NECRO-Driver Dawn EP 20: Fear of the Future’s Past

Khan: Do you mean to tell me that you're that much of a fool that you're still thinking of excuses? You're still trying to deny what you've seen with your own eyes?

Sonjo: (Angry…) So what if I do feel that way about her? Who are y'all to tell me that I shouldn't fight to keep that bond between us alive? You two wouldn't know anything about the bond the two of us share, why don't you just shut up already?!

Master Tazz: (Enraged) Haven't you any brains between those ears?! How long will you deny the truth before you accept it?

Sonjo: There you go, acting like we're all inferior to you again!

Khan: What is with you?!

Master Tazz: Well your prowess in martial arts is Sonjo…

Sonjo: Shut up! You've been "dead" for decades! You only just showed up recently, who do you think you are? What gives you the right to just show up and try to tell us what to do?!

Khan: You've been so focused on Skia' ever since she came back. Have you even considered if what you're saying is valid?

Jin: If you love Skia' so much, then you need to hold her accountable for her actions!

Sonjo: OH, I see how it is. So Jin gets to have a girlfriend he just met and no one cares, but I'm not allowed to try to keep a bond I've had for years? Where's the fairness in that?

Jin: The fairness is that not only is she not my girlfriend, but she hasn't tried to kill me yet unlike Skia'! You make it seem like Khan and I don't care at all for her. But it's because we care that we can't allow her to get away with what she did.

Sonjo: If that's the case, then why don't you just let me deal with it then?!

Khan: Because you've clearly shown that when the time comes, you won't be able to do what needs to be done! If you could, then this conversation would've long been over.

Master Tazz: Allow me a question Sonjo. You care about Jin and Khan right?

Sonjo: Of course I do.

Master Tazz: And if either of them were to try and kill Skia, even if they didn't, you'd want them to be held accountable right?

Sonjo: Obviously.

Master Tazz: So then why are you so determined to maintain Skia's innocence when she has none? You just said that if Jin or Khan were to do the same, you'd want them held accountable. Do you mean to tell me that a bit of romance is all it takes for you to throw away your pride and dignity?

Sonjo: But why do we have to kill her? I mean, isn't there some other way to hold her accountable for what she's done?

Master Tazz: This is the way it has to be. Your naivety may be an even greater threat to you than Skia' herself. If you can't understand just what's at stake here, then you don't need to be fighting in this war.

Jin: Even if the person's gone, you'll still remember the bond you had with them. The bond that all of us share isn't something that can be severed easily.

Khan: Jin and I are very much aware of just how much you love Skia'. But it's because you love her, that you can't accept what she's done. The Skia' you knew is not the Skia' we have right now. Would you really want to be with someone that you can't trust with your life?

Sonjo: I…

Master Tazz: Maybe I'm wrong, but I get the feeling that Baron is into that sort of thing.

Khan: No, you aren't…

Jin: I think we can all agree that Baron is just a different breed.

Sonjo: Look, I'm sorry guys, I truly am. But to me, killing Skia' is killing off everything we've had since we first met. I can't bring myself to do that.

Master Tazz: Sonjo, you understand that we aren't immortal right?

Sonjo: Right…

Master Tazz: But one thing that hardly anyone ever thinks about is that there are things that are immortal, they're called memories. Even if you don't remember the person, you remember how they made you feel. Case in point, you still remember Skia' in the best way possible despite what she's done.

Jin: Oh wow, I never thought of it that way! That makes a lot of sense!

Khan: See Sonjo? We get that you don't want to kill her. Hell, I'm sure all of us would much rather kill anyone in the Principality first. But Skia' is old enough to make her own decisions, and understand the weight that they carry.

Sonjo: Gosh, I must look really stupid right now…

Khan: Well I mean yeah… But then again, you always do in some way so it's nothing.

Jin: HA! Got cha!

Master Tazz: Sonjo, I think I have a way to help you out with your predicament.

Sonjo: You do?

Master Tazz: I do. In fact, this training exercise was designed to help all of you.

Jin: Oh?

Sonjo: Oh wait, Khan is involved? You sure this is "training"?

Khan: There you go again…

Master Tazz: Well, at least you're back to normal, despite all the things that come with that.

Jin: What sort of training is it?

Master Tazz: The training is very simple. You just need to spend a good deal on focusing your mind.

Khan: Okay…

Jin: On what?

Sonjo: Maybe about how we can get Skia' to come back with us and give up her evil ways?

Master Tazz: You're persistent, I'll give you that. But no, this training is meant to help you conquer your deepest fears and most painful moments.

Khan: How does it work?

Master Tazz: Since you're focusing on your innermost thoughts, you need to be able to think clearly for this to work.

Khan: What is it that we're supposed to be thinking about?

Master Tazz: As I mentioned earlier, this training is meant to help one overcome their deepest fears and most painful moments. The way it works is that you essentially relive what happened so that you understand where you need to go from there.

Sonjo: Isn't that just the same thing as having experienced it once?

Master Tazz: In a way yes, but there's a trick to this. Since you've already experienced it, the shock factor is gone. That means that you won't be in such a panic this time, and you'll be able to assess the situation better.

Jin: And what is the end goal that we should be aiming for?

Khan: Yeah, I was kinda wondering the same thing over here.

Sonjo: Same here.

Master Tazz: That is for you to ponder, they're your thoughts, not mine.

Jin: So, how exactly do we do this?

Master Tazz: All you need do is close your eyes, your mind will take care of the rest.

Sonjo: I don't know… Khan has been pretty different ever since he started "training" with you. How do I know that this isn't some set up?

Jin: Now I would LOVE to know why your mind is always in the gutter?

Khan: Master Tazz, are you sure Sonjo is even going to be able to complete this exercise?

Master Tazz: If anything, this exercise is perfect for him. It's either that or I knock him out? Quite frankly,I'm getting very tired and annoyed of his antics…

Sonjo: Alright alright fine! Let's do the training or whatever.

Master Tazz: Perfect, let's begin. All you need to do is close your eyes, and relax. Your thoughts will come naturally.

(Play Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX - Remastered OST - The Other Promise) (The three of them close their eyes, and begin to focus on their thoughts. While this is going on, each one experiences their own memories again, and feels something different.)

Jin: (I remember… this is that night from back then…)

Sonjo: (Skia'...)

Khan: (Mom… Dad…)

Master Tazz: Remember the pain you've suffered throughout your life. Use it to push forward, let it motivate you to not repeat your mistakes.

(Trapped in their own thoughts, they relive the things that bring them so much angst, and unease. Jin thinks about his fear of losing all that he cares about, feeling like a failure for not keeping his promises. Sonjo thinks about the day he was betrayed by Skia'. Reminiscent about the bond the two share, he begins to struggle with understanding it all. Khan thinks about how he has never really known his parents. He thinks about all the torment he endured because he didn't have any parents around. He remembers the first time he truly felt meaningless in life, his first sense of nihilism… But no matter what, all of them share one thing that they all fear. They fear not being able to protect the ones that they care for most. They fear that they will fail in defeating the Principality and that they will have doomed the world for as long as it remains. As the training exercise goes on, each of them gradually begins to show expressions of pain. The pain and anger continuously mounting more and more stress. The three of them keep going, until they are no longer able to maintain themselves.)

Master Tazz: The training exercise is complete.

Jin: Wow…

Sonjo: What the hell was that?

Khan: My head feels like it's about to explode.

Master Tazz: The task was designed to help understand just how much pain that all of you carry, and just how much you all have at stake. After all, it's not just your life that you have to worry about. You also have the lives of those on the Blitzwing, and those of the rest of the world itself. If the Principality wins, it spells the end for all as we know it.

Khan: What could be worse than us dying?

Master Tazz: I fooled the world into thinking I was dead for decades. There are fates worse than death.

Sonjo: I don't think I want to know what they are.

Jin: Me either.

Master Tazz: Now that you have finished your training, how do you all feel?

Khan: I feel more invigorated.

Jin: After this, I'm going to do everything I can to make sure they lose!

Sonjo: I think me and my bo staff could take on the Principality right now!