Several years ago
VivianTamashi #36View on SuiVision sat idly on a velvet chair, watching
her father stare ceaselessly into the distance. Surrounding them were walls of glass,
and the dark view of the night sky, all the while, 
TakahashiTamashi #100View on SuiVision was transfixed on the city gleaming below. “What are you staring at?” VivianTamashi #36View on SuiVision asked. “The future.” TakahashiTamashi #100View on SuiVision said thoughtfully.
He turned with a drink in his hand, and sat across from his daughter in a red velvet
chair. “I’ve heard that you’ve been seeing a boy.”
“It’s not like that.” VivianTamashi #36View on SuiVision insisted.
“It’s not like what?” TakahashiTamashi #100View on SuiVision asked.
“It’s not like … what you’re really asking. I don’t want you sending him away, like you do everyone else.”
“What I’m doing is taking hold of the world - making it mine. Making it ours.”
“It doesn’t feel like mine.” sheTamashi #36View on SuiVision said. “It feels cold and empty.” she paused, “I don’t want it.”
“What do you want?” TakahashiTamashi #100View on SuiVision asked.
“I want a choice.” sheTamashi #36View on SuiVision insisted. “I want the chance to make my own destiny.”
TakahashiTamashi #100View on SuiVision stared at her with a mix of pride
and curiosity. “The key” he said, “is trust.”
“What?”
“Who you place your trust in determines everything. That’s the key to all of this, if that’s what you want. It’s trust.”
VivianTamashi #36View on SuiVision stared at him perplexed. There was always
a purpose to everything heTamashi #100View on SuiVision said. There was
a softness to his voice that she couldn’t help but notice, and a deliberateness that
she knew she had to remember.
Now
VaultTamashi #36View on SuiVision looked up at TakahashiTamashi #100View on SuiVision
, with the Machin army standing before them, with a helpless look in her eyes. How
had it come to this? Her father had set up a rigged game, and of course, he’d managed
to win. The irony was that she thought she knew how to beat him. The passphrase that
controlled 
BridgeTamashi #20View on SuiVision. She thought she knew
what it was. But with 
WitchTamashi #4View on SuiVision and 
NoirTamashi #82View on SuiVision around her, she couldn’t use it. And no one knew but her. “Was that part of
his game?” she thought. “Did he want her to feel this way?” She couldn’t help
but feel defeated. As she glared towards the back of his metal screen, she
wondered how he could think this was a world that she could want. No one else
could stop all of this… well, almost no one.
KeyTamashi #13View on SuiVision stared at the machinery that 
CoderTamashi #33View on SuiVision and 
InicioTamashi #74View on SuiVision were working on. It was complicated
and far beyond anything he understood. Still, he felt obligated to stand by in case
there was anything they needed.
“You need me for anything?” 
GangTamashi #21View on SuiVision asked.
“No, I’m sure they’re fine.” 
HeroTamashi #73View on SuiVision answered dismissively.
GangTamashi #21View on SuiVision scoffed back. He took a second to think
about the world after all this. Would he be sent to the jail? Would they keep watching
him, just waiting for him to act out? He didn’t like the way they looked at him -
even when he told them his intentions. He glanced towards the shifting ball of metal
that InicioTamashi #74View on SuiVision had by his side. “What’s that?” GangTamashi #21View on SuiVision asked.
“It’s not really anything” InicioTamashi #74View on SuiVision answered earnestly. “It looks cool though, right?”
“Yeah” GangTamashi #21View on SuiVision nodded. “I guess it does.”
The Machin began marching forward, and with the sound of their footsteps booming across the grass, 
KitsuneTamashi #9View on SuiVision readied her sword. “This is it!” she shouted. “We’ll hold them off,” 
LongTamashi #11View on SuiVision and 
SenshiTamashi #89View on SuiVision nodded to her. “But we don’t have forever. How long do you need?” she asked.
“We’re assuming a lot.” CoderTamashi #33View on SuiVision said. “If it’s an insecure password, we might have a shot.” he looked up gravely. “Just give us all the time that you can.”
KitsuneTamashi #9View on SuiVision nodded back. “Understood.” she said,
shifting her stance and focusing forward.
The Machin flexed their fists, aimed their heads forwards, and began running into a sprint. The dirt collapsed beneath their feet, as the sound roared across the hill.
KitsuneTamashi #9View on SuiVision sprinted forwards as well, with LongTamashi #11View on SuiVision on her left, and SenshiTamashi #89View on SuiVision on her right. HeroTamashi #73View on SuiVision
, 
OrderTamashi #41View on SuiVision, 
FearTamashi #16View on SuiVision and some others followed closely behind.
KitsuneTamashi #9View on SuiVision lunged ahead, and the sound of her
blade hitting the screen of an Enforcer rang across the entire valley.
The moment passed, and the two sides collided together.
KitsuneTamashi #9View on SuiVision was quickly surrounded by several Machin.
She sliced through many of them, focusing her blade on the wiring holding them together.
The Androids and Primes fell more quickly, but several Enforcers still surrounded
her.
LongTamashi #11View on SuiVision and Senshi stood back to back, moving
swiftly across the field, kicking and punching Machin as they went, they managed
to weave between larger Enforcers before they were caught in the flurry of their
fists.
HeroTamashi #73View on SuiVision and 
VineTamashi #3View on SuiVision stood side by side with several Enforcers surrounding them.
“Are you sure that you’re ready for this?” HeroTamashi #73View on SuiVision asked.
“This new form of mine came with a lot of pain. I want to make sure they regret it.” VineTamashi #3View on SuiVision threw her fist forward, and collapsed the screen of a large Enforcer. HeroTamashi #73View on SuiVision responded in kind, and boxed forward at the Machin surrounding them. They formed a solid perimeter, and while several curious Enforcers surrounded them, none seemed able to push through.
OrderTamashi #41View on SuiVision also stood firm as the Machin approached.
He exchanged a few blows with some Primes, but their shifting strategy put him at
odds. Unlike them, he was beginning to grow tired, which he grew confident was their
intent.
Then suddenly a Prime collapsed behind him, and OrderTamashi #41View on SuiVision turned around, surprised. 
ChaosTamashi #42View on SuiVision stood unfazed before him.
“I thought you were escorted out?” OrderTamashi #41View on SuiVision asked.
“You of all people should know how hard it is to escort me anywhere.” ChaosTamashi #42View on SuiVision answered.
OrderTamashi #41View on SuiVision couldn’t help but smile. As much as he
hated ChaosTamashi #42View on SuiVision, he was happy to have his help
here. And in this rare moment, he trusted his intent enough to stand back to
back.
“We improvise?” OrderTamashi #41View on SuiVision asked.
“We improvise!” ChaosTamashi #42View on SuiVision smiled, hitting a Prime with the head of another.
In the first moments of the battle, the Tamashi fought well and bravely, but as the fight raged on, it became clear that while the group fought with spirit, they were quickly running out of energy. And the Machin, a looming, unending wave of harsh metal, were not running out of stamina, nor numbers of soldiers.
Kistune struck back any Enforcers that got close, but as her breath grew heavier, the Primes could pick up on her weakness, and started to surround her as well.
LongTamashi #11View on SuiVision and SenshiTamashi #89View on SuiVision also grew tired. They tripped and fell on the ground. They took a moment to rise,
but in that second were surrounded by Enforcers, glaring at them from cold unfeeling
screens.
KitsuneTamashi #9View on SuiVision took several deep breaths. She could
feel the moment hold in her mind. The seconds felt slower and the cold sense of adrenaline
began to take hold. Her stamina was limited. She could fight, but she knew that this
might be her last stand.
She closed her eyes.
And then a warm breeze began to take hold. It whipped across the battlefield at an unnatural speed. SheTamashi #9View on SuiVision opened her eyes to the familiar sound of slashing metal, saw waves of Machin collapsing around her, smashing and crashing into fractal pieces. Then she saw a familiar sword appear before her, followed by blue fabric and a familiar face. 
SuperiorTamashi #37View on SuiVision cut through an Enforcer and stood in front of her.
“I’m sorry it took me this long,” heTamashi #37View on SuiVision stated. “I’m ready to fight by your side.”
“Like the temple then.” KitsuneTamashi #9View on SuiVision said fondly,
“Yes.” SuperiorTamashi #37View on SuiVision nodded. “Just like that.”
The pair stood back to back, their blades wound back to opposite sides.
“EVERYONE!” SuperiorTamashi #37View on SuiVision shouted. KitsuneTamashi #9View on SuiVision and SuperiorTamashi #37View on SuiVision readied their blades. “GET DOWN!”
The Tamashi around them, crouched down. LongTamashi #11View on SuiVision smiled to himself.
SuperiorTamashi #37View on SuiVision and KitsuneTamashi #9View on SuiVision started moving in a spiral, then dashing in opposite directions. They darted back
and forth, slicing along the wirings of surrounding Machin. They wove back and forth
in interweaving patterns, always catching each other’s blind spots. They moved in
a flurry of sound and fury. Waves upon waves of Enforcers collapsed around them. SuperiorTamashi #37View on SuiVision cut along the neck of an Enforcer, and he flashed back to his childhood, cutting
bits of rope with KitsuneTamashi #9View on SuiVision by his side. This
was everything they trained for, and together, they were unstoppable.
LongTamashi #11View on SuiVision and SenshiTamashi #89View on SuiVision stood up as the Enforcers collapsed around them. The flurry of their blades had
done much to stop the Machin. Mounds of collapsed Machin formed walls on the battlefield
that the Tamashi maneuvered around. It appeared as though the Machin were unmatched.
But unfortunately, that wasn’t the end. As successful as SuperiorTamashi #37View on SuiVision and KitsuneTamashi #9View on SuiVision were, they could only cover so much of the battlefield. HeroTamashi #73View on SuiVision and VineTamashi #3View on SuiVision, ChaosTamashi #42View on SuiVision and OrderTamashi #41View on SuiVision, and others were at opposite sides and in danger of being overwhelmed.
GangTamashi #21View on SuiVision watched everything unfold from the sidelines.
“Are you almost done?” he asked CoderTamashi #33View on SuiVision,
concerned.
“We’re doing everything we can,” CoderTamashi #33View on SuiVision answered. “This tech doesn’t go through combinations that quickly.”
ChemTamashi #31View on SuiVision glanced towards GangTamashi #21View on SuiVision with a judgemental look in his eye. Gang knew what he was thinking. Why wasn’t
he on the battlefield fighting with everyone who could fight? It was a good question,
and Gang wasn’t fond of the answer.
HeTamashi #21View on SuiVision glanced towards InicioTamashi #74View on SuiVision
’s device, and felt a cold wind pass through him. He thought about his mother, and
what she would think about all of this. He knew she wouldn’t believe it, and even
if she did, he didn’t know what he would say to her.
“Well”, heTamashi #21View on SuiVision thought to himself. “Maybe I’ll find out.”
GangTamashi #21View on SuiVision grabbed InicioTamashi #74View on SuiVision
’s device, a glowing orb of shifting metal, and sprinted towards the far edge of
the battlefield. He remembered what CoderTamashi #33View on SuiVision had
said to him.
“For example,” CoderTamashi #33View on SuiVision said, “If they find a high-priority target, they’ll all dash towards it, even if it should only take one. For example, if you had an EMP, they’d ignore everyone else and just attack you.”
It wasn’t a great strategy. He was sure that someone would have tried to talk him out of it. But he didn’t want their permission. What we wanted was to win this fight for them.
“Hey toasters!” heTamashi #21View on SuiVision yelled. “I’ve got an EMP!” Every Machin within earshot turned their heads at once to face him. “Yeah that’s right! How ya’ like that?!” he taunted.
He smiled as over a hundred giant Machin barreled towards him at a full sprint. It was beyond anything he’d seen. It was beyond anything he knew he could survive. He looked back fondly towards the base, where ChemTamashi #31View on SuiVision stared soberly towards him, and for once, for a single crystallized moment, he understood exactly what he was doing.
The Machin grew closer with each passing second. After a moment, twenty Enforcers were lunging towards him, with their fists drawn back.
GangTamashi #21View on SuiVision laughed in a dark chuckle. For everything
he’d done - for everything he’d tried. This was enough, he decided. Just to see the
look on his face. That all of these assholes would know they were wrong about him.
He closed his eyes, as sixteen Enforcer Machin collapsed onto his chest, and beat him with every inch of their fury. He flashed back to the night he met ChaosTamashi #42View on SuiVision, and he knelt beaten in the rain. He remembered when he tried to lead Nozomi, failed, then laid on the grass watching the stars with Kasumi. He remembered those moments fondly as his world grew dark, because for the first time in his life, he knew that it had been a life worth living. And as his screen broke, and his body collapsed into death, the battle shifted around him.
KeyTamashi #13View on SuiVision stood paralyzed as he watched GangTamashi #21View on SuiVision
’s sacrifice. His breathing grew heavy, and he broke into a cold sweat. He’d never
seen someone die before. It made the stakes feel more real. He had no doubt that GangTamashi #21View on SuiVision knew what he was doing, and forced himself to hope that his sacrifice was worth
it. HeTamashi #13View on SuiVision knew CoderTamashi #33View on SuiVision wasn’t confident in his plan, but with the Machin growing close, he knew that
this was the only hope they had. He thought about VaultTamashi #36View on SuiVision
, who was still with TakahashiTamashi #100View on SuiVision. It gave
him comfort to know that she was safe.
HeTamashi #13View on SuiVision thought back to their moments together.
Before they were plugged in, when sheTamashi #36View on SuiVision gave
him a chance. And after, when she chose to be with him, despite all of his faults
and mistakes. He remembered the moment they had together, when they sat behind the
hotel together, when she told him that riddle.
“The treasure of unlocking me, requires a five letter key. In order to receive this just - convince me to give you my-”
And it stopped there. HeTamashi #13View on SuiVision wondered what she could have meant, why she had been so cryptic yet poetic, and then the gravity of the moment hit him like a ton of bricks. That could have been it! Could that have been the passphrase they were searching for? He tried to see her through the tides of battle. He thought he saw TakahashiTamashi #100View on SuiVision, but was that her by his side? He wasn’t sure. But he thought he saw herTamashi #36View on SuiVision. And she was staring, unwavering, right back at him.
The cold sweat felt more real then.
“I know the passphrase.” KeyTamashi #13View on SuiVision told CoderTamashi #33View on SuiVision.
“What?” CoderTamashi #33View on SuiVision asked.
“It’s ‘trust’” KeyTamashi #13View on SuiVision insisted. “The passphrase is ‘trust’”
“How do you know that?” CoderTamashi #33View on SuiVision asked.
“Just try it!” KeyTamashi #13View on SuiVision ordered.
“Alright, fine.” CoderTamashi #33View on SuiVision answered. Punching a few keys in the keyboard, CoderTamashi #33View on SuiVision hit a button and waited for something to happen.
Finally, after a moment that seemed like forever, the Machin stopped throwing punches, then they stopped moving at all. A few began to look around confused, or stare at their hands. Only the sound of the light breeze could be heard across the grassy hill, and everyone became silent. It took a minute to fully register. The Tamashi didn’t drop their guard right away.
“What happened?” VaultTamashi #36View on SuiVision asked TakahashiTamashi #100View on SuiVision. “Is it over?”
TakahashiTamashi #100View on SuiVision stood firm, and continued facing
forwards. “It is.” he said. “It looks like you got what you wanted. You decided to
place your trust in someone else.”
“Did you know this would happen?” VaultTamashi #36View on SuiVision asked.
“No.” TakahashiTamashi #100View on SuiVision turned to face her. “I wanted you to rule the world by my side, as my successor. I know absolute victory. I know what it’s like to have everything, to have absolute control. And I wanted that for you. I gave you the key to the world, and you decided to waste it on these people. I gave you - everything. Maybe someday you’ll understand.”
“What about the mission?” NoirTamashi #82View on SuiVision asked.
“What mission?” TakahashiTamashi #100View on SuiVision asked.
“Plugging everyone in to save them from hardship, and suffering? What happens now?” NoirTamashi #82View on SuiVision asked.
“I don’t care.” TakahashiTamashi #100View on SuiVision answered, “I only care about my daughter.”
“I devoted my life to helping you!” NoirTamashi #82View on SuiVision insisted. “And you’re telling me that it was for nothing?!”
“Your ‘devoted life’,” TakahashiTamashi #100View on SuiVision stated, “was to be a human meat-shield and to open doors for me and my family. You had the privilege of serving someone far better than you. Some people don’t even manage that much.”
NoirTamashi #82View on SuiVision angrily grabbed TakahashiTamashi #100View on SuiVision
’s arm, forced it behind his back and marched him forwards towards the Tamashi.
VaultTamashi #36View on SuiVision stared on, stunned into silence. For
the first time in her life, her father wasn’t in total control. She wondered what
the world would look like now.
NoirTamashi #82View on SuiVision marched TakahashiTamashi #100View on SuiVision forwards as the Machin aimlessly parted ways.
KitsuneTamashi #9View on SuiVision and SuperiorTamashi #37View on SuiVision reached them first. “I have half a mind to kill him.” KitsuneTamashi #9View on SuiVision said to SuperiorTamashi #37View on SuiVision.
“Do you have anything to say for yourself?” SuperiorTamashi #37View on SuiVision asked TakahashiTamashi #100View on SuiVision.
“Why would I?” TakahashiTamashi #100View on SuiVision answered. “I won’t debase myself by appealing to you.”
SuperiorTamashi #37View on SuiVision glanced downwards at TakahashiTamashi #100View on SuiVision
. When he faced the KitsuneTamashi #9View on SuiVision
-Enforcer, it reminded him of how ridiculous it was to hate his sister. The dark
caricature forced him to confront his own image of her. Now, facing Takahashi, he
was reminded of himself - of a twisted path he could have just as easily gone down.
“That’s funny.” SuperiorTamashi #37View on SuiVision stated, “Because I’ve been compared to you a lot. With my screen and my suit. People think I’m a lot like you. And do you know why? It’s because I wanted them to. I thought you were better, and I wanted to be better. But what I know now is that being better is about self-improvement, and that sometimes comes with self-hate, but it’s not about putting yourself above other people. It’s about lifting yourself up.”
“Who taught you that?” TakahashiTamashi #100View on SuiVision responded sarcastically.
“Your Dad did.” SuperiorTamashi #37View on SuiVision walked away, turning to KitsuneTamashi #9View on SuiVision. “And he’d want him alive.”
KeyTamashi #13View on SuiVision jogged briskly past SuperiorTamashi #37View on SuiVision and ran towards the entrance of the facility. VaultTamashi #36View on SuiVision saw him coming and slowly walked up to meet him. KeyTamashi #13View on SuiVision ran up to Vault and embraced her in a deep hug. They held each other for a moment,
with Vault holding him close, both unsure of what to say.
“Thanks for trusting me.” KeyTamashi #13View on SuiVision finally said.
“Of course.” VaultTamashi #36View on SuiVision kindly answered.
As the fighting subsided, several things became clear. After breaking free of TakahashiTamashi #100View on SuiVision’s commands, the Machin were sentient and directionless. They had no wish to fight, and for now, made their home in abandoned parts of the city. They had human wants and desires, but no certainty for what the world had in store for them.
The Tamashi were similarly uncertain. After ChemTamashi #31View on SuiVision and CoderTamashi #33View on SuiVision moved BridgeTamashi #20View on SuiVision to a safe location, it felt appropriate to give GangTamashi #21View on SuiVision a proper funeral. As controversial as he was, the first death in Nozomi had sent a chill across the Tamashi. And even without defined traditions, they knew that his memory needed to be honored.
A Tamashi called Stargazer volunteered to lead the ceremony. He prepared floating lanterns to fly overhead. And as he stood in front of a podium before all the Tamashi, he had this to say.
“GangTamashi #21View on SuiVision was a lot of things to a lot of people. I’ve heard some kind words, and some harsh ones. It’s difficult to imagine a future for us here. So much has happened, it’s easy, very easy for me, to become lost in the possibilities. But in the end, he decided to do what was right for all of us. He knowingly sacrificed himself so that we might have the chance to start again. Now we don’t know what’ll happen going forward. We can’t know. But I imagine a future where his sacrifice was worth it. And if you imagine with me - we might be able to build it together.”
After the ceremony, ChaosTamashi #42View on SuiVision and TakahashiTamashi #100View on SuiVision were formally locked in jail. A 
police officerTamashi #69View on SuiVision stood watch and kept a very keen eye on both of them. Everyone went to bed for the night, anxiously awaiting what new order would take hold.
That night, ChemTamashi #31View on SuiVision, CoderTamashi #33View on SuiVision, and Bridge stood on top of a building looking down on the city. To their left, was the Nozomi they knew, faintly lit, with only three square blocks of electricity. To their right, was a large city sprawled before them, perfectly black against the night sky.
“Are you sure about this?” CoderTamashi #33View on SuiVision asked. “It’ll change everything.”
“We can’t have the Machin in a dark city for long. We need enough space for all of us. And now that we can make things whole again” he paused, “I made the serum that made this all possible, that took away life as we knew it. We have to bring it back.”
“I’m hardly blameless, but you’re right.” CoderTamashi #33View on SuiVision stated. “It’ll be a bustling city. With full power, things will look almost normal again.”
“A city of ten thousand robots and a hundred of us.” ChemTamashi #31View on SuiVision whispered. “Does anyone else have the password?”
“Just the two of us and KeyTamashi #13View on SuiVision” ChemTamashi #31View on SuiVision stated.
“Good.” ChemTamashi #31View on SuiVision answered. “BridgeTamashi #20View on SuiVision,” he started, “Time to turn the power on.”
“As you command.” BridgeTamashi #20View on SuiVision answered. And with a wave of his hand, the entire city beamed with full electric power.