like a friend should."
Daniel sighed quietly. "You've done your best in the circumstances that you had." Daniel paused. "You went fishing recently with Shinji, right?"
Kensuke smiled and nodded. "As much as I could doing my rounds fixing things up in that sector. He's not too bad. That version of his father isn't too bad at teaching him, at least."
"He's doing his best to make up for lost time," Daniel said quietly after a meaningful pause.
It was silent again, and the two men went back to pondering the world around them.
. . .
Daniel saw the massive dome of fog about an hour out from their destination. It didn't take much rousing to get the others to see it as well. It was utterly unnatural, like someone had taken a scoop out of television static and set it down on the entire area, wisps that, at this distance, must have been meters wide and many, many meters tall, reaching out into the twilight.
It was an awed silence that gripped everyone in the car, all the way up to the point where core material gave way to grass and pavement. Finally, they came to a stop in front of the massive wall of fog, stretching out into the distance out of sight to their sides as most of the group exited from the car to regard the swirling, ephemeral wall in front of them.
Toji took Hikari into a tight embrace, one that she returned with equal ferocity. "Stay safe, dear," Toji said quietly.
"I will," she said.
Toji still held her for a tender moment before they parted, slowly getting back into the car. "Keep my family safe, Daniel!" he said, the sternness in his voice tinged with both respect and a little unease.
"On my life, Toji." Daniel meant it with all the conviction of his soul.
Toji, at least to some extent, seemed comforted by this, as Kensuke turned the car around, and retreated back into the night.
Daniel turned and looked at the mist for a moment, a tiny star slowly glowing to life a little over his right shoulder, then looked back at the group. "Like I said before. Everyone's holding each other's hands, we go in the straightest line we can, no one lets go, and I'll be at the lead with the light. Got it?"
Silent nods were all that were illuminated, Daniel nodding in turn as he offered his right hand to Hikari, who took it quickly. In short order, a small chain, hand in hand, formed. "Kyu," Daniel asked before they stepped into the fogbank, "how thick is this barrier?"
"From our infiltration," Kyu said, "I believe it is about half of a kilometer in diameter from the outer edge to the inner edge of the dome."
"Alright." Daniel put on as sure a smile as he could. "Easy enough. We walked that far to get to the car. Just follow me, and we'll be through quickly."
Again, the mostly silent, still uncertain nods answered him before he looked back at the seemingly impenetrable mist. Then, he stepped through.
The world went utterly silent, the blanket of fog only parted a few inches in front of Daniel by the light that his little star gave off. He risked a glance back, and could not see Kyu at the back of the line as little more than a hazy shadow, her flashlight a seemingly distant star from his own.
He turned his gaze back to being in front of him, forging forward in as straight a path as he could. He shivered without meaning to as they passed by a massive, jagged stone pillar, one that he didn't even see until it was less than an arm's length from him. The gasps that came from those behind him as they passed by sounded like they came from a packed closet, so smothering of sound was the mist that surrounded them.
They continued forward as best they could, doing their best to keep the turns and diversions that they made, either forced by the landscape or by a pillar. And they took their journey in relative silence. That fact, at first, left Daniel somewhat relieved. Then, as time went on, it made him somewhat uneasy.
"Nynrya," he said after the second time he thought he saw something flit across his vision, "I need you to be ready. We aren't alone. I'm sure of it."
He felt comforted by both her mere presence with him, and the surety with which she replied wordlessly as she prepared.
They continued on, Daniel's gaze darting around him as he tried to clear the mist with a brightening of his guiding star. It seemed to do nothing, the mist around the light seeming to thicken before Daniel eased off.
"We are being watched," Nynrya said, suspicion lacing the tone of her voice, confirming Daniel's unspoken fear. "They are all around us. But they do not move from their place. I am unsure as to why."
Daniel's unease mixed with confusion, but he remained silent on the matter. The last thing he wanted to do was panic any of the Horakis into fleeing into the mist. "We're almost there." He said aloud instead. "Just a little while longer."
What compelled these Spirits to remain in place? What had happened to their Spiritweaver? She'd been powerful enough to compel Revenants. What stopped her from maintaining something as simple as a patrol grid?
Did it, perhaps, have something to do with the Hollow Saint?
Thoughts for later. Right now, he had to take advantage of the fact that their walk through this place wouldn't become a chase. At least, at the moment.
The walk continued, and Daniel could feel the tension growing in the party by how tightly Hikari squeezed his hand. He could hear his heart beating in his ears, its pace, though mostly under control, still quickening from time to time as they passed another pillar or through a group of Spirits, standing as still as the pillars that they were likely meant to weave between.
Finally, though, the mist began to darken, and Daniel dimmed his light in anticipation as he let out a quiet sigh of relief. After a few minutes more, at last, the mist parted from before them, and they stepped out into the town proper, the night sky impossibly in sight all around them as the mist seemed to stop a little over Daniel's head.
The light went out, and Hikari let go of Daniel's hand, the others following her lead quickly as Kyu hooded the face of her flashlight.
"Alright," Daniel said quietly. "That was delightfully easy."
"Now, stay close. I'm going to make us all invisible. The closer you stick to me, the easier it will be for me to keep us hidden. Alright?"
Hikari nodded. "We're ready whenever you are." she managed to whisper.
Daniel nodded as the group surrounded him, and he began to weave an Expression, their forms shimmering for a moment as the back of his left hand had a hazy gemstone flow into being on it.
"Alright," Daniel said as the Expression activated, looking over at Kyu. "Lead the way, Kyu."
Kyu nodded as she began to walk forward slowly. "Follow me."
With that, they crept into the town, a place that was still, to some extent, filled with activity, at least after getting past the quiet farms and industry. People still walked around, and there were street lights, clearly Pneumaically made, that though dim, still lit the way for people that were going about life in the evening, shopping and going out and doing those things that a mostly modern town was able to do.
As they passed by a group of girls eating in a cafe, chatting quietly to each other and giggling, Hikari looked on for a moment before looking around herself. "It's strange here…" she whispered. "It almost reminds me of Tokyo-3, so long ago…"
"It does, doesn't it?" Daniel said, pausing for a moment as Natsumi stared up at a light fixture for a moment, then swept her gaze down the street, lined with dozens, even hundreds of the things.
"I've never seen something like this before…" Natsumi said quietly.
Nozomi put a hand on Natsumi's shoulder. "Come on," she said, equally quietly, and Daniel could not miss the equal amount of wonder in her eyes. "We need to keep moving."
With that, they continued down the road, Kyu continuing to guide them through what was, even this late, still a decently busy town center, before the town began to become more quiet, and the people returned to their homes.
Finally, Kyu came to a stop in front of a large, warehouse-like building. Three garages, wide and tall, formed what was likely the ground floor. Atop it, several windows allowed what was likely an office floor to be seen, the space within mostly dark, with a dim light flowing out of one of the windows.
"We're here," Kyu said quietly, the group moving quickly to what looked like a side door that was past a chain-link gate that gave them no trouble.
It was a rather plain door, with no advanced locks on the outside at least. That didn't stop Kyu from pulling out her clear pad, scanning the door and the frame around it. "Alright. The door's clear of any mechanical alarms. Daniel, if you would?"
Daniel nodded as he stepped forward, focusing on the single deadbolt that kept the door physically locked. Flickering on his Sight, he scanned the door frame for any Expressions that might be keeping the place closed as well. He found two tripwire-like Frames stretching across the door from one edge of the frame to the other. "Hold on. Let me work on these alarms."
He glanced at the entrance they'd taken, making sure that no one was around to see them in this 'industrial park' area. Confident that no one might disturb them, he lifted the cloudy gem from off his hand, his form fuzzing into normal view as he handed control of the Expression to Nynrya, and the gemstone itself to Hikari. "Here, hold this," he said rather nonchalantly.
Hikari took it with some slight surprise as he got to work, Frameworks snaking out from Daniel's fingers as he placed his fingertips on the top of the door. Gently, gently, the Frameworks enveloped the tripwire, slowly eating away at it without setting it off, no flashes of active Metos tipping Daniel off to the Expression being activated.
It was quick work to dissolve both Expressions, then shift the deadlock out of the way. He smiled slightly, opening the door as Nynrya dispelled the Expression he'd given her. "Come on in, ladies."
They filed in, Daniel closing the door behind him, his Sight returning to him as he scanned for people. The entire building was empty. Save for a single soul.
"Alright," he said quietly. "Follow me."
It was a silent, tense few moments as they made their way across a garage space, several bays hosting trucks and other vehicles in various states of disrepair, over to a stairway that was locked with another deadbolt, easily circumvented. Up the darkened stairwell they climbed, slowly emerging into an office space, mostly open with tables, desks, computers, and drafting tables scattered across it. To their left, at the far wall, was a line of closed office rooms, one door open with a light on that spilled light into a portion of the space.
Daniel stood aside, letting the Horakis go first and hanging back with Kyu as they slowly approached the office, the sounds of quiet work on a computer becoming more and more apparent the closer they got.
As they drew close, they paused as they heard a quiet sigh and a chair scooting back. "Haruno," a somewhat weary voice called as a shadow crossed the light in the doorway, "I understand that your questions are important, but you have a girlfriend to…"
The shadow grew larger as the voice continued, then stopped as Kodama, and it couldn't be anyone else but her, emerged from the office, stopping as she took in the people before her. She was as all of them knew Kodama, or at least as they imagined her, the only great departure from what they all had known before, that streak of slate-gray stone that covered the upper right quarter of her face, glowing softly in the light of an outline of an eye, and luminous strands of hair.
They stared silently at each other for what felt like an eternity before Hikari spoke. "Kodama…"
"Hikari. Nozomi." Kodama shook her head slightly as she took a plaintive step forward. "You're… what are you doing here?"
"Well…" Nozomi said, a choked chuckle escaping her. "We're here for you."
Words failed as the three sisters, reunited after so long, stepped into an embrace, holding each other tightly. Natsumi looked on with a longing that made Daniel's heart ache in sympathy before they parted.
"Kodama…" Nozomi began, her eyes locked on the stone portion of her sister's face, carved to near perfection. "What happened?"
A hand went up to the seam that made up her cheek. "This? It was… a terrible accident. Something here in the shop got loose while I was under it. I… I died for a few seconds. It was a miracle that Kauri was there."
"Kauri?" Hikari asked, struggling somewhat with a name that Daniel was terribly familiar with.
"He made this for me. He saved my life." Kodama paused as a tear welled up in her other eye, the one that was not a glowing iris in a free-floating stone. "I owe everything to him."
She looked between her sisters for a moment, then scanned the rest of the group. "How did you get here? And who are these people with you?"
"We got here with Daniel and Kyu's help," Hikari said as she turned to face them.
Daniel nodded slowly. "I'm Daniel Thiesman, of WILLE. This is Kyu Akagi. And this…"
He looked over at Natsumi, who stepped forward hesitantly, looking into the confused face of Kodama with an equally hesitant expression. "Hello… Mother."
Kodama stepped past her sisters slowly, pausing in front of Natsumi, her mouth opening and closing without sound before she seemed to find her voice again. "Natsumi… you do have your father's eyes."
Even still, there seemed a silent, invisible barrier between them, as if neither could touch the other without awaking from what must have seemed like a dream.
Then, her gaze returned to Daniel, confusion in her eyes quickly giving way to something else. "Wait a minute…"
Daniel knew exactly what was about to go wrong. 'Ah, hell.' he thought as he prepared for whatever happened next.
He could never have expected Kodama Horaki, the rather kind and happy engineering graduate, to march forward and plant a mean right hook across his face, sending him sprawling to the ground more in shock than anything else.
He looked back up to see Hikari and Nozomi holding their older sister back from further assaulting him, Kyu standing between her and Natsumi. "Let them go!" Kodama shouted. "I won't let you hurt them!"
"Kodama, settle down!" Hikari said, her voice filled with fear. "He's not going to hurt us."
"After doing what Kauri's told me he's done?" Kodama spat as she finally relented. "He left an entire other world to suffer by stopping what the Voice of the Guides was trying to do."
"That's entirely untrue," Kyu said. "Ichigo Ayanami… my sister, was made to try and sweep the world that I come from clean. On your 'Voice' Tavis' orders."
Kodama's gaze was as hard as the stone that made up a portion of her face. "He would tell you that, wouldn't he? Try and twist the actions of a man looking to relieve suffering into trying to prolong it."
She looked back at Daniel as he got back to his feet. "I swear, if you've done anything to my father, then I'll…"
"Father's dead, Kodama." Nozomi's voice was a weary thing, still heavy with grief. "He died last month."
Kodama was stopped in her tracks as she heard her sister, utter venom in her eyes as she continued to regard Daniel. "You monster," she whispered. "You…"
"It wasn't him," Hikari interjected. "It was lymphoma. Toji caught it about two years ago, and it was too late to get rid of it. It's a miracle that he lived as long as he did."
Kodama looked back at her sisters, the venom in her eyes draining in the tears that were running down her cheek. "That's… that's impossible. He was a healthy man. He…"
She looked back at Daniel. "You… you could have saved him. You stood by and did nothing?"
"I wanted to save him the moment I found out," Daniel said sorrowfully. "He refused my help. I… I respected his wishes."
"That shouldn't have mattered." Kodama was choking on her words slightly in her grief. "You… you should have done something. But you screwed up. Just like the Voice and his friends told us you do."
"Oh, believe me, Kodama," Daniel said softly. "Your father is the least of my sins."
The words seemed to catch her off guard. "What…"
She shook her head. "It doesn't matter. I can call Kauri back here with this," she said as she pointed to her stone mask. "Once I have a connection…"
"You'll never get one," Daniel said. "Kauri's dead. He was killed in Burbank after meeting up with Ymris."
"No." Kodama shook her head as her voice became unsteady. "Who… who could have done that?"
"The thing that Tavis has been looking for," Daniel said, unable to fully keep the fear out of his voice. "The Guide of War. It fused with him like it fused with me. And it's going to use Tavis like it used me. To get whatever it wants. Regardless of who gets in its way."
It was silent for a moment, Kodama clearly shaken by Daniel's words as he continued. "I don't know who you think you knew, Kodama… but he's gone. And I don't think he's coming back."
"If…" Kodama looked dazed now. "If Tavis was seeking it, then why would it kill Kauri? He's… such a kind man."
"Because he stopped following the path that Ha… the Guide wants everyone to follow. A path that would see you, your sisters, your daughter, and everyone that you know here turned into soldiers to be thrown into war across Reality again and again."
"It's my life's duty to stop that from happening again," Daniel said, with all the conviction of his soul. "I won't let Tavis do what I did. Not here, not anywhere else."
Kodama seemed utterly lost, a distant look in her eyes as she looked around the room and almost seemed to not see the people that surrounded her. "He couldn't take all this away," she whispered as her gaze landed on the office that she had emerged from. "I have so much work to do…"
"Then stay here!"
The words snapped everyone out of their reverie as they all turned to Natsumi, who regarded her mother with eyes red-rimmed with tears and alight with indignation. "You like this… this fantasyland? Then stay! I don't want a mother who's going to just be chained to this place, who doesn't even seem to care about her own daughter."
Daniel couldn't see her face, but Kodama stepped back from her daughter. "Natsumi…"
"At least give your respect at grandfather's grave. Then you can go back here to this stupid job." Natsumi paused as she looked at Daniel. "Daniel will even take you back here."
Kodama looked back at Daniel with no small amount of numb shock, and Daniel was somewhat shocked himself. "If…" he paused as he sighed. "If it's what you want, then… I can get you back here."
It was silent for a moment, a tense and somber thing as Kodama slowly turned back to Natsumi, staring at her silently for a moment. "You have his passion, too," she whispered. "It's part of what drew me to Roshi."
"That was his name?" Natsumi asked quietly, her anger ebbing. "What was he like?"
"He was going to be a regular office manager. Some sort of insurance firm. It really doesn't matter anymore." Kodama spoke as she walked over to a chair, almost collapsing into it. "But that part of him didn't matter. We met in college when he dragged me and a friend along for a hike. He loved the outdoors. He was a biology major, and he always managed to make any little thing we came across interesting. He loved the world."
Her gaze fixed on Natsumi, whose anger had fully gone now. "And he loved you with all his soul. Right up to the end when he called me during Near-Third Impact."
It was silent again. "I… I miss him." she choked out.
"And we miss you," Hikari said gently. "Kodama… you're all we have now. Please. Come home with us."
It was silent again, but now the silence was an expectant one. Kodama looked around, and Daniel couldn't blame her for being somewhat hesitant when her gaze landed on him. But, finally, she nodded. "Okay. Okay. Just…"
She slowly rose from her chair. "Let me get my affairs in order. I need to leave a message."
Daniel, along with everyone else, breathed a quiet sigh of relief. "Okay," Nozomi said. "We can go whenever you're ready."
Kodama nodded as she walked back to her office, and Daniel remembered something that Ymris had asked of him a few days ago. "Kodama."
She paused, and he continued. "Do you know a Miyomi Matsumoto?"
It was silent for a moment. "She's the sister of one of my best workers. Why do you ask?"
Daniel finally smiled, a slight thing. "Her boyfriend, Juro, wants to make sure she's safe. Honestly, he'd like to see her outside, in Village-3."
"I'll make sure she knows."
It was quiet for a moment, Kodama composing what was likely a written note before she emerged again. "Alright," she said with a deep breath. "I'm ready to go."
Before anyone else could speak, Nynrya spoke up in Daniel's mind, her voice ringing with alarm. "Daniel! Someone just teleported in downstairs!"
Daniel's gaze flashed down, his Sight flashing on with it as he took in the view below them in the garage. As he saw what, who was calmly approaching the stairwell, his blood seemed to become ice in his heart. Twined souls. Strands of gold. A deluge of memories he had absolutely no time to process at the moment as mist, softly glowing with golden light from within, crawling impossibly up the stairs and spilling into the room.
"What is that?" Kodama asked anxiously.
"He's here. It's here." Daniel said, almost without willing it.
He turned to face the rest of the group. "Kodama, Kyu is going to be taking you and the others back to Village-3. You all need to cluster around her, and she will activate the beacon in that necklace that will take you there."
The words came with a practiced calm, a stern tone that demanded compliance, getting the results he wanted more slowly than they needed to come.
"What are you waiting for?" Kyu said as the Horakis began to crowd around her.
"I can't risk him following you to the village. The Guide knows me, so I'll hold him off and buy you some time. There's no more time to argue."
As Daniel spoke, the mist in the room began to glow, figures comprised of perfect geometries, almost mimicking the circulatory systems of people but in far too symmetrical a fashion, rising from them and stepping forward.
In a smooth motion, Daniel turned, raising a left hand that soon had his Grip in a familiar pistol form, putting a small star in the center of each slowly approaching figure that soon exploded, shattering the figures and sending the pieces flying for the briefest of moments before they slowly reformed as if rewinding back to the moment before their destruction.
"Go."
"But what about-" Hikari began.
"Go!"
Daniel's pistol flowed into a sword as they came ever closer, and Daniel almost felt the buzz of the Errant finding them and teleporting away.
They were safe. Now, he just had to survive.
The two figures continued to doggedly press on, soon coming into range of him as their arms turned into blades with an intricate shifting of Frames, blades that they wasted no time deftly slashing and thrusting toward him.
It was a fraught few seconds, the figures pressing him back toward the office before he dashed into it, seeing the note that Kodama had written on her desk.
He leaped backward, over the desk, before kicking it into the creatures. Again they shattered, their lower halves giving out from under them as their torsos flopped gracelessly onto the desktop.
He wasted no time bounding onto the desktop, tumbling through the doorway as the figures slashed at him, reforming even now as they began also to push the desk off of their forms.
He needed to end this, now. In a moment, the sword vanished, and he held out a hand toward the figures as they sent the desk flying into the other wall, turning to face him.
In his hand, Daniel manifested an Expression of the purest destruction he could muster, space tearing open in front of his hand and collapsing. The black hole that had formed wasted no time in pulling the seemingly fragile figures apart, pulling each piece into an utterly dark maw. Daniel focused, the black hole becoming larger as the figures tried to resist its pull.
Then, after tense moments that seemed to stretch into forever, the figures finally disappeared, Daniel breathing a quiet sigh of relief.
Before he could let the Expression unravel, however, someone decided to end it for him, a cage of ghostly golden strings flashing around the black hole, the thing shrinking and seeming to wither as the Expression was severed from its Control Surface, the image of the hole. In a moment, it was gone.
Daniel looked back at the stairwell and froze as a figure emerged from the mist that now filled the doorway. It clung to the form of the man for a moment, the gaunt, thin face of Tavis utterly placid, lit up from the shifting form of the bared blade that rested, gilt and glowing, above his brow.
"Daniel Theisman." Tavis, the Hollow Saint of War, said softly. "How strange, to hear that name said without pain, anger, or alarm."
"You…" Daniel swallowed as he did his best to ready himself, his Grip returning to him as a pistol. "You made that happen. You'll never hear it any other way that matters."
"We shall see." The Hollow Saint replied. "You have intruded upon my people's sanctum. Why?"
"You wouldn't understand." Daniel spat, hating how useless the gun felt in his hand as he desperately tried to keep it from shaking visibly. "The man whose body you took wouldn't fully understand. All this time, he's been trying to reach you."
He scoffed, a somewhat more high-pitched sound than he meant it to be. "Well, he can have you all he wants. Because I won't let you have this world."
Tavis' face began to twist slightly. "You are so much more arrogant than you profess yourself to be. Neither young Tavis nor I believe it came from your time when we were joined. Such pride should have been tempered by wisdom by now. You know you cannot stand against the power that you had with our time together. You were fettered by your struggle against it. This disciple embraces me. Our powers are joined fully. This world will be mine."
The worst part of it was how true so much of it was. He'd done his best to resist, and Hamar'ramah had overridden him anyway, its power taking from his own without regard for his struggles. If their wills were aligned…
"So, what are you waiting for?" Daniel said, forcing his gun up and taking one shot, then another. Both were as useless as he knew they would be, the shots consumed by lashing tentacles that Daniel found terribly familiar. "Why not end this now?"
"Because you and I both know the true battle that must be fought." The Hollow Saint said simply. "Should you fall here, your compatriots will fight all the harder at the last battle of this world. Make things more difficult than they already are. I have gazed into the soul of this world, and now my people know when to strike."
Finally, the neutral expression cracked with a slight, knowing smile. "Yes, Daniel." who Daniel was sure was Tavis said. "We are one, in a way you never could be. And when this is over, and the victory is won, we will decide what to do with your soul. So run, little rebel. It's the only choice you have now. Run… or die."
Daniel took one step back. Then another. Finally, Daniel vanished from sight, flying from the room as an invisible beam of light. The Hollow Saint watched unerringly until Daniel vanished from Sight, then looked around the room.
Such disorder. Where Tavis alone would have accepted it as a little fact of life, Hamar'ramah would stand no such chaos in any part of his world. Much as Tavis was still imperfect, the Guide respected the child for his desire to learn, along with his… temerity.
The mist that surrounded them blanketed the room, golden light in streams coursing through the fog and setting the room in order again, shifting furniture, adjusting stacks of paper or pens on desktops. It was over in less than a second, the mist receding to reveal a room that was as perfect as such fallible forms could be.
Tavis Farhaven reveled in the power that was at his command. Hamar'ramah was content to keep it that way. It would make what came next easier.
. . .
Daniel felt the ground beneath him, charged with Pneumaic interference, dragging him towards it, threatening to pull his Expression, then his body apart.
But he had to get away. He had to go as far as possible. But was he doing it for the people that he loved? Or simply to save his own skin?
Finally, he could bear the strain no longer. Something had to give, and he didn't want it to be his body.
He released the Expression that carried him away from Matsushiro far less gracefully than he usually would have, falling to the earth and rolling roughly to a stop.
His breath was heaving in the darkness, and he spent far longer on his back than he wanted to simply staring at the night sky, a place of freedom that now felt like a cage that pressed down on him. He was trapped on this world, with the being that had held him worse than a slave. Worse still, he was at once at war with the being that he'd fled from, and with his mind, fighting the urge to try and run still further.
Finally, he struggled to his knees, looking down at hands that shook. That wouldn't stop shaking. Feeble. Useless.
A wordless shout, desperate and indignant and above all afraid, tore itself from his mouth and into an uncaring night. It faded away, leaving a weary, exhausted man with his tears and his sins. The eyes were beginning to open again, and he could swear that a whisper was beginning to carry on the gentle breeze that was blowing through.
He had to get away. He had to go home. But where was home, really? Where would the eyes and the accusations and the pleas finally just leave him alone?
. . .
Shinji Ikari-Soryu stood on the porch of the Suzuhara household, anxious. He hadn't slept all night, Interfacing allowing him to keep his vigil. Asuka stood by his side, holding his hand and sharing his anxiety.
The Horakis and Kyu had made it back at about midnight, and Shinji had helped them back into the house, him and Asuka giving up their room for Kodama. Their blood had run cold when they'd told those around them about the circumstances that Daniel had told them to flee from. At first, they simply waited in the living room, the Horakis going to bed 30 minutes after. Then, Rei and Kaworu went out to look for him.
That was nearly 4 hours ago. The sun was rising, and people were beginning to go about their day, seemingly oblivious to the sort of danger that Daniel's absence might have carried. They were silent, communicating with each other without words, only holding each other's hands, the tightness of their grip climbing as time went on. Even a Pneumaic link between them seemed… superfluous when they each knew what the other was thinking already.
Finally, though, the silence became too much to bear. Shinji reached out to the vestigial link between him and Rei, strengthening it. "Anything yet?" he asked, the worry he felt bleeding into his words.
"Nothing," Rei replied, her tone tense and somewhat strung out, much like Shinji assumed her body was. "We've gone around the village's perimeter a dozen times already, and he still hasn't gotten past us. Did he perhaps teleport to the old guard, as Mr. Kaji so likes to call it?"
"Misato would have gotten us if he did, I'm sure,"
Shinji replied. "He'll turn up. He always does."
He couldn't put the conviction he wanted to behind those last words, and couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty at the fact. Rei's comforting presence, and the squeeze of his hand from Asuka, managed to put him only somewhat at ease. 'Am I really still that obvious?'
He wondered, for a moment, how his father could appear so stoic. It would have certainly helped at the moment.
"We're starting another…" Rei began, stumbling over her words as she paused, and Shinji could feel the hope and fear flash to life all at once.
"What is it?" Shinji asked, roping Asuka into his link with Rei. "Did you find him?"
Rei said nothing, simply showing him a view of what she must be seeing, along with a general sense of her location. She was, unsurprisingly, at an edge of the settlement, one of the ACC Pillars to her right and Kaworu to her left. She looked out past the Pillar's boundary, several dozen meters of what had once been Corite wasteland now revealed to be a country road. In the distance, only a shadow on the horizon, someone was slowly approaching on foot. There was only one person that it could have been.
"What are you waiting for?" Asuka said as the vision faded, pulling him off the steps into a run. "We know where they are. Keep up!"
With that, she must have enhanced her body, peeling away from a somewhat surprised Shinji at a clip that not even an Olympic sprinter could have fully matched. It took him a second to match her speed, then catch up to her.
They could have teleported there instantly, and been right at Rei and Kaworu's side. But the movement gave them something to do, some way to release the anxiety and the frustration that had been building up inside them all night.
It still didn't take them long to reach the place, slowing to a stop as they looked out at the figure. He still approached slowly, crossing the boundary line between the Corite wastes and what was reclaimed. At this distance, the horn-like Vent Frames were unmistakable.
"Daniel!" Asuka said, stepping past the ACC Pillars that bracketed them quickly, almost seeming to pull the others behind her as they followed. "We've been so worried! You could have at least… tried…"
She slowed to a stop, her expression slack with shock as she saw the look on Daniel's face.
He didn't even seem to notice them, eyes bloodshot and staring straight ahead, lifeless, almost as if he were little more than a walking corpse. He didn't even slow down, the Children having to part around him to allow him past.
"Daniel…" Shinji asked as he continued to walk. "What happened?"
He was silent. More and more they grew concerned for him, following behind.
"Hey. Bruder." Asuka was openly worried, a rare display of such anxious emotion as she stepped in front of him, putting her hands on his arms. "Hey. What happened?"
Daniel finally seemed to pause, looking at Asuka with those eyes, utterly intense. "I couldn't… I…"
Having stopped, the man finally sank to his knees, looking down at the earth. "There is… no escape…"