"B-but I need the wand." My voice is weak, almost overtaken by the wind.
"I'm afraid that just is not the case." Lancelot stands firm. "That power has already done permanent damage to your body." She gestures to my head.
"No. Nononono! That's not because of the wand. I got hurt sure, but I'm only alive right now because of the wand!" That's just a simple fact. I would have been crushed like a bug a thousand times over if I'd just fought as myself. But as Kaiju boy? I didn't just fight, I actually won! And she wants to take that away?
"If that were the case you'd still look as you did. But look at you, your halfway there. If I were to give you that weapon, it would only be a matter of time until you channeled the voice of the planet. And as soon as that happens, you shall become a kaiju that would put most others to shame. Even if it didn't complete my sisters plan, such a monster would surely be a calamity waiting to happen." She says that like it's some sort of fact. There's no way that's the only outcome right?
"I think you should listen to her Haruo." Misty finally enters the conversation. But it's by saying the worst thing possible. I turn and look up at her. Her eyes are full of sympathy, but if I'm being honest it's just frustrating.
"Are you serious? You've seen what I can do as Kaiju boy! There's no way you can agree with her!" I wildly gesture at Lancelot, who doesn't show any visible reaction to my outburst. "Come on! Remember when we saved Misty?! Can you really say we stand a better chance without my wand?" I end up clinging to Mistys clothes. She's clearly uncomfortable with it but is nice enough to not say anything. Ironically that gets me to let go in shame.
"I'm not saying your useless or anything. And yeah, it was pretty badass what you did back then. But back then there also wasn't the risk of you turning into a super Kaiju and helping to kickstart the end of the world.".
"If we are being technical it would not be the end of the world. Just the end of the world as we know it. Which of course isn't too much of a difference but I feel that it is important to keep in mind." Lancelot interjects like that's a normal thing to say. We both just end up staring at her for a good minute. She shows the first sign of discomfort I've seen on her with some light fidgeting with her hands. "Ah, my apologies." She bows in an attempt to show her sincerity. It almost makes me forget what we were talking about.
"That's still not good." Misty says. "And if we can avoid that then we obviously should. So maybe listen to the cool knight lady?" She makes it sound so innocent.
"But I need the wand! Without it I'm nothing!" I grip my head tightly with my new claws, I can feel another headache coming on. This shouldn't be too hard to figure out.
"Your not nothing." She places her hands on my shoulders but I quickly push her away.
"If I had never found the wand we wouldn't even be having this conversation! If I was still weak everyone would just look down on me like always! No one would care about me if I wasn't Kaiju boy! So don't you dare tell me that I shouldn't have the wand!" I feel my eyes turn hot and start to glow. Misty just looks down at me with a look of confusion and pity. "Someone like you wouldn't understand! You've always been strong! You don't need anything else for people to pay attention to you!" Tears well up. "So please don't make me go back to how I was before!" Cracks form beneath my feet. If either of them noticed they didn't show it. Misty just changes her expression to a sad smile.
"I know this isn't what you want to hear, but I do get it." She walks past me and looks out to sea next to Lancelot. "I used to be weak. I used to be small and starving. I lived in the wastelands beyond the wall." What?
"There's no way that's true. I mean, that would be insane." She just chuckles.
"Yeah, it turns out that people freak out when they have a baby with fox features. Whoever my mum and dad were, I don't think I blame them. They were probably freaking out. Or they could have just been your standard deadbeats." She says that last bit with a light tone. She's trying to make light of it, but honestly it just makes me sad. At least my dad showed up eventually. And my mum was apparently a good person. I'm sure she would have been a good parent if she wasn't dead. "I was actually feral for the first few years of my life. My only company were the giant monsters that roamed the land and their corpses that I ate. Some doctors think my 'diverse diet' growing up contributed to my various abilities.".
"I wouldn't have guessed any of that." I mutter. The shame from my outburst is really creeping up now.
"I share the same sentiment. You seem much too civilised for such a claim to be believable." Lancelot leans against the edge of the boat. The barrier creaks as it fights against the weight of her armour.
"Well it's not like I have a reason to lie here. Well I guess I do but I'm not. As for the civilised thing, first of all thank you. Second of all it's not like I was out there forever. At some point I hadn't had any food in weeks. I was in the verge of death when the ranger force found me. From there I was finally given some good food." She pauses for a moment. "But they quickly saw something in me that they liked. My multiple abilities fascinated them, before Lilith came along I was their favourite little lab rat. They put all sorts of chemicals in me, put me through all sorts of training, stuck all sorts of wires in me. And I did get strong, so congrats to them on that." She looks down at her fist. "But they never even gave me a birthday. I don't even know how sad that made me until I met her. She was the first person who didn't see me as a weapon. How could she? She was the first who was undoubtedly above me. And I hated her for that. But when she went missing, I think I understood her just a little. And I think the same of you now. We all only see ourselves in what we achieve. We think we need to give a reason to live." She slowly walks up to me and pulls me into a tight hug. "I don't want you to go through that. Please promise me that you won't touch that wand anymore." I contemplate for just a moment.
"Ok. For now at least.".