Memory Cave

[voidtreckermods]

After the passengers see a glimpse of a life that is not their own they appear in a cave. It is light, a strange moss glowing on the walls and ceiling illuminates the cave nicely and it is large enough for them to pace around in without trouble.

They are not alone. In the cave with them is another voidtrecker. Maybe someone they know well, maybe someone they have only seen in the aisles of the train. But they are together in this cave together.

The cave has no exit, at least not yet. They know that it will, eventually. When the time is right.

But for that time to come, they first must talk...

(OOC: For reference: memories!)

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[barenakedspirit]

Of all memories it had to be this one. He could have dealt with the old terror and loss of when his life burnt to the ground and Kray had used him to get ahead. He'd have seen it differently than he used to and that would have hurt but this is a wound that has yet to scar.

Seeing it from the outside gives him a nasty dose of perspective. Kray's body language hadn't always made sense to him. He'd grown up seeing him as a hero and been blind to the subtle tells. As an adult past realizing that to Kray it hadn't been a betrayal just removing a thorn from his side that had long been tiresome? He see the moment the strike is about to happen as if he were standing in the room watching from the side wall.

His last doubts burn up to ashes and like it was waiting for that moment, the other memory plays. The details add dimensions and pieces to the puzzle he'd seen before. He still doesn't get the whole thing but enough fragments are in his hands to see a bigger picture.

His eyes narrow and his face ices over with a cold rage when the torture begins. It's wrong. It's wrong on a level that makes him itch to be close enough to sock the man in the face or snatch her up with his rescue mech and get her away from that.

It's also the past. When the memories are over, he glances at her. Her face is pale. He's smart enough to guess that was the last thing she wanted. Well, he can just talk and talk instead so whatever is going on is satisfied. "The core of the earth got this space time tear in it and let some fire aliens into our reality. The magma was going out of control because of it and because Kray'd been experimenting on Burnish. They're tied to those aliens. The aliens reacted to the treatment of the Burnish. Kray just wanted to ditch the planet and use a Burnish powered engine to take ten thousand people with him. That's what that was about. I didn't and don't agree."

He shrugs then plants himself firmly where he is. "He was probably waiting for me to do that so he had the excuse. Spent a week in that cell waiting to be executed. He could have just shot me and been done with it but, nope! Dramatic bastard."

[deage]

Galo was talking... a lot. Explaining things about his memory, answering some of the questions she had before she could even ask them. Was he trying to avoid talking about hers, or trying to distract her from hers?

Still, she was digesting his words. Aliens burning the planet from within, Kray conducting experiments to create an engine powered by people, abandoning Earth to be destroyed.

It was a lot. And as she thought, this guy really did scream 'hero.'

"That's a lot to take in," she finally says, honestly. Honesty isn't usually her policy, but these are different times. "If I hadn't seen so much of it myself, I'm not certain I'd believe it."

[barenakedspirit]

He nods, "The whole aliens thing was a shock to us too! We used to think Burnish just had a special mutation that triggered the flames. You see enough awakenings and that's the conclusion you get! With information suppressed..." He leans forward and sighs. "And Kray was at the heart of that. Which probably isn't so surprising."

He shrugs again and plants his hands on his hips. She looks a little better and that's his goal so he keeps talking. "...He is way more than he ever presented himself as but if you know what to look for really was all there." Galo frowns as he lets his head fall.

"The hand movements. Body language. Damn, I feel like an idiot." He shakes his head then and goes. "So that's the whole deal there! I could give you this big history lesson if that will make it seem less like some crazy mess!" Galo grins then he sobers a little and his bright intensity dials back visibly until there's just the light of it in his eyes as he says, "and you don't have to talk about your stuff if you don't want to. I'm not gonna pry or ask. I'll just keep it to myself."

He lifts up a fist with an added, "But if anyone tries to pull that gun torture again I'll put them out."

[deage]

There were a lot of things that Galo said that made his world seem a little less crazy. Still.... crazy, in terms of what she considers normal, but it made its own brand of sense. A different world with different rules, but the rules had their own consistency, and people still acted like people.

Her thoughts are interrupted with his reminder about... what he had seen of her own memories. Her breath hitches for a moment.

The idea of telling him to simply keep everything to himself is tempting. But he couldn't forget, not for real, and the things he knew were already enough to make him a target. This was a case where knowing half the truth was just as dangerous as knowing the full truth.

And knowing more might.... help. If he already knew enough to be dangerous, then knowing more would be beneficial. It was a balance of risk versus reward, where the risk factor was already maximized.

"If this is like last time, I get the feeling that we don't get to leave until we've talked enough." To be honest, that sentence was an excuse. But it was important to Haibara that she at least play the role well. Especially given all the grief she gives Kudo-kun. "And to be frank, you already know enough to put you in danger, and put me in danger. Even I'm not so heartless to keep you in the dark when the danger is already present."

Deep breath. She's less.... freaking out. She's made a decision, that's the important part. "My real name is Shiho Miyano. I developed a drug for a criminal organization, which has the unintended side effect of age regression in a small number of cases. I used it to escape from them after I refused to cooperate." Small pause. "The form you saw in that last memory is what I really look like."

This is probably deeply surprising, given her perfect cover as a normal child.

[barenakedspirit]

Galo stares at her. She does look like a kid but she hasn't talked like one to him or in the memories. "You know, I thought it was more along the lines of you passing yourself off at someone else. But the whole voice business in the first memory makes more sense now." He drops to the ground, folding his legs under him.

"That's some crazy shit." He says and shakes his head, pushing his hair back out of his eyes. "And I think you're right. We're not getting out of here until we talk all this through." She still sounds like she's freaking out. "...would have been easier for you to tell me to keep quiet and not say anything." He studies her face and says, "So thanks."

Looks like the Matoi Lio made for him might get some use after all. "Anyway, you made this drug. ...refused them for some reason. Why did you refuse? Then used it to escape. I'm assuming they thought to put you down after you made it?"

[deage]

...Deep into the heart of the issue. This part is painful, and obviously so from her voice - difficult for a different reason than the other memories or admissions.

"My sister worked for them as well. She was working under an agreement that they would release me once she had accomplished enough. But they killed her instead." It's probably obvious that she cared for her sister, just from the way her voice shakes in recollection.

"I refused to cooperate with them without at least... at least knowing why. But they didn't have a real answer for me. They handcuffed me and left me while they waited for confirmation from further up. They were going to kill me as soon as they got it, and I figured if I was going to die anyway, I'd might as well take the chance." A slightly more cold, clinical tone takes over. "Apoptoxin-4869 killed everybody who took it, except in extremely rare cases, where it caused... this, instead. I took a gamble and that's how I escaped."

[barenakedspirit]

One more piece slips into place. He can see the bigger picture now and he doesn't like it. Had they resonated because they both have been used for who knows how long? Kray's betrayal is still fresh in his mind, the memories only dragged it back to the surface when he'd been content not to think about it at all.

Right beside it are her memories, spinning together like a cold wind and spelling out a tragedy. One he'd seen nearly play out before. He rests his hands on his thighs, "You did what you had to." His voice is quieter, matter of fact. "Surviving isn't a crime."

He closes his eyes and nods. "I got the picture now. Thanks for clearing that up." He looks down at the ground. "Kray's Burnish awakening destroyed my life then he pretended to save me. Didn't know and grew up building up an ideal that still is here even the man is...the way he is."

There's parallels to Heris and Aina but, the blade is sharper and the older sister had no choice at all. "He placed me in Burning Rescue before I got training hours just after I passed my tests." He lets her connect the dots. "He stopped pretending to give a shit when he finally had an excuse to torch my life again." Galo looks up and his face has slipped into serious expression, his eyes sharp like when he spots a fire. "Now we both know each other's past. Feels more equal, right?"

[deage]

As she puts together the dots to Galo's own backstory in her head, she nods.

"It sounds like Kray built up a decent public persona, then. Had to do his underhandedness under the table, unless he had a good excuse otherwise." The crisis was an excuse to abandon humanity. Showing Galo the truth so Galo would object, and he could finally silence Galo for good. The only question she had was if it was all for show, or if he used it as a way to justify things to himself? Or somewhere in between.

Either way, she hoped he wouldn't show up. Somebody who knew how to sway people with deceit and words were the hardest kind of antagonist to deal with.

That's one of the reasons she hated dealing with Vermouth the most. That and Vermouth's singular burning hatred towards Haibara in particular, of course.

"But it does feel more equal, yes."

[barenakedspirit]

"From what I know, he's done it for years. He murdered the professor studying the Burnish and stole his research. The guy was burying some of it so Burnish wouldn't be hurt." Galo grimaces as the murder replays in his mind's eye. "Kray...had issues with that." As he so often has issues with things it seems.

"I think it happened right before he awoke too. But his whole 'savior of humanity thing' seems to have always been there." He says as he leans back and shakes his head. "But yeah, hope he never shows up. Don't want you guys to have to deal with that." Even if he would likely be the biggest target it just is a hassle.

And it still hurts.