Catharsis (Rashmi Terios)
| Catharsis (Rashmi Terios) | |
|---|---|
| Date of Cutscene: | 21 February 2025 |
| Location: | Radiant Heart Academy, Forest |
| Synopsis: | Following the events of 'Breaking News,' Rashmi needs some alone time to fume. And rage. And think. And decide. |
| Cast of Characters: | Rashmi Terios |
When Rashmi left her meeting with Hinote, she was so furious her hands were shaking. It was definitely not a good mental state to try to sleep in, and it was *double* not a good state to try and open windows quietly in. In fact, right at this moment Rashmi didn’t want to do *anything* quietly, at all. She wanted to stomp, to throw things, to break breakables, and above all she wanted to *scream* as if giving voice to this anger might help it fly away from her heart.
They *stole Molly’s body.* They *desecrated and changed her.* They *stole Starcrash,* and right in front of her eyes the thing wearing her best friend’s skin *mutilated Starcrash for style points.*
When she learned who the ‘they’ was that was responsible for all of this… if she followed the direction her heart pointed right now, she would pull down everything they had built upon their heads, and not one brick would lay atop another.
But first she *had* to get rid of these feelings roaring through her heart. A quick Barrier thrown up in the woods behind the Shed gave her plenty of room to do just that. Barrets slammed into and through trees, conjured swords chewed great gouges out of the wood. With every blast she released, an image of Molly’s smiling face flashed through her mind.
Their first meeting, on the roof. At the arcade, Molly teaching Rashmi how to drift in a racing game. The ice cream place they discovered. Casually eating noodles on a Mitakihara rooftop in henshin. Discussions deep and shallow. Molly’s admiration of Rashmi, countered by the rock-solid belief that Molly would rise *so much higher* than Rashmi ever could.
All of that potential not only gone, now, but subverted. *Desecrated.* Twisted to serve ends that Molly would only ever have fought against.
<< SOLAR BUSTER >>
Rashmi tracked the beam in a sweeping arc, gouging through broken and shattered trees. Seconds later, the remaining energy of the beam sent up a series of explosions that sent leaf fragments and wooden splinters flying in every direction. With her mana spent, but the fury still roaring in her heart, Rashmi fell to her knees among the whisper of falling, ruined foliage and rising embers, tilted her head toward the Barrier sky, and loosed a long, anguished scream.
It would only occur to her much, much later, that she hadn’t given the command to unlock the spell. That Nicomachea, in his way, needed the catharsis as much as she did.
But exhaustion and destruction hadn’t taken away the sick fury, lodged in her chest like a burning thorn, it had only diminished it. Made it manageable. But to make it go away… she would have to *do something* about the cause of her rage.
‘Feeling that way is normal,’ Setsuchan had told her. ‘But you need to control it. Harness it. Focus it. And when you find a worthy target… THEN you let it out.’
Well… she now had a worthy target. But that was the *last* step. She needed to do the focusing, and the controlling, and the harnessing.
<< Nicomachea. I think… it’s time to start your rebuild. >>
<< AFFIRMATIVE, >> the Device answered. << OPERATIONAL PARAMETERS INSUFFICIENT TO MATCH ESTIMATED THREAT ASSESSMENT. >>
<< I’m scared too, >> Rashmi admitted, head falling down, eyes dropping to look at her hands. << Molly-can and Starcrash have always been more *powerful* than us… her biggest weakness was her confidence. And… I don’t think that’ll be this Seriss’ problem. >>
<< MANY OPPONENTS HAVE EXCEEDED OUR CAPACITY FOR POWER AND STRATEGIC ABILITY, >> Nicomachea pointed out. << IT IS NOT THE DUTY OF A SUPPORT SPECIALIST TO MATCH POWER WITH POWER. >>
<< Yeah… it’d be *nice,* but… that’s not who we are, >> Rashmi thought after a moment, her hands curling into fists.
<< THIS UNIT EXISTS TO ANALYZE, COLLATE, AND DISSEMINATE HELPFUL INFORMATION, >> Nicomachea answered. << MASTER’S SPECIALTY IS TO SOLVE OPERATIONAL PROBLEMS THROUGH TACTICAL, SOCIAL, AND SUPPORTIVE MEANS. >>
It was very rare that Nicomachea ever included a nonverbal component, when talking to Rashmi. But in this moment, surrounded by the splintered woods under a roiling Barrier, she had the distinct feeling of him crouching down to look her in the eye.
<< THESE METHODS WILL PROVIDE THE ANSWER REQUIRED. THIS IS A STATISTICAL CERTAINTY. THIS UNIT AWAITS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF YOUR TALENTS. >>
<< MEISTER. >>
