AUDIO

[warandpeace]

My leg is broken. As in my prosthetic. [Which is a sufficient excuse for his current lack of the lower half of his leg.] I need a functional replacement of some sort.

[Something to tide him over. He's getting used to it; throwing bits of himself on the sacrificial altar just to win. Now that the anger is starting to ebb and he's starting to feel a little weak and helpless, something he's always unwilling to admit. Giving some of the parts out of his own damn body was the only way he had left to fight any of this.]

[In a way he's waiting for rescue all over again, only this time from the inside.]

I at least need a good crutch. I'm using a metal bar for now, but something that I can put comfortably under my arm would help.

I don't want to ask them for help with it.

[He does have some pride left in there somewhere.]

Comments

[shashka]

Well, aren't you impressive? Too bad you couldn't use that clairvoyance all those years ago when it mattered.

[ sure his comment was a little petty (really petty), but sometimes that was Ocelot's way.

in the end, it would be Zero's responsibility if those men died, wouldn't it? they were the ones fighting against the world of complete control he was trying to create. and, if what they said about the future was true, Miller would just go right along with his plan because someone hurt his feelings, despite all of it being his fault in the first place. sure, he has Venom's guarantee that won't happen, but Ocelot isn't the best when it comes to trust. ]

[warandpeace]

I should have predicted that one, too.

[Petty, yes. But one that Kaz has already considered, his heart has already scarred to a point and he's already told enough people his shame that he can't even have it be some horrible revelation.]

[Congratulations. Finally. Finally, Kazuhira Miller has gotten so tired of a petty insult that it's become the equivalent of "Well your face is ugly." Though considering the source the bland insult would be "But at least I'm not a bottle blond.]

I was told to look to the future and I'm choosing to do so. [He even has the half thought of "putting a ring on it" but it's just an idle, bigger than a world-changing business fantasy at this point.] But my past mistakes tell me that these are bad people to deal with.

[shashka]

[ of course, he'll keep bringing it up until Miller gets. it. ]

Depends on which future you mean. As long as you've learned form your mistakes and don't head down that same path. You know where that leads.

[ the fact of the matter was, John was dead if things didn't change. for whatever else, Miller goes right back to working for Cipher, and trains David to kill John. and while he might say that John had wanted to die in the end, what had helped contribute to that mental state?

but again, this really wasn't supposed to be about any of this. it was a show for the Savrii. to make them think he was on-side. ]

[warandpeace]

Can you stop with that please.

It gets old.

[If he knew that Ocelot would blame Kaz for John's mental state, he'd be especially livid. Because Ocelot is the worst person for anyone's mental state he's ever goddamn known (especially his own, and he's still furious that he has to deal with it when he was doing so much better without it). He can strip a man of his desire to live for himself or make choices. He can make brave men suffer for the entirety of their lives for goals that could have actually been met through transparency. And sometimes Kaz wonders how that, for a very enjoyable instant, he found himself thinking of the man as a human being rather than a force of mental turmoil. Where it came from, well... He's forgotten now.]

[But yeah, it's a show for the Savrii. So he'll have to deviate it.] And don't you threaten me in regards to them, either. Remember, here? You're outnumbered.

[shashka]

Like I said, you have nothing to worry about here. But you are right about one thing: this conversation is getting old.

[ though, on Ocelot's end, it was certainly a different feeling altogether. in the long run, he really hadn't cared that much about Miller one way or another, or his anger. but, finding out what happened to John had changed that, and while he at least thinks that he tries to be civil...

well. can you blame a man for being petty or angry?

regardless, he's done for the time being. it was a good show for the Savrii, if nothing else.

(not that it mattered in the long run) ]