67 Realizations

Even in the summer, the air remained pleasantly cool. The wind carried the sounds of battle, the sounds were loud enough to hear high above their source. Bastion could hear the screams and shouts of anger.

Something inside of him had changed it didn't happen all at once, he handn't noticed when he no longer saw humans as people. This inhumanity was spreading through him with every power he obtained, he was less himself and more apathetic. Yet, he did not feel sad at the loss of his humanity. Did this have to happen for him to gain the power he was there some exchange? Nothing in life was free. He thought about talking with Ouro but the AI only existed to assist him, it could not give him directions beyond the end of his life and the beginning. His path was his own to tread.

Bastion had a seat on the shuttle to launch in a few days. He would get his chance to venture beyond the stars. He still needed a secretary one made of sterner stuff than most. His thoughts had wondered to Ayato before but on further deliberation, he tossed the idea. Maybe he needed someone more human and understanding. Yes, someone truly human could take him back across the line he had crossed. Bastion wouldn't return to humanity completely, but he might gain some of his old feelings back.

That's what he was after, the feeling. Disgust at the sight of a dead body, fear for his fellow man, and the ability to care for the well being of those around him. Some days he watched Rize pick apart people merely out of curiosity. His voyeurism seemed to turn her on something awful. This inhumanity simply shouldn't be within him this apathy is toxic.

Still he had doubts of whether this apathy was truly permanent. Might this be a reaction to those around him. He loved Rize, so he changed himself and became colder to his fellow man. He thought he needed Dr. Kanou and started experimenting on living test subjects. It would be wonderful indeed if that were the case. If it were so possible that a man could change into a cold-blooded mechanism of destruction for a day and then change back unscathed, that would be miraculous.

Wishful thinking a cold voice whispered in his mind sucking the very life from the pleasant thought. An apparition calling itself reality wouldn't let him lose himself to fantasy so easily. He wasn't human any more than Ayato, Touka, or Eto. They may eat the flesh of men, but he devoured their peace of mind with his mere existence. Many had killed themselves after he destroyed a section of the 22nd ward. The fear of a man who could summon death with a wave of his hand broke the spirit of many. But the death of their loved ones living in the section of the 22nd ward he destroyed shattered their hope for the future.

He felt a smack to his face and turned to see Touka looking at him in worry. "I'm sorry, I was lost in my darker thoughts. What did you say Touka?" Bastion asked.

Touka looked at him warily slowly Bastion returned to the apathetic monster he truly was. The lives of many no longer mattered to him. He was a force in human skin designed for a purpose. He would bring mankind to space, slay the reapers, and die with a smile on his face.

"I said we need to go. The CCG have already swept through the building and Kaneki made it out." Touka shouted. Bastion looked to see Ayato glaring at him. Bastion picked up his helmet and put it on.

"What's with the long face Ayato? We have plenty of time to catch up." Bastion said casually. He smirked and patted his old friend on the shoulder. Ayato seemed to suck in a breath then let it out.

"Bastion, but I didn't think I would ever see you again. Its been over a decade." Ayato said. For the moment, Bastion felt normal like this was another time when they made sand castles all day. Back then, he could rely upon his crappy jokes to make Touka and Ayato laugh. They played together and talked often it was a simple happier time. It ended too soon.

"Well if you come live at Anteiku again you can see him every time he comes in to have coffee. Though you may want to rent an apartment." Touka said.

"Anteiku, I haven't been there in a long time maybe I'll have a cup for old times sake." Ayato said. A group of CCG agents burst in only to get mowed down by Bastion's quick draw. More men were dead, and Bastion felt only a twang of empathy to them. Men who did their job to keep civilians safe on the street. When Bastion tried, he could almost feel something. Maybe, his humanity needed exercise like a muscle.

He set his lasgun to full auto as more came up the stairs. He decided to warn them maybe they would remain in cover and he wouldn't have to kill them. "I'm armed to the teeth with the high ground. We are retreating, if you step out of cover, I'll kill you." One leapt out machine gun in hand already aimed and pulling the trigger. Bastion pulled the trigger and the man fell with a hole burned through his chest.

"The best you will get for exiting cover is a hole burned through your chest. Remain in cover, I don't want to kill you." Bastion said. This was becoming sick in his opinion. He lied to them, he didn't care whether they lived or died. Their faces would haunt his nightmares and then vanish. Eventually the hell of his subconscious would bend to his apathy.

His sharingan blazed and he executed every man who stepped out of cover. Once Touka and Ayato were over to the next build Bastion vanished from their sight and leapt over the next building. Three men with sniper rifles made it up the stairs and aimed at them. Bastion shot all three in the head no scope, his sharingan and HUD were more than enough. Their bodies burned from the lasgun rounds.

He met up with the rest of Anteiku and they returned to the coffee shop. Touka looked at back at him in worry, he smiled back cheerily and let his mind settle. All the things he had done, the wives and children he left behind. They rushed back to the forefront of his mind. The apathy that protected his mind fell apart and he felt sad for the first time in many years. He was glad for his helmet. This weakness was shameful.

Why did he try so hard to prepare mankind against the reapers? Bastion could easily destroy the space squids himself, there was no reason to do all this. What did he want from humanity, ghouls, and the galaxy as a whole? Was he going through the motions and preparing for a battle, or was there more to it?

Somewhere deep down, he saw the reapers as another Brethren Moon attack. He wasn't enough, so he needed to rely on others. Is that a good enough reason to drag humanity to space and force them to evolve painfully, if need be. They would blindly activate the mass relay and the first contact war would begin. No, that's what pussies would do. No Bastion was more than that.

He wanted to rule over humanity and guide it with a firm hand towards the future. Bastion had seen what the people do when they have power, this world should have ascended to the space age long ago. It was time for a new system. Power must be earned not given as a right. Mars was going to be the prototype.

Bastion dried his tears with a minor wind jutsu. He was awakened to a purpose once more and he would see it through to the end.