#sonja bake

Pamela is gambling again, and she’s beginning to think that stopping had been a pipe dream. You never stop gambling. You never even start.

‘Hem... Just a thought, but uh, in the event that Beriam does decide to “wipe [Nader] out” after all...

...y’think he’s going to order Sonja to shoot Nader? (In addition to whoever or whatever he already intends her to shoot.)

Massive, 100% speculation under the cut.

Well? I think there’s a real chance he might. He did say he doesn’t care “who does what” so long as it gets him results. This route could potentially have the room for a lot of ~emotions~, that’s for sure. There are two big (potential) issues with it, though, which may explain why it didn’t occur to be sooner:

Problem 1: Beriam told Pamela he didn’t plan for Sonja to kill anyone in 1935-C.

The obvious counter to this is that he was lying, which I would not put past someone for whom the ends justify the means. He’s no stranger to lying,after all.

Even if he weren’t lying...again, plans change as needed, and just because he didn’t plan for Sonja to shoot doesn’t mean he wouldn’t have her do it if he deemed it necessary.

If the original Japanese for “wiping him out” definitely implied killing than ignore this point, but one could interpret “wiping him out” as “putting him out of commission” - something that doesn’t necessarily mean ‘death’. A sizable injury would be enough to render Nader unfit for gambling.

Problem 2: It would surely occur to Beriam that Sonja would, in principle, not want to shoot her childhood hero. Welp, that’s that, then. On second thought...

It’s not as if they’d tell her point blank (heh), “Shoot Nader.” Spike just has to tell her what to shoot when the occasion arises. “But wouldn’t she recognize Nader through the scope?” Maybe, but...

...Then again, Nader’s appearance is radically different to the one in her memory. He’s grown out his blond hair and dyed it black, he wears a hat to cover his face, he has a prosthetic hand... (he covers his facial burns with makeup, but that could wash off.)

Given all that, and given that she’d be looking at him through the limited vision of a scope, I think it’s possible she might not initially recognize him. In fact, I think Spike would reach the same conclusion through his investigation...

...If someone (presumably former Felix) is assisting him, that is. Sure, Nader looks different to when Spike knew him, but how the hell would Spike know if he’s blind?

It’s possible that Spike’s investigation will unearth Nader’s connection to Eve, but let’s assume for the moment that Spike’s investigation will lead him to personally confront Nader (given the inevitability of a Spike-Nader reunion, I’d say it’s highly plausible). Or, at the very least, involves spying on Nader.

The smart move on Beriam’s part would be having the former Felix accompany him, just like he did in Madison Square Park in 1934. Y’know, ‘cause Spike is blind. That way, the former Felix could confirm Nader’s presence/describe what he’s doing (if they spy on him first before entering negotiations.)

In (Beriam’s) an ideal world, Former Felix would describe Nader’s appearance to confirm he’s “Spike’s” Nader. Spike would presumably be confused by the discrepancy with his memory, but said confusion would be cleared up by confronting Nader in person. Thus, he might just realize he could use Nader’s radically changed appearance against him.

...Well, now. While I do think Sonja might not recognize Nader at first, my Narita-senses (or plot-senses?) envision the possibility that she recognizes him at the last second. Say, right before or right as she’s pulling the trigger.

This scenario could go a few different ways from here; we don’t know where exactly she’d be shooting from, or when exactly Spike would have her try to wipe Nader out. Since this is already pure speculation, I may as well envision a path with a lot of tension/emotional drama...

(Hypothetical play-by-play)

Now, since this scenario presupposes that Spike personally confronts Nader as part of the investigation, we have to remember two things: 1) that Beriam is interested in at least seeing if Nader is willing to cooperate, and 2) that Nader knows via Pamela that Spike has taken Sonja under his wing.

Which means that Nader is...uh, not going to be happy to see Spike in more ways than one. In fact, he’d probably reject outright the idea of helping Spike in any form (before fear could get the better of him), and really, with his and Spike’s history you start to wonder if maybe it’s not so smart for Spike to confront him after all...

...Except maybe that’s exactly why. In a way, Spike knows Nader better than most people, knows the aspects of his past and personality that he’s ashamed of. He’d try threatening him, maybe, using Beriam as an intimidation tactic. (”You know who my new master is now?”).

He’d likely use both Nader’s faults and Sonja against him, e.g. “She thinks you’re a hero and that you’ll save her, but you and I know the truth, right?” and “I’ve done more for her than you ever did,” and “This is a job for the sake of the state, you know. I’m only in it for the money, but if we pull this off...she’ll be more of a hero than you ever could be. She won’t need you anymore.”

Whatever he says, we’ll assume that he leaves unconvinced that Nader won’t try anything funny, and Nader all the more paranoid about Sonja’s sharpshooting role.

Back to the scope. Sonja recognizes Nader at the last second, and either she manages to not pull the trigger or does but manages to throw off her aim. In the case of the latter...paranoid!Nader might immediately think Sonja and tear off in search for her....or hesitate, remembering Pamela’s plea for him to “stay away” and Spike’s taunts.

In any case, if Sonja does shoot, we’ll assume Spike asks if she “got him”. (If she doesn’t, maybe “what’s the hold-up”). I imagine he’d probably be able to tell if she tried to lie, but given that she idolizes him I think it’s more likely she’d tell Spike the truth (that Nader is her friend and she doesn’t want to shoot him) and expect him to be understanding.

This is where it gets hazy, or rather, where I become more reluctant to speculate on the grounds that there are no more canon grounds to stand on. I can certainly come up with “possible paths,” but I’m not necessarily more confident in one than the other.

Maybe Spike tries to wheedle with her, asks her to “trust him” and that Nader will be okay if her “aim is true.” Maybe he loses patience and tries to threaten her or physically manhandle her into shooting (I don’t want this to happen, but unfortunately Spike might do it as a last resort...maybe). Whatever happens, Sonja hopes for Nader to save her...

...and just when things are looking dangerous, Nader shows up to confront Spike for real.

Don’t you just love pure speculation far beyond canon’s limits? Ahahaa....this is the stage I’ve reached in the 1935-E waiting game.

There is a major alternate route that last bullet point could take...and that entails the Former Felix just...never describing Nader to Spike at any point in time. You’d think he would, right? It seems like the logical thing to do. But, you know... it’s not as if the former Felix knows Nader looks different to Spike’s memory. He would have no idea that Nader’s hair wasn’t always black (as long as Nader is wearing his hat), so why ask?

Why ask indeed, especially when there’s a far more unique identifying feature at hand? (heh). That’s right; Nader’s prosthetic. Spike was there when Chané cleaved Nader’s right hand; I’ll bet you anything that’s the main ‘visual confirmation’ he’d be asking after. Former Felix is sharp enough he’d probably recognize Nader’s right hand to be false.

In other words, it’s theoretically possible for Spike and Former Felix to have a full conversation with Nader without Spike ever picking up on Nader’s other visual differences.

I’m....not sure what this would lead to, actually. (Can you tell I thought of the “Spike learns that Nader looks different and uses it to his advantage” first?). There is, I suppose, room for a case of mistaken identities (which @esperanzacboronial once pointed out has a good chance of happening with Dallas and Claire)?

Like, who else do we know is blond and has a prosthetic hand (arm)? Ladd. Granted, Ladd’s is his left hand and Nader’s is his right, but ehhh technicalities am I right? While I can’t come up with the details, I think it would be relatively Narita-esque for Spike to mistakenly come into contact with Ladd - aka a second reunion with another FPF survivor, following his reunion with Claire in 1934...

...and for Ladd to potentially throw Spike off [whatever rooftop or vantage point he is on], just like Claire threw Spike off the FPF. It’s possible that Spike would recognize his voice, given that he watched at least some of the Ladd-Chané-Claire fight. The interconnected quality would be there even if he didn’t.

(I know I’ve wondered before whether or not Spike will die in the 1935 arc, but honestly him surviving being thrown off something twice would be oddly satisfying, I think. Amusing? Coming full circle?)

Sonja Over the Course of Anywhere Between 4-9 Years: confidently declares that Nader will save her should she be in danger all the time, despite it always being her that rescues herself from danger, despite Nader never coming

In Which the Dormentaires Continue to Ruin Everything: gee whiz it sure is a shame that Ronny is currently being summoned continuously by Dormentaire pawns over the course of the casino party, otherwise he could use his powers to ensure Nader is in the right place at the right time in a pseudo-callback to 1934, such a shame

And 2016 Me Proves to be Slightly Embarrassing: which means that it is up to Nader to be Sonja’s hero on his own dubious merits (assuming that Pamela isn’t in a position to help), and that 2016 Me’s proposed scenario where “Sonja’s belief in Nader is so shattered that she prepares to shoot herself in accordance with her parent’s warped beliefs but he stops her at the last second” is still on the table