Nightshift 41: Staff Research/Medical Reference Library

[141-12.livejournal.com]

[From here.]

With the overall ambiance so far, Otacon half-expected the library to be filled with rotting, toppled bookshelves and nests of monsters stirred up from all the noise he'd created trying to get in. The sight which greeted them as he panned his flashlight across the surprisingly large space was nothing short of mundane — cozy, even. He opened his mouth to say so, but then shut it again upon remembering which genre they now occupied.

Instead, he stepped aside to allow Kaworu to enter, and regarded the young man speculatively. He wondered if Sunny would be so philosophical at fifteen. So mature. Resigned. "That's not true," Otacon said in a firm voice. "What you can do shouldn't be limited by what you've done so far, especially not when you're capable of so much power. Maybe it seems like all you're good at is... is destruction because that's all you've been given the chance to do. I mean..."

He pushed his glasses up, and smiled a little wryly at Kaworu.

"I know you're not really human— uh, Lilim, but we're not that different, are we? And if all the knowledge I use to create can also be used to destroy — and it has — then maybe you can do the same. Er, except the opposite, obviously."

Comments

[moral-liberty.livejournal.com]

Kaworu wandered out into the room without hesitation as he listened to Otacon. He could feel the optimism in his voice, and Kaworu smiled faintly. He was theorizing with Kaworu as the subject of his thoughts, but he was also thinking about himself. Kaworu did not see himself in Otacon (he was still seeing glimpses of Shinji), but that was alright. Kaworu simply knew what his own nature was, and how that contrasted with the nature of Lilim. But at the moment, it didn't matter.

It was strange to be spoken to like this, though he couldn't define what it was or why it felt odd. Not even Shinji had been this way. There was something in his eyes when he looked at Kaworu, that he had never seen before. It certainly wasn't the ambivalence of his caretakers, nor the anxiety of the girl with his eyes. It was warmer, but nothing like the unbridled need for affection he saw in Shinji.

"You have overcome your past to pursue a new future." Kaworu brushed his fingers over a keyboard absently. These were very primitive computers. "Because of that, you can see the potential in what lies ahead of you. There is still darkness behind you, but don't worry. It does not define you if you don't allow it to. You are ever-changing and therefore undefinable."

[141-12.livejournal.com]

"Um, well... thank you. The same goes for you, Kaworu. I think." Otacon moved to stand beside him, his attention now taken up by the sleek computers in the center of the room. He touched the power buttons — one, two, three — and was disappointed but unsurprised that none of them worked. "Nothing wrong with the wiring," Otacon muttered as he came around the table, following the paths of the neatly tied cables. "Is the power out in the entire building? Now that I think about it, I don't remember anything using electricity since the message on the intercom..."

How long ago had that been? An hour? Three? Seven? If Snake was here, he'd know the time down to the exact minute. Otacon tapped the lifeless keyboard with one hand, filling the room with the familiar, repetitive clacking.

"I thought we'd already won a new future. I thought we'd atoned for our sins, and now we could all finally get..." He bowed his head, then sighed, lifting his fingertips from the keys. "Snake was right. Whoever brought us here really does have a sense of humour."

[moral-liberty.livejournal.com]

Kaworu stood back as Otacon inspected the machinery. The sound of clicking keys and subsequent confirmation that nothing was operational made the quiet that much more obvious.

"Is Snake the friend without the same memories, or another?" he asked curiously, remembering the conversation from before. Otacon had never quite said the man's name, but had spoken about him with deep fondness. He imagined Otacon standing next to two nebulous shapes: one was a girl, and the other was a man. Their heights and ages remained undefined, but they were at a wedding.

Snake. It was a very odd name for a Lilim, but really, so was Otacon.