DAY 65: Breakfast

[envy_the_sinners]

Scar came to slowly, vision blurred and head throbbing. His memory of the previous night was vague and somewhat scattered. What he was most aware of was his renewed and increased hatred for the man called Lingormr. The Ishbalan didn't give a damn if he had been a special counseling patient. That bastard had enjoyed every second of tearing Scar to shreds. What he may or may not have realized was how much it had affected Scar emotionally. He had felt a renewed sense of drive at the start of the night; the disruption on the intercom and the news of the 'cure' had rekindled a fire that fueled Scar to drive forward. To have a little hope.

Lingormr had promptly crushed that.

He was in pain. So much pain. The cut on his hand was only fading scab at this point, but stitches now pulled at the deep gashes in his legs and back. Not only had the nausea not settled, but his stomach was beginning to cramp. The rash on his arm was impossible to hide without the old bandages covering it. It had nearly reached his elbow.

Scar's hazy eyes could make out the nurse, now pushing a wheelchair up to his bedside. This was humiliating. And he was too exhausted and hurting to lash out or become angry. He was just broken. He still tried to take some sort of grudging control, insisting that he didn't need to be pushed around, that he could at least turn the wheels of the damned chair himself. But he didn't make it down the hallway before the pulling and sharp pain in his back became so obvious on his face that the nurse took over.

He entered breakfast with a frustrated, tired, but overall defeated look to him. Scar felt too sick to eat. He sat at the table and brooded, wishing more than anything to simply be left alone.

[For Goku!]

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[sixth_attack]

Panting and shaking, Sechs was about the snap again when he felt Aigis' hands gently rest upon his own. A soft grunt escaped him as his eyes glanced down at the smaller fingers overlapping his hardened knuckles. Such a sight immediately reminded him of when Kibitoshin calmed him down in a similar fashion during a bad morning weeks ago. ...still can't believe he's really gone now... That alone was enough to intensify the Replica's trembling but hush the roaring going on inside his head.

"But..." he muttered, looking away from their hands and back up to Aigis' serene face. With all his fatigue catching up on him, Sechs' tense shoulders weakly slumped. He just couldn't snarl and growl anymore, just listen to the fellow droid as his frown worsened with growing distress.

Finally, the Replica heavily sat back down with a sigh, all the emotional adrenaline was now mostly depleted from his system. His arm returned to hugging at his middle, while his other hand poked at another fruit slice. "Fine..." he grumbled, his shaking and breathing slowly stabilizing. "Just promise me you'll stick to those words, alright? I've... I've lost enough and I'm sick of it...!"

[no_dont_go]

Seeing Sechs relax, or at least calm down from his trembling and shouting stage, gave Aigis a bit more peace of mind. She couldn't say she felt completely at ease; no one would if they had just upset a friend to that degree, but some mending had been done.

But as she sat back, she actually started thinking. Thinking about her approach to this, and how it had caused such strife for her friend. In a way, that meant that her proposed act of self-sacrifice in order to ensure the safety of others was... still rather selfish, wasn't it? Aigis had circled this dilemma many times since entering the institute, and once when she had been back home. The more times she revisited the subject, the more she began to realize just how selfish 'selfless' acts could be.

"I am sorry," she breathed out with a sigh. Her gaze was fixed again on her meal, but this time she wasn't really looking at it. She blinked slowly, still trying to parse out how she felt on the matter.

"When I was home, I was constantly throwing myself into battle in order to accomplish both my programmed objective as well as to satisfy my own personal goal of protecting the ones I cared for." She took a deep breath. "It is hard to imagine that my destruction would cause anyone outside of my team from back home any anguish. And I... apologize, that I was unable to see how much that could hurt you. Or anyone else."

[sixth_attack]

Sechs took an unenthusiastic bite out of his fruit slice and begrudgingly gulped it down, coughing a little as it slowly crawled down his esophagus. Aigis' apology only seemed to make the slice stick even further inside his chest. "No... I... Shit."

Keeping his eyes down at his plate, Sechs frowned to himself, his brain sluggishly clanked through what she said. What was worse? Remaining alive to transform into a monster and kill others? Or die before the virus can take over but grieve those who knew you? What is the worth of my life...? It was a question that still followed him like a shadow he could never shake off, but as a warrior striving for greatness, it was something he could not live without.

"Look..." Sechs looked up to Aigis with grim yellow eyes. "One thing I've learned about what makes a true warrior, it's to have a cause worth dying for..." He hesitated, struggling to piece together his words. It was a topic Sechs still struggled with, but he knew Aigis had to hear it. Finally, he took in a deep breath and forced himself to continue. "And if protecting people you care about is your cause, then don't feel bad about doing it... Ok?"

Letting out a small sigh, Sechs' eyes fell back down to his plate. "Just give finding that cure a chance first, alright?"

[no_dont_go]

Aigis sat a bit straighter when Sechs addressed her again, focusing on his every word. He understood, of course, that personal goals and priorities were important to up-hold. But that he still wanted her to keep trying...

... That told her just how much of a dear friend he truly was.

Aigis smiled and nodded. "Of course. I won't give up. This I promise you."