"Ade, there's bad news." It was Lacus's voice, "The Federation Council has decided …Ade, are you listening to me?"
"Yes, I'm listening, keep talking." Ade stared at the phone without moving his head and said, "The Federal Council, I heard you, then what? What happened?"
"… It's been thirteen days." Lacus looked down at him with a complicated expression, "ELS has been stationary on Earth-Sun L4 for thirteen days, the astronomical telescopes are coming back with no change in the picture, even if we look at it again … sorry, with all due respect, it won't come to anything. "
"Not necessarily." Ade said unconcerned, "ELS is not moving. This is the biggest suspicion. Maybe Alice is still fighting inside, maybe -"
"Maybe it's just worrying that there will be the second and third TurnA, maybe it's just digesting TurnA's technology. Alice said that she is hopeless, and didn't Ange make that very clear?" Lacus took two steps forward in excitement, "Ade, stop deceiving yourself."
"Lacus, don't say it." C.C. walked up to her, pulled her sleeve and whispered, "Give him some time, you don't know what Alice means to him."
"I really don't know, and what I said probably sounded like just wind talk." Lacus explained with a serious face, "But he can't just stare at the empty screen and give himself up. He has to overcome it. If he can't do it himself, I'll help him, even if the wound will hurt, even if he will hate me, it doesn't matter."
"Thanks for worrying about me, Lacus, but I'm not giving up on myself. And C.C., don't make it sound like I'm having a nervous breakdown." Ade said calmly, "I have sincerely, scientifically, and rationally deduced that Alice does have a chance of surviving, and use that as a theoretical basis for my daily practice of observing ELS."
"Do you hear me?" Lacus looked at C.C. worriedly, "He's already on the verge of breaking down."
"I know, but …" C.C. lowered her head. Her long green hair slid down her shoulders, "Just give him a little more time, trust me, time heals everything, I have experience. "
"I'm just using my spare time to look at the satellite footage, it won't affect my daily work." Ade interrupted their muttering, "Lacus, what was that about the Federation Council? What bad news? You haven't finished talking."
"… Okay." Lacus continued with a sigh, "The Federation Council has summoned you to a hearing to be accountable for matters related to the explosion of the satellite cannon, Mememto Mori. I have reason to suspect that the Federation Council is likely to accuse you of making bad decisions, wasting taxpayer property, and using it as a weapon to question your authority granted in the Tri-Power Agreement."
"The human race is going to be finished, and they still have time to do this? The power struggle is sure above all else." Ade was still looking at the phone screen with an indifferent look, "And then? Who led the charge? Do you know it?"
"Quattro Bajeena, aka Char Aznable." Lacus frowned, "Why? Mineva was entrusted to you by him personally, shouldn't he trust you?"
"Because that's the kind of person he is, he trusts no one but himself. Anyone who dares not follow his ideal script, he will not hesitate to make an enemy of them." Ade said calmly, "He never believed in me; all he believed in was the understanding he had of me in his head. Since he has discovered that his understanding of me is different from the reality, it is natural that he will choose to respect the reality."
"What about Mineva?" Lacus glanced in the direction of Mineva's room, the little girl should have been asleep by this time, "He's not afraid of what you're doing?"
"In his understanding of me, I would never do anything to Mineva. Not to mention that even if I did hurt Mineva, he would never give in." Ade said with great certainty, "He loves only himself the most, and if he has to do it, it is acceptable to sacrifice Mineva in order to achieve his goal."
"… You really know him." Lacus seemed to remember something, bit her lips, "Then … what are we going to do?"
"Just tell him that I don't have time, I'm busy spying on the aliens." Ade bowed his head and said, "Come to the moon and take me over if he can, or shut up if he can't."
That's not a sensible answer, that's not a choice Ade would make when he's sober, he's really going to break down. Lacus cast a look at C.C., but received only a silent sigh in response.
"Oh, it's already this time, I'll sleep first." Ade suddenly stood up and walked to his room, "You should go to bed early too, good night."
The only thing left in the living room was two people looking at each other helplessly, no one could convince anyone.
Ade, after returning to his room, lifted the quilt and found Ange lying naked and curled up in a ball. He looked at the neatly folded clothes next to the bed and said nothing more, but just silently lay down next to the young girl, took his phone, and continued to watch the unchanged ELS.
"Ade, could you please stop looking?" Ange carefully whispered, "Go to sleep, it's late."
"I have SuperSolenoid, it's okay." In the darkened room, the light from the phone reflected on his face, looking a little eerie, "What if I miss the moment Alice comes out of ELS while I'm asleep? She'll be upset when she comes back."
"I …" Ange raised her arm to touch him and retracted it in a frightened manner, "I'm sorry, it's all my fault… "
"It's not your fault, it's not anyone's fault. I'm touched that you wanted to protect me, and I don't blame you at all." Ade paused, "Sometimes, things just happen, it's just… bad luck, that's all."
"Don't you do this, okay …" Ange's voice was as lower as a mosquito's flapping, "I … I …"
"Go to sleep, it's late." He reached out a hand and gently stroked the young girl's soft hair, "I'll sleep after a while, really, no lie."
"I'm sorry … I'm sorry …" After a long while, Ange finally drifted off to sleep amidst repeated apologies. The young girl seemed to have some kind of nightmare, her body tensed up, her eyebrows locked, and Ade could vaguely hear her dream words, "Daddy… sorry …"
Ade sighed silently and continued to look at the phone with blank eyes. He knew that everyone was worried about him, and he felt sorry for Ange, and he understood that he had to come out of this wrong state. He just didn't know how to do it. Since the incident, he hadn't even shed a single tear.
It was as if no new thoughts or feelings could be born in his mind, as if his body was missing an important part, and as if half of his soul had been stolen by someone. In terms of time occupation ratio, Alice was obviously just a small screw in his life, but who knew that once this screw was missing, the complete function as a human being could not even function properly, leaving only an endless sense of emptiness and loss.
"It's like a machine breaking down." He murmured, and quietly shut the phone on the pillow, "It's late, go to sleep, there are things to do tomorrow."
The time came late at night.
Ade opened his eyes suddenly. What appeared in the field of his vision was only the sleeping blonde girl. He made an effort to sense and couldn't find Mineva, which meant that his NT ability was still being disabled. He was probably finally going crazy, because he actually sensed something swimming inside his veins, something that started from his heart, followed the blood circulation throughout his body back and forth several times, and finally coiled up in his brain.
"Doing the 'pistoning in and out' motion is nothing, anyone can do it, I don't envy it." The thing spoke directly to his brain through electrical signals, emitting a girlish voice, "Hm, can anyone else do it? That's what it means to be in together!"
