Night 64: West Wing, South Hall 1-A

[dualistic]

[From here.]

Still no one. Harvey imagined that before long these areas were going to be flooded with sick people who were going to follow that clue, so he was glad that he'd beaten them to the punch. It wasn't that he thought it was contagious anymore -- by this point, they would have known -- but he didn't need to be surrounded by a bunch of miserable, sniffling people, either.

Relieved that he'd dodged that bullet, at least so far, Harvey reached the end of the hall and took a right toward their regular meeting spot.

[To here.]

Comments

[maverickhunterx]

Could he...? It was a good question; holding onto the burdens of the world on his shoulders, keeping pain and suffering as far away from those he loved as possible while working towards a better, more beautiful future for everyone? If he had to sacrifice himself, could he do it? Would he be able to give away his fragile, flawed, and mistake-ridden life in exchange for the lives of all others...?

All signs, of course, pointed to "Yes."

Even the simple thought of it forced a heavy weight onto his...his heart. Yes, that was the proper word; that thing he had always been told that he had as a Reploid, but which he truly in the most accurate sense of the word had as a human. It was a hard, clenching thing; but not altogether uncomfortable somehow.

X wasn't sure why that was.

"It's not a matter of 'can' I." X murmured. "But a matter of 'will' I. Of course, there are those who are willing to help me, and I will always be grateful to them."

Zero. Dr. Cain.

"...But I'd rather bring the burden entirely onto myself than to let them deal with it. Even if it seems impossible, I'll take on the task, even if that means doing it alone. If it ends up bringing peace in the long run...I don't mind becoming Atlas."

And under the pressure, X knew that he wouldn't shrug.

[lovesthepain]

You could argue that Harpuia wasn't one to question the mentality of trying to run everything yourself. He certainly didn't see any reason to shoot that ideal of X's down; perhaps the sacrifice that he would inevitably make in the future wouldn't prevent the energy crisis, Elpizo's hubris, or the return of Weil, but it had been for the sake of the world.

He mulled this answer over in silence for a moment, expression giving away nothing. Truth be told... he wasn't even able to claim with any certainty that X would even have the chance to change Harpuia's past. The discrepancy in their memories may have suggested time travel, but Harpuia was reluctant to accept anything so utterly irrational.

"You're just as I imagined you'd be," he told X, and simply left it at that, lapsing again into silence as he focused on continuing their search.

[To here!]