Sympathy for the Devil

[Rezantis]

"Well, we didn't, but . . . you hadn't heard what happened in San Francisco months back?"

[Carthrat]

"I missed everything since like a third through January," replies Tom, blinking. "Fucking dream."

[Rezantis]

"Well . . . Seventh Cabal had a facility under San Francisco called the Workshop where they were imprisoning metahumans and experimenting on them.  They had Bjorn, so we broke in and got them out.  One of them was a powerful pyrokinetic - and they'd just murdered his wife - so he decided to blow the place sky high.  And no, we didn't know he was going to do that once everyone was safely away."

"So to answer your question, no, we didn't blow up San Francisco but we helped the guy who did."

[Carthrat]

"Oh, well.. can't be blamed for some nutcase, I guess. Yet," mutters Tom.

[Rezantis]

"Yeah, we probably can be.  I don't know how many people died.  I don't think it was many, but I'm sure some did.  So yeah, we fucked up, and badly - though I don't see how we could have stopped it."

"At least we're not nuking at the point where we're nuking Silicon Valley on the off-chance that someone might need it."

[Carthrat]

"Just because you *could have* stopped someone morally bankrupt enough to blow up a lot of shit doesn't mean it's your fault if you *don't*," replies Tom, blinking.

[Bjorn]

"Yeah, it does," Bjorn says, quietly.  "Everyone wants, needs, to do the right thing.  Sometimes we get it wrong.  That's what makes us human.  But what makes us good is that we recognize that we made a mistake, we do what we can to fix it, and we learn everything there is to learn from it.

"Ashnod wasn't a nutcase.  He was a good man, driven to extremes, and he took what he thought was the best course of action.  I think what he did was wrong.  I think what was done to him was wrong.  None of that was 'my fault,' like you said, but what it comes down to is: at that time and at that place, I didn't do the right thing.  So I remember Ashnod, and I remember San Francisco, and I do my damndest to make sure that next time, I can and will do the right thing."

[Carthrat]

Lapsing into uncomfortable silence for a few minutes, Tom eventually speaks up again.

"I guess we'll never escape being human then, huh."

[Bjorn]

"Why would you want to?" Bjorn grins.

[Carthrat]

"So I can fly or something," replies Tom, nodding. "There's gotta be perks, right?"

[Dracos]

"I think you get that anyway, possibly through explosive means but it is not an exclusive set to the human set," Dracos drolled.

Dracos

[Brian]

The hike has been progressing well.  Down below, the distant parking lot can be seen to slowly fill up with further vehicles.  There's a complete lack of yakuza or security guards to complain about Nathan's bow, so that's a plus.

The switchbacks and branching paths along the trail point to various shrines and scenic points to visit.  Prometheus appears to have chosen the highest one, but from this spot it's easy to see.  It's the one that's glowing most brightly with volcanic fire in the doubled vision everyone gets.

[Carthrat]

Tom picks up the pace, following the signs as best as he's able!

[Rezantis]

Nathan is quickening his pace as the dawn gets lighter - as he can see better, he gets more confident that he's not going to fall on his face if he hurries the hell up.

The less people to see them up here, the better.

[Brian]

All told, the walk takes about three hours.  There are stations, presumably where rangers hang out to watch over travelers, but all are empty as they are passed.  The path ends up switching back a lot, and there are obvious efforts to reinforce the walkways to resist erosion, but the altitude is high enough that by the time the peak is gained, everyone's feeling a mild rush.

The peak everyone is heading towards is the one Prometheus specified -- Kengamine.  There's a shrine up at the top, and waiting for the party are two people.  Two very familiar looking people.  Nathan spots them first, and possibly (since the group is in shadow at the moment) before they realize they're being approached.

There is another Philip Bloom, and a nurse.  The other Philip is wearing a long white trenchcoat, with his arms crossed behind his back.  The nurse is dressed exactly as she was in the Workshop.