Alexandre And The Exarch

[19:35] <Minaplo> ["So." Said Alexandre Fontaine, rubbing his chin. "This is what you really look like."-
[19:38] <Minaplo> [The Exarch sat before Alexandre, in all Their radiance. They gave Alexandre a look full of regret and wistfulness. "Yes. I wish you had been able to see it before I have to say goodbye."-
[19:49] <Minaplo> ["But that's the norm, isn't it?" Said Alexandre coolly. "You can never set any time aside for me. I'm always just left the spaces in-between your last big thing and your next big thing."-
[20:09] <Minaplo> ["I'm sorry." Said the Exarch quietly.-
[20:10] <Minaplo> ["Now that I have you here, may I ask the question I was too stupid and scared to ask the last time we met? If you don't remember it, I was a child, you were in a straitjacket, and you told me to kill myself." Said Alex. "Why did you have me, exactly? You weren't willing to put the energy into raising me, so why even bother?"-
[20:10] <Minaplo> ["You're right to be angry." Said the Exarch.-
[20:12] <Minaplo> ["Was it just to please mother? Was that it? Just another party trick to show off to the little girl you ruined?" Said Alex bitterly. "Look, I'm Elisha Caine, I can give a child to a woman who can't have any!"-
[20:12] <Minaplo> [The Exarch remained silent.-
[20:17] <Minaplo> ["Or maybe it was just for the experiment? To see if you could create a human being free of Lilith's dominion. Well, congratulations, you succeeded, you big brain, you." Said Alex, twirling around sarcastically. "I guess that was when you realised that you could become a Seed? That alternatives to Lilith existed?"-
[20:17] <Minaplo> [The Exarch bowed Their head.-
[20:18] <Minaplo> ["You know what I don't understand?" Said Alex. "Why did I survive the NeoSpartan programme? I'd proven my efficacy, you should've gotten rid of me then and there. It wasn't like I had a purpose."-
[20:19] <Minaplo> ["In fact, that's always really, really bothered me. The Evas were our ticket to freeing ourselves from Lilith." Said Alex. "And they connected well to family. Shinji got plugged into his sister, Asuka even got to be with her mother, same with Tsubaki. And here I was, NeoSpartan, free of Lilith, and with my father in not one but three Evangelions, and somehow, despite all of those chips being stacked in my way, I was passed over."-
[20:22] <Minaplo> ["For years I hoped that maybe something would change and like Asuka, I'd be picked, and I could have some living connection to you. But instead a scared and resentful thirteen-year-old civilian girl from China was chosen over me."-
[20:23] <Minaplo> ["I understand it, of course. You needed her for her connection to Isaiah and thus Adam, and you needed Aline for Lilith." Said Alex, his tone becoming icy. "But did you really need Sera? I could've served-!"-
[20:24] <Minaplo> ["… Right, I forgot." Said Alex, a harsh bark of a laugh in his voice. "You dropped all your scientific notes into my mind- notes on the S2 Organ. Right, of course. My role was to be a living knowledge dump so someone could invent the S2 Organ and power all your little toys, especially Rei Ikari."-
[20:26] <Minaplo> [The Exarch remained silent.-
[20:27] <Minaplo> ["Say something." Said Alex coldly.-
[20:27] <Minaplo> [Then he roared. "Say something!"-
[20:27] <Minaplo> ["…"-
[20:28] <Minaplo> ["I deserve all of the hatred you kept for me." Said the Exarch. "I admit it. I have committed sins, sins that I do not ask any to forgive, for that is not my right."-
[20:28] <Minaplo> ["You deserved a parent worthy of you. I was not that parent. I am sorry."-
[20:28] <Minaplo> ["…"-
[20:29] <Minaplo> [Alex stared at the Exarch, his expression twisted, his face hot and red.-
[20:29] <Minaplo> [But slowly the colour drained away, until he was pale.-
[20:30] <Minaplo> ["My father… Hated to apologise." Said Alex. "And when he did, he expected you to accept it unconditionally. If you refused, if you told him why, if you wanted more, he'd throw it back in your face, tell you how you were being unreasonable."-
[20:30] <Minaplo> ["You… Aren't him, are you?" Said Alex softly. "My father really is gone."-
[20:31] <Minaplo> [The Exarch raised Their head toward Alex. "I am sorry."-
[20:32] <Minaplo> ["I spent my whole life waiting to see him again, though."-
[20:32] <Minaplo> [Alex took off his glasses, tucked him into his pocket, and burst into tears.-
[21:00] <Minaplo> [The Exarch stared at Alex with a soft, warm expression; then They stood, walked over, and gently gathered Alex up into Their arms.-
[21:01] <Minaplo> ["I may not be Elisha Caine, but you are special to me." Said the Exarch. "You are the first ancestral soul to be born in five billion years. You are the first of the Twiceborn, and the name I gave you was The Immortal Soul, but more than that, you are my child, and I will always love you."-
[21:02] <Minaplo> [Alexandre's tears redoubled as he nestled wordlessly against the Exarch; but eventually those tears slowed, and then the two of them talked.-
[21:03] <Minaplo> [They talked long, of many things, and those things are not recorded here; they are known only to Alexandre Fontaine, the Solemn Exarch, and to God.-
[21:03] <Minaplo> […-

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License