Persona BLEACHED 2: Part 36

Chapter 36: The Beginning of Our Memory II
April 4, 2029
"Before Death's Hand...before any and all rebellion...before the world itself came to be...there was another world. Another Earth." Miyatsuko presented everything via a clear projection. "It was very much like this one. But ours was a world on the brink. Nature's bounty grew scarce. Humanity's numbers were dwindling from famine and war. In order to stem an extinction that was fast approaching, mankind's greatest minds gathered together, to use their talents to find some sort of solution."
A towering complex was shown on the screen. "Odyssea. Mankind's ultimate brain trust. Experts from every field worked in the hopes of stopping our continuous degradation. And in this assembly of science...is where I began my work."
"Cognitive science was my forte. Rather than find a way to undo the approaching disaster, I sought a way to stop the disaster before it ever came to pass. I long believed that humanity's problems lied within humanity itself. That if I could just find a way to root out what made people so selfish, so self-destructive, then any future conflict could be stopped before it started."
"There were moral questions, to be sure. If changing people at the most basic level was possible, would it be okay to alter people's natures in that way? I decided for myself that questions of morality couldn't apply when it was our own survival at stake. Not all of my coworkers agreed with me."
"You're out of your mind, Miyatsuko." Appearing on-screen was a dark-haired woman. "Changing people's hearts without their consent is in and of itself morally bankrupt."
"There's nothing bankrupt about it, Kaya. Eliminating evil from the collective consciousness would stop our rapid descent almost instantly. We can't afford to be moral about this!"
"And how would you determine who was evil or not? We're trying to rescue humanity, not become its gods. This idea of yours to transport someone into the consciousness of another person...it's ludicrous. We need hard science, not fairy tales."
"There's nothing mystical about what I'm doing. The data I've gathered is extremely encouraging, once we begin human trials--"
"Human trials? In that thing? Are you mad?" Kaya pointed at the machinery, a giant tube connected to several computers. "For God's sake, Miyatsuko. We're trying to stop an extinction. From what I'm seeing you're closer to causing one."
"That is Dr. Mikaela Wolfe, a behavioral therapist. The kind of person who would question my morality. If only I knew how prophetic her words would prove to be."
"She looks so...familiar..." Kitty pondered.
"Hers is not the only face you should recognize."
The projection began shifting. Kaya exited Miyatsuko's office, and was greeted by a muscular, African-American man in a security uniform. The name "Blackshear" was on his nametag. "Another shouting session, Kay?"
"What else is new. I'll see you tomorrow, Tony."
"You got it. Say hi to the little one for me."
"That man...Haimon?" Carrie questioned.
In the projection, a white-haired woman was giving a presentation in front of an elaborate model of a city. Behind her was a whiteboard, which gave the title "Fortifying for the End: A City Defense Lesson, by Sara Sigurdsdóttir". "First and most important, any and all residential districts need to be prioritized for protection. Whether through natural disaster or man-made, there can't be a rebuild if there's nobody to rebuild around."
"And that looks like Ismene." Kenji said.
The projection switched back to Miyatsuko's office. "Don't let her dissuade you, Reiji. This is important work we're doing. Stopping a war through normal means rarely ever works. Stopping it before it ever stops is the only reasonable solution." An older, silver-haired man sat across from Miyatsuko.
"Thank you, Kostas. It's only in her nature to question my motives. I know that what we're doing is right."
"That man...his voice...is that..." Sakuya pondered.
"He is Dr. Kostas Dimitrios. My lab partner. An orator unlike any I had ever met before. I don't think I would have had as many assistants as I did were it not for his wisdom and charisma. Traits that have carried over to his current life."
"So they were all...human..." Barbara said.
"Haimon told us that they existed since the beginning of this universe. But this footage looks like it could be from Earth right now...what happened?" Carrie asked.
"What Kaya feared the most came to pass." The projection switched to the day of the experiment. "I eventually discovered the existence of a world within human cognition. I attempted to transport a human subject--myself--into the cognitive world. The solution I'd devised was finally within my grasp. But my excitement blinded me to the potential dangers. As soon as I opened that door, everything that had been bottled up in that world for eons came pouring out. All that was...was no more."
"You...blew up your whole universe?" Sahir asked.
"In a manner of speaking, yes. Once the energy that poured from the rift finally subsided, only seven beings remained from the old universe. Myself, Kaya, and the five people closest to the blast."
"Okay, so...there's the Elites you showed us...plus you two makes five. Who were the other two?" Kitty asked.
"One was a medical assistant I had stationed nearby, in case anything went wrong during the experiment. Sheila Chambers was her name. A nice enough girl. If only I knew what she would turn into later on. The other survivor..."
The projection shifted once more. Kaya was talking to a small child. "Just wait out here with Ms. Sheila, honey. I'm going to talk to Uncle Reiji before he does something stupid."
"Okay, Mama."
"You've got nothing to worry about, Mickey. She'll be safe and sound with me." Sheila assured.
"I know. I'll just be a few minutes."
"I love you, Mama."
"I love you too, Rose."
If this were being played on a record, it likely would have stopped at this moment. Every one of the students' eyes widened in shock. "...um. Um." Kitty muttered.
"Is that...who I think it is?" Carrie asked.
"It is exactly who you believe it to be. The last survivor of the old universe was Mikaela Wolfe's 6-year old daughter, Rosemary. The very same Rose that you have come to know."
"Unbelievable. I always knew there was something different about her...but this is beyond imagination." Kenji said.
"Given what we've seen, the...I suppose 'Big Bang' is most appropriate here...it gave you all immortality. Does that include Ms. Rose?" Barbara asked.
"Once everything settled, Kaya and I awoke. The Odyssea building was all that remained. A single structure, floating in an endless void. Being at the very center of the explosion, Kaya and I retained our memories and our sense of self, in addition to extraordinary power. The others...did not fare as well. To keep them from a complete biological meltdown, we placed them in stasis pods made as one of many precautions in case of disaster. Ironically enough, it was Dr. Dimitrios who helped in their construction. The pods were named after Greek entities, to make distinguishing them during maintenance easier. The labels they bore eventually became the names they would take on: Kerberos, Pittacus, Haimon, Ismene, and Galatea. We monitored their conditions for years, until it we deemed it safe wake them up. Though when we did, we found that their memories of the old universe had been erased."
"This is..." Kitty breathed out. "I'm not gonna lie. This is a lot to take in. So you blew up the old universe, and the ones who survived it with you are either trying to kill us now...or they're our Professor's girlfriend."
"There's a lot still unexplained, though." Kibō said. "Obviously they don't remember everything from their past lives, so that can't be why they're seeking revenge. Why are they so angry with you, then?"
"And what's the deal with this city? Who else lived here? How'd it get blown up?" Max asked.
"And what happened to this 'Kerberos'? Pittacus never once mentioned her." Sakuya said.
"Patience. I've yet to finish our tale. This is how the Lunar Capital came to be...and how single-minded hubris led to all kinds of tragedy." Miyatsuko answered.
"After years passed, the first four of whom we would name the Theban Units awoke from their stasis. The fifth, sadly, was still too unstable to safely awaken. Her young body simply couldn't contain the energy coursing through her without a great deal of assistance. So we proceeded with the first four, while monitoring the fifth. For millions of years, we monitored the growing universe. More stars and planets sprouted from the abyss. And so, too, did life. Earth was forged exactly as it had in the old universe. The moon, meanwhile, formed around the remains of Odyssea, which was hidden within what you call the Metaverse."
"The four Thebans aided us in our observations. Their power comes from cognition. Their long lifespans came from a single order I gave them before they awoke. 'Endure'. So it was that their bodies adapted to this one command. But Kaya was indignant that I not subject her daughter to this fate. She would not be used as my lab experiment. So while she slept, she left her a different command."
"So that's why she ages normally...what was the command?" Kibō asked.
"The one thing every mother wishes for their child. 'Live a happy life'. She knew that immortality offered nothing but endless misery. So she ensured that once Rose woke up, she would not have to watch as everything around her aged and died. Even if that meant they could not be together for eternity."
"To think that a mother's love could surpass even the end of everything..." Carrie mused.
"Eventually, we came to desire companionship, and purpose for the Thebans. That is how the Odysseans came to be. A people not unlike humans, who possessed advanced technology from the beginning. With the Thebans governing them, we could more easily monitor their beginnings, as well as that of mankind, which was in its infancy. I had hoped beyond hope that a new beginning would mean humanity could overcome their predecessors' demons. Alas...that was not to be."
"The rule me and Kaya put in place was that whenever the Thebans would go to Earth on our behalf, they would exit the cognitive world. I knew what meddling with peoples' hearts could do, and I was in no hurry to repeat what had already occurred. And so it remained...until around six-hundred years ago."
"Kerberos was the strongest of the Thebans, by far. Her greatest fault, however, was that she would become bored easily. She wanted to know what caused humans to act the way they did. As we feared, humans were repeating the mistakes of the old universe. No matter what was done to assuage their ill feelings, greed and ambition could never be erased. Why couldn't we go and see why they were like this, she thought. So she defied orders and went into the human Metaverse. The results were...disastrous."
"Seeing the true evil and hatred that dwelled within the human heart was too much to bear. She started to hate the humans. And eventually...she started to hate everything. She launched an attack on the Lunar Capital. Hundreds perished before she was slain. The life toll was serious, but it also planted a seed of doubt within the remaining Thebans. They wondered why I was so focused on a species whose very nature drove one of their own mad. Not to mention, I had begun to turn away from governance and focused on trying to stabilize Rose."
"A hundred years after Kerberos' first rampage, the Thebans gathered support amongst the Odysseans, and they led their own revolt. Kaya and I managed to stop them, but we had no choice but to strip them of their power and banish them to Earth. Unfortunately, my original command to 'endure' would be our downfall on two fronts. Over time, the Thebans' powers would return--which they recently did--but even worse was the effect it had on Kerberos. She had implanted strands of her DNA into an Odyssean during her rampage, and shortly after Pittacus and his followers were banished, Kerberos succeeded in regenerating her body. Before we had a chance to respond, she slaughtered every remaining Odyssean."
"And so began Death's Hand. What happened to Kerberos afterwards?" Barbara asked.
"Kaya managed to mortally wound her before she fled to Earth. Ever since then, she's managed to survive by implanting parts of herself into other organisms. About two decades ago, her DNA found its way into a young boy named Nobuhiro Yamatsu. Thanks to her influence, Yamatsu grew into a sadistic, violent young man who partook in numerous murders. He did this under the shadow of Kerberos' signature red hood, and became known as--"
"The Reaper." Barbara said. "The one that stalked the Professor and her friends."
"Correct. Yamatsu allied himself with Ringo Kubo's brother Tohru, and a primordial Shadow named Cronus, in an attempt to overtake the world. It was through this and working errands for Kyohei Ishimaru that Kerberos gained a fixation towards Ringo and her friends."
"Tch. Of course my brother had a part in this." Kibō grumbled.
"But the Reaper died almost a decade ago. So that's that for Kerberos, right?" Barbara asked.
"I feel a 'well, actually' coming along." Kitty said.
"Even when she hasn't fully possessed someone, Kerberos' urge to survive persists. On one occasion, Yamatsu kidnapped a friend of Ringo's, torturing him and slicing his throat. During this process, Yamatsu inserted a device into this individual's throat in an attempt at taunting his enemies. This device also contained pieces of Kerberos, that would begin to regenerate once the main body was slain."
"This person Kerberos inserted herself into...that has to be..." Sakuya turned pale.
"Jin Mirai." Miyatsuko answered.
"Oh...shit." Kitty muttered. "And here he is running around the city with a crazy look in his eyes."
"He's been having visions and violent outbursts for years, from what the Professor told us. Is this Kerberos overtaking him?" Carrie asked.
"The particles that were placed in Jin Mirai were tiny compared to previous attempts. Normally, it would take a hundred years for Kerberos to regenerate from such small pieces. But prolonged exposure to the Metaverse's atmosphere may be accelerating the process. He'll be driven by those same urges as Kerberos' past hosts: to locate a strong power source that could speed up her regeneration. Within this city, there are three beings who could provide enough power to complete the process: myself, Kaya...and Rin Kubo."
"Fan-FREAKIN-tastic. Just one more awful thing to worry about." Max griped.
"There is one thing I still don't understand." Sahir began. "Why the fake names? Why pretend to be gods?"
"It was all for Rose's benefit. Close to two decades ago, we finally managed to stabilize her. Kaya made the decision to finally allow her to have a life. So she was raised in seclusion for nine years, until the incident with Tohru Kubo began. Ringo needed an ally with knowledge of the Metaverse, and so with Kaya's blessing, she was tasked with aiding her. Our usage of the names 'Tsukiyomi' and 'Amaterasu' were to keep her from possibly regaining her memories. I never imagined that this alliance would blossom into true love. It was the realization of a mother's wish for her child's happiness. I fear now that my past mistakes will keep that from its fulfillment."
"So...what do we do now?" Natalia asked.
"We still have to rescue the Professor and Ms. Rose. That hasn't changed. It's even more important now." Barbara replied.
"Stopping the Master and saving the Professor is still the priority, especially knowing that Mirai-san is likely pursuing her as well." Sakuya added.
"How do we deal with him when it comes to that, though? You can't just pluck specific DNA strands out of someone." Max asked.
"Guess there's one person who'd know, eh Doc?" Kitty asked. "If we drag him back here, could you remove the crazy from him?"
"If you can contain him, I could certainly try. That would also require you getting past Pittacus. Than is no small feat. Do you believe you can do it?" Miyatsuko asked.
"Doc, we shouldn't be here right now. Those Elites should've flattened us. But they didn't. And King Spook won't, either. We'll fix this. And even if it's taken literally forever, Doc Rose'll get her happy life." Kitty affirmed.
"Hm. If only our world had people like you and Rin Kubo. Perhaps it wouldn't have ended as it did. I pray for your success, children. Please, save them. Don't let this old fool's mistakes lead to any more ruin. Bring this never-ending nightmare to a close."
Everything faded out. The students reappered in the capitol's main lobby. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's roll." Kitty ordered.
---
"..."
"....."
"...you've been standing there for five minutes, and you haven't said a word. Surely you've had enough time to think of what to say?"
Rose sat at a desk. The room was faintly lit, and largely barren save for a single whiteboard. 
Behind her, Kaya loomed.
"Just answer one thing for me, Amate--no. Mother. What am I, really?"
"You already know the answer to that."
"I want to hear it from you." Rose began to hold back tears. "All this time, all the deceit and subterfuge, all the questions about what I really am. Am I a doll? A puppet? A lab experiment? A robot? An alien? And the whole time, you knew. You knew better than anyone. So tell me now. No more of this goddess charade. It won't be real until the words come from your lips."
"...okay. The truth. I am not Amaterasu, the sun goddess. I took that name and identity to avoid exposing the truth of everything. My real identity is Dr. Mikaela Wolfe. I was a behavioral therapist from Calgary, in Alberta. Just not the one in this Earth. I was part of a large group of scientists brought to this building in the hopes of coming up with a way to save our world from destruction. And you were...are...my daughter. Rosemary Minerva Wolfe. When Tsuki--Miyatsuko reset the universe, you were only six years old."
"After the reset, you were placed in stasis until your body could stabilize. It wasn't until about nineteen years ago that you were awoken. I wanted you to have some semblance of a normal life. This truth was just too painful. I watched everything from afar, and I was so happy to see your life developing. I've blamed so many for the way things have developed. I hated that man for taking away so many futures. I wasn't going to let him steal yours. You see what the curse of immortality has done to the others. There was no way I could let that fate befall you."
Rose had her head in her hands. "I want to be angry. I should be angry. I've been asleep in a pod for billions--BILLIONS!--of years, and made to think that I was something other than human. And the only response I can get is 'it could have been worse'. What am I supposed to be happy with?!"
Kaya walked up to Rose, and put her arms around her. "I can't count the number of times I had to stop Miyatsuko from prematurely waking you up. Over these billions of years, I've seen many children birthed into existence. You are the only one I carried within my body. I love you more than anything, and I would be damned before I allowed that man to bring you back before you were good and ready. I could never bring back all that's been stolen, but the least I could do is ensure the time you did get was bereft of despair. Now even that is in doubt."
"You know what needs to be done, Rose. I want to keep you safe. But I know who Pit--who Dimitrios has. If you want to go to her, now is the time. Her students are closing in. There's nothing now between them and the control center. She is your happy life. Through all these lifetimes, that's all I've wanted for you. She needs you there. And this may be selfish of me, but...I really want to be at my daughter's wedding."
Rose was taken aback. "M...Mother..."
"Go on, then. We'll meet again when it's all over. I'll keep watching, always and forever..."
Kaya vanished.
Outside the room, two Death's Hand soldiers stood guard. "You hear all that? I thought it was only the girl in the--"
The door opened. Two blue spiritual threads emerged from the darkness and pulled them inside. Rose walked out, and the door shut behind her, locking instantly. Without a word, she walked away.
---
The main judicial chamber. Like the rest of the building, it was dimly lit. Signs of neglect were apparent.
In the arbiter's chair, Pittacus sat. "It is officially April 5th in your hometown. Allow me to be the first to say..."
"...happy 25th birthday, Ringo Kubo."
Rin was on her knees, her hands bound by cuffs. She made no response.
"It sounds absurd to come from me, does it not? I've lived long enough to where 25 years is comparable to blinking my eyes once or twice. On the other hand, to reach even this age is a minor miracle for you, given past experience. So many moments where you could have met your end, yet you've resisted death's call repeatedly. It would be so easy to give in to it."
"Kaito Kubo, Tohru Kubo, Miko Sakaki...those names are seared into your heart. Part of you wishes that you could join them..."
"Don't." Rin spoke up. She turned her gaze to the Theban. "You keep their names out of your mouth."
"What will you do if I do not abide? What can you do?"
"....." Rin's expression showed clear frustration.
"You present yourself as being the perfect, compassionate educator. But inside, you are a destroyed woman. Death and misery follow your every move. What I cannot comprehend is...why do you still resist my offer? Most of the hardships you've faced are a direct result of their meddling. Their lies. Help me to punish them. Not just on behalf of my people, but the trillions of lives that man has stolen."
"...ha. Hahahahahaha..."
"What is so funny?"
"You've done all this research on me, yet you still think I'd go along with that? Make no mistake, what was done to you all is beyond anything I can comprehend. But my focus is on the here and now. For months, you've been torturing my friends and my students, punishing us for things we had nothing to do with. You think I'm going to turn around and make friends with you after all of that? I'm willing to forgive plenty. But only when whoever seeks it admits that they're in the wrong."
"Stubborn woman. You'd turn away trillions for the sake of a few?"
"The dead...are dead. They can't desire vengeance, or hold hate in their hearts. To hold on to those we've lost, without living for ourselves, would turn us all into angry creatures. Memories of the dead cling to the living like a curse. The best that I can do is be thankful for the time I had with them, and live in a way that would satisfy them. I won't become a cold, robotic instrument of revenge like you. I fight for the living. And the living won't abide what you've done."
"An unfortunate answer." Pittacus rose from his seat. Wires emerged from his sleeves. "If you will not answer the cries of the dead...then you shall join them, instead!"
The wires extended, and shot right at Rin. She didn't budge. 
A shadow appeared in front of her, and from it a figure emerged. Spiritual threads came from her hands, and grabbed the wires.
"Hm?!" Pittacus uttered.
"Oh dear. I do despise getting wires tangled like this." Rose quipped.
"Galatea. You came."
"Enough with that Galatea nonsense. My name is Rosemary Minerva Wolfe. I'm no laboratory experiment. I'm a simple girl from Calgary who went to sleep and woke up in a different world. Daughter of Mikaela, beloved of Rin, surrogate mother to Shizuka. I get up every morning, tend to and sell beautiful flowers, go home, tuck in my daughter, pour a nice cup of tea, and relax. That is who I am. Not whatever fictional role you wish for me to play, you bitter old fool. So do be a dear..." Energy began traveling along the length of the threads and into the wires. "...and vanish from my sight."
The energy exploded in Pittacus' face once it reached him, creating a cloud of smoke.
Rose turned to Rin. "Are you hurt?"
"You kidding? I've taken way worse than this." Rin smirked. "So...you've figured it all out, huh?"
"I have. Not what I was expecting. But it's who I am. We can sort it all out once this is done and over with...preferably over a plate of Tenko's noodles..."
"I'd kill for a bowl right about now..."
Rose's threads broke open the handcuffs, freeing Rin, who got to her feet. "Ugh...thanks for that. Those things were starting to chafe--"
Rose embraced her. Rin responded in kind. "Not how I was planning on spending my birthday."
"You're safe here in my arms. You shouldn't be complaining."
"I never said it was a bad thing."
The two women laughed. Then, a wire emerged. Rin was swatted into the seats.
"Rin!" Rose shouted.
A loud thud came from behind her as the wire was retracted. "Your attack was effective." Pittacus said. "Effective...but nowhere near enough."
His robes had been left smoldering. He tore them off, and ripped off his mask. His entire body save for his head had been replaced with dark blue cybernetic parts. The silver hair he bore as a human was now shoulder-length. Both of his eyes were mechanical in nature, glowing yellow as if they were headlights. The wires had receded into his forearms.
"What on Earth have you done to yourself...?" Rose asked.
"Everything necessary to ensure I survived for this very moment. All that I am is in the service of revenge. I cannot sleep when there are trillions of voices beckoning me to avenge them. I have surrendered everything, mind, body and soul to ensure that my chance would not be wasted. I will have Miyatsuko and Kaya's heads, I swear it!"
Behind him, a voice chimed in. "You really can't go five seconds without hearing your own voice, can you?" Rin asked.
Pittacus turned and kicked at her, but she flipped over him and landed next to Rose. "Lover...not that I don't love being this close, but I'm gonna need you to get back a few. It's time for...it."
"It...? Are you sure?"
"If not now, then when?"
Rose hesitated, but nodded. She teleported atop the seats, away from Rin.
"I'll be honest. I've been coy about using all this power I've got. Unleashing it in a crowded place just invites trouble. But you're not the kind of opponent I can really hold back against. And in that sense, I guess I should thank you for bringing us to an abandoned city. I don't have to worry about collateral damage." Rin dictated.
"What are you going on about? Nothing you have could ever--"
"You lucked out in having your lackeys ambush me like they did. But now it's just you and me. And all this power I've got boiling inside me." Rin summoned her lance. The temperature in the room began to steadily rise. Beads of sweat began falling from Rose's face.
"Now here's a personal lesson from Professor Ringo Kubo: never provoke Professor Ringo Kubo."
"BAN-
-KAI."