TEST DRIVE MEME #9

[inthenightmods]

TEST DRIVE MEME #9

Hello and welcome to the In the Night test drive meme for March! Thanks for your interest in our game! In an effort to streamline our application process and avoid future confusion between incoming and existing players, we will no longer have a reservation period. Applications open on March 22, and will be judged on a first-come, first-served basis.

While you're here...

• Take a look at our rules and faq pages to familiarize yourself with the game.
  
• Note that we have a (current) application cap of 15 apps this month for new players, as the game has a player cap of 70. An accurate count of current players will always be available on the taken page.
  
• TDM threads can become game canon if both players wish. If the situation isn't something that could happen in-game, you're free to chalk it up to some strange hallucination, a shared dream, or other mysterious circumstance.
  
• Note that top-leveling is not limited to new characters! If current players wish to post a starter, they are welcome to do so. They are welcome to make posts in the main comms for TDM events as well. Please note, however, that actual plot clues or happenings will not occur in TDM prompts.
  
• If you plan to apply, please keep in mind that we do require at least one sample thread on the application to be from our TDM (though it doesn't need to be the current TDM).
  
• If you haven't already, please take a moment to look at our announcement regarding changes to the application cycle, which involves information concerning the TDM!
  
• You're welcome to use the provided prompts or come up with something on your own, but we do ask that all threads take place in our game's setting.

Thank you again, and we hope you'll choose to join us!

log prompts

DANCING QUEEN (cw corpses)

When the ferry chugs up to the dock, its speakers are crackling with a happy song. What a fun way to bring in all the newcomers! Except... goodness, what's that terrible stench? The ferry docks and lowers its gangway as per usual, but the ship is quiet. No newcomers flock to the deck to disembark, and instead, the faint sound of buzzing flies can be heard over the breeze.

Boarding the ferry quickly reveals the source of the flies: decaying bodies, dozens of them, are littered throughout the ship. Some lie in bunks and could be asleep if it weren't for the rot, and others are strewn throughout the cargo hold and the deck. There are no lanterns among them, and there aren't any signs of fighting or struggle around the ship. Inspecting the bodies (if anyone seriously wants to do that) won't yield any definitive answers in terms of cause of death, but, oh. Though it's difficult to tell at first glance due to the decay, these bodies... They're residents of Beacon.

Maybe you find your friend or yourself or, oh, there's Rastus! And Robin! The gang's all here, albeit disgustingly—and Dancing Queen crackles over the speakers. Welcome, welcome!

—but before the ferry departs again, the corpses start to move. Moving about the ship, someone might first hear a sigh, or a sputter, or a little laugh, and maybe it could be brushed off as a trick of the mind until the bodies stand, hoisting themselves up with whatever limbs they have left, and drag themselves toward the deck. One by one, they slip clumsily over the railing and back into the lake, but not before they drop their disguises and slowly contort back into their usual forest spirit bodies (source).

Ugh. Frickin' spirits.

WELCOME TO OUR GAME: INTO THE DARK

In spite of the strange occurrences starting off the month, there's still work to be done in Beacon. Or perhaps it's precisely due to this that Rastus calls for the attention of anyone who will listen as they pass by his station at the bonfire. All but shoving a torch in your hand, he requests that you place it around one of the many locations that could use a source of light! A lot of new places have been discovered recently, after all.

In the event that you choose to choose to play with this prompt as game canon, please remember to report where you choose to place a torch on the item request page so the setting can be updated accordingly! For incoming players, this can be reported retroactively!

These efforts would be a great service to the community at large; Rastus reminds everyone that while the bonfire is a finite resource, it's still a resource that's meant to be utilized.

network prompts

IF YOU DIE IN THE GAME YOU DIE FOR REAL

Not long after the ferry shows up with, uh, no people and a whole lotta corpses (that turn out to be forest spirits playing a very uncool prank), Robin makes a post to the network!

Oh holy god uhhhh OK so no idea what's going on with the ferry this month, wow. Data from the portal is saying nobody new came through, so... nothing to worry about!!! Probably!! I really don't know anything more than you guys right now but I'm gonna get in touch with Dr. Solis. She'll have a better idea of what's going on than me. I'll get back to you all as soon as we figure out what's up.

In the meantime..........!!! I thought it might be fun to play some games to get our minds off stuff? How about hangman! Here's how to play if you don't know!

She attaches a little set of instructions for any characters not in the know. Fun stuff!

But, uh oh. If you get a letter wrong, you'll notice it's getting just a bit more difficult to breathe... Is the air particularly heavy today? Allergies, maybe? No, the feeling only gets worse as the game continues, each incorrect guess tightening an invisible noose around your neck.

The only way out is through, it seems, as nothing provides any relief save for winning a game. But what happens if you lose...?

(If asked, Robin also has no idea what's up with that. Heck! Maybe it's the lanterns acting up again? In any case, the weird hangman curse will resolve itself within a day or two.)

PARTICIPATION FOR CLOWNS

All at once, a notice arrives in everyone's inboxes. It appears to be some sort of strange attempt at a bingo card! It would, potentially, be a mystery as to who crafted this and, well, exactly what it's supposed to mean, were it not for the underlying message that accompanies it.

HELLO! HELLO? HELLO HELLO. ALL BRING CARD TO GET GIFT FOR ALL! YES! ONTO BODY LIBRARY GIFT IT GOES! THANK A MUCH!

The real problem here being, of course, that the librarian's apparent game is a bit, well, difficult to understand. Well, it's possible that it won't require any stringent rules. Ultimately, those who bring in a bingo card that has a row of marks in any particular fashion will receive a free gift compliment of the spirit as a way to promote the library. There might be some fabric missing where the shirt has been bitten into, but, hey, nobody's perfect.

QUICKNAV
comms	|	network • logs • memes • ooc
pages	|	rules • faq • taken • mod contact • player contact • calendar • setting • exploration • item requests • full nav

Comments

[evulsed]

[ There's a flicker in his expression, something difficult to read. A year ago, Vanitas would have slapped this very concept down from the discussion, disregarding it as more garbage that the Light spouts. How could who and what he is be two entirely separate things? He had never been shown that to be a possibility, all his potential was tied directly to how much he could hate and how much of his power he could hemorrhage into the world.

Maybe if he hadn't met Bruce, he would still think that way. But Bruce sides with the Darkness, has a deep well of it in him just like Vanitas, and uses it for something other than mass destruction. He hesitates around the word friend, skirting the idea like it could hurt him irreparably, but...

But they are something to him. Something important. Hate is a combination of emotions, an overlap. Bruce said. Love is like that too.

Vanitas shivers. The cool winter air crawls down his neck and makes the little hairs stand up on end. With the initial adrenaline fading out, he's becoming more and more aware of the still-healing limitations of his body. Raising his arms, he folds them across his chest, pulling the cashmere cardigan across his chest, covering up the scars and the bandages. It's a feeble defense against the weather. ]

That isn't for you to decide.

[ Maybe a more telling statement of the way his world has expanded since he came here than anything else. ]

[reposer]

[ Oh.

In all the unpleasantness of arriving in this place, that response comes as a tiny pleasant surprise. That Ventus is caught off guard by it shows in the slight widening of his eyes and his lips parting around an inhale. His surprise is there and gone again in the blink of an eye though, quickly replaced by a smile unfurling itself on his face. It's a small and understated thing and there's a tired strain in his overall expression — one that's been there since even before he arrived, going from one perpetual darkness to another has not exactly done him any favors — but it's wholly genuine.

It lingers on his face even as he shakes his head. ]

No, it isn't. No one gets to decide that for you.

[ Vanitas has learned the distinction where Ventus is certain he hadn't known it the last time they'd spoken and that's good enough for now. Because as desperately curious as he is about how and why his other half has changed so much, it's not gone unnoticed how much the cold is bothering Vanitas in his undressed state. Just looking at him makes Ventus more aware of how cold he is himself and he has to resist the urge to rub feeling back into his arms. Now that he's no longer in motion, it's all the more keenly felt.

Standing around outside in this weather while lacking appropriate clothing is not the smartest thing to do. (Aqua would be so stern with him, but he tries not to think of her right now.) Especially not when Vanitas is weak and hurt. This is no place for a talk. ]

Are you staying anywhere? I'll walk you back. You shouldn't stay out here like this.

[evulsed]

[ That's a daunting proposal and something tightens across Vanitas' shoulders. It wasn't all that long ago that Vanitas had come completely unhinged on Riku just because he'd convinced himself the presence of Skyler and Naminé would upend the tentative little web of connection he's found himself caught in. He doesn't think about the fact Riku will bring Ventus back to the museum eventually, that he'll likely introduce him to Bruce. Vanitas doesn't have a moment to logic the reality out that just like Riku had assured, whatever happens won't change what they've built.

Fear is close to his heart. In fact, he's not even sure he should be happy with the confirmation Ventus is here. His lived reality is that Ventus has always had the good things Vanitas was never afforded. What if Riku finds him and remembers he's better than Vanitas' company? What if Bruce is taken in by his winning smile?

He exhales, a plume of mist that rises up in front of him. Running away won't help the situation. It won't change the fact that Ventus is here. And even if he was in peak condition, killing him was no permanent solution. Dr Solis would find him and fix him up, good as new. But more than that, is he willing to risk it? The fact is he hadn't even realized there was something to miss until Sora disappeared into the dark and snapped the tether between their hearts.

Loneliness was a hungry, inconsolable thing, and Ventus—

Vanitas curls his fingers into his sleeves. No, he needs to know more. He needs to know what Ventus is doing, where he's staying. He needs to know it all. ]

It's too far away.

[ And they would have to pass by the water. Vanitas isn't sure he can whether the fear of that on top of everything else, right now. ]

The Invincible is closer.

[reposer]

[ It's Vanitas and so Ventus is automatically expecting rejection at every turn; not that it stops him from offering anyway, clearly. That he's humored him so far with decent responses is plenty amazing (and telling) enough. So when Vanitas tenses up and pauses, seemingly put on guard by a simple offer made in good faith, Ventus doesn't think he'll let him help. He's prepared to force the issue because although their history is a bad one, it still wouldn't feel right to let Vanitas go off on his own in the state he's in. Plus he wants to know.

Except it doesn't come to that because Vanitas just continues to be full of surprises.

Ventus nods and at least 'Invincible' sounds vaguely familiar enough despite him being so new here. He glances around to try and figure out where his aimless wandering has taken him and to more properly orientate himself, spinning on his heel to face the direction that he thinks it's in. ]

That's— that way, right? I just got here so I don't really know where everything is yet.

[ Under normal circumstances it would probably be a terrible idea, but: ]

You'll have to lead the way.

[evulsed]

[ I just got here. The tension of the moment bleeds out, just a little bit, or at least in Vanitas' experience of it. He scowls. Stupid. Of course he just got here— Vanitas knows that. He might have known even earlier, too, if he hadn't been drunk on sleeping. He whirls, gives his back to Vanitas in an incredibly foolish display of vulnerability. But then again, this isn't the first time he's seen the back of this boy's head and had to needle him to get his attention back.

This... is a little different. Vanitas never would have imagined a moment where Ventus would ask him to lead the way.

The ground is cold underneath his bare feet. Vanitas can feel all the stones of the unpaved pathway under the balls, biting into the arches. He levers his weight forward to minimize the jagged sensation and finally walks toward Ventus. When he draws up next to him, Vanitas pauses and looks at him up close— the gold of his eyes carving over his face. His striking blue eyes, the soft curve of his jaw, that irritating, curious expression on his face.

He's real. Vanitas knows he must be, but he only barely prevents himself from reaching out to touch him to prove it. A heartbeat passes between them and Vanitas tightens his grip on the cardigan, then starts forward with a cursory: ]

Don't fall behind.

[reposer]

[ Vanitas joins his side after a moment and Ventus glances over at him, eyes roaming all over his bare face now that he can see it up close much in the same way Vanitas studies him in turn. It remains strange and somewhat unsettling to see him so exposed, but it's fascinating too. Stranger still is to be standing side by side, about to move somewhere together. After Vanitas' staunch refusal last time, Ventus wasn't sure it would ever be possible. But here they are.

He's glad for it. For however long this truce — if that's what this could be called — lasts, he'll take it over fighting any day. After the near-endless battling in the Realm of Darkness and ultimately losing, he's so very sick of it. ]

I won't.

[ He reassures as Vanitas starts walking. If anything, he's more worried about Vanitas being able to make the journey than he is about falling behind. At least he's wearing shoes. He adjusts his pace accordingly, sticking to Vanitas' side and walking only half a step behind so that his other half is still the one leading the way.

From both Vanitas' appearance and his knowledge it's more than obvious he's been here a while. The thing is that Ventus has no clue for how long that might have been, he can't even begin to guess. The Realm of Darkness distorts all sense of time and he doesn't even know how long he was in there before coming here. So he can only ask: ]

How long have you been here?

[evulsed]

[ It's not a long walk, but neither is it a quick one. Ventus had been wandering through the dark pathway that leads, eventually, to the bike shop and the school. If he'd continued wandering aimlessly, he might have even ended up downtown. This isn't the darkest area of Beacon, but it's certainly one of them within the main areas. People don't come down this way very often unless it's for a reason.

Mostly, it means the only light is from the moon above and the twin bob of their lanterns. Ventus' cast a green glow all over, warm and bright. Vanitas' is stronger than it had been a few days ago, but the black flame means that the light he shines is like a whisper next to Ventus. Together they still manage to light the path ahead. Vantias keeps his eyes slightly down, just to keep an eye on where he's walking. Stepping into an unfortunate icy puddle wasn't high on his list of priorities when already his toes were starting to go numb.

How long has it been? While he'd been more than capable of keeping track in a place where the sun rose and fell, dictating the days, it was much more difficult here. Time didn't distend the way it did in the Realm of Darkness, but Vanitas has had no reason to keep track of the passage of it. There were rumors they were on a limit, that the World Eaters were slowly closing in, but he's never cared too much about their inevitable end.

Or rather, he hadn't until recently. ]

Almost a year.

[ That sounds about right. He's sure Riku would know the exact number. He seems to be keen on note taking, that guy. ]

[reposer]

[ As odd a company as Vanitas makes by his side, Ventus can't help feeling a touch comforted by the fact he's no longer roaming around alone and that he has a familiar presence with him. Not that Ventus, for all that they've been opposites all this time and for all the bad things his darker half has done, would wish this place on Vanitas. He would have rather had peace for the both of them, but apparently that is just meant to be kept out of their grasp.

He'll have to make do with tiny moments of peace instead and right now feels like one; walking by the combined dark and green glow of their lanterns, the most amiable they've ever been. He just wishes they could have had this when they were alive, that Vanitas had understood sooner. So many things could have gone and been different.

But he supposes there has to be some bright side to all this and Ventus will take it.

His breath leaves him in a startled exhale at the answer he gets. Figuring that Vanitas must have come here after fading in the Keyblade Graveyard, that means he must have been in the Realm of Darkness for almost just as long. ]

Has it been that long...

[ The words are muttered to himself. Of course it had felt much longer (but also shorter sometimes) than that, but he'd hoped not as much time would have passed outside. So much for that. He has to wonder what he must have missed in the Realm of Light in that time though it's an entirely moot point by now. There's no real use wondering when he'll likely never find out if he's lucky and none of the others show up here.

Better to focus on the here and now and who he's with instead of who he has left behind. ]

You've changed a lot.

[evulsed]

[ Vanitas glances sidelong at him, underneath his eyelashes, like he's trying to hide the fact from his lighter half that he's looking. He'd like to refute that statement, just on the basis of being obtuse, but Ventus isn't wrong. Even just on a physical level. It's been a long and painful adjustment process, even just starting with Vanitas learning what it meant to actually need to eat.

Which, it turns out, is one of his favourite passtimes. ]

How would you know? [ He retorts a little archly, dodging the yes or no question Ventus hasn't even asked. ] You've been here for five minutes.

[ Though he knows the answer on some level already. Every other time they've come into contact Vanitas has immediately started a brawl, and if nothing else, that would stand out as a shining beacon of how different he is right now. They aren't fighting. In fact, they're having a civil conversation. Vanitas hasn't even really leaned into the name-calling yet. He doubts anyone would believe it, if Ventus tried to tell anyone back in their world. ]

[reposer]

[ Ventus breathes out a laugh, soft and not nearly as bright as it normally would be, but it's a laugh that's nearly startled out of him all the same. Anyone who's known Vanitas for more than five seconds back home would be able to tell how much he's changed here. They'd have to be deaf and blind not to notice. ]

Because it's kind of really obvious? You haven't even tried to attack me.

[ He points out, casting a knowing look his other half's way that's tinged with mild amusement at the not-so-subtle attempt at dodging the matter.

As burning with curiosity and questions as he is, he knows he can't make Vanitas talk about what's changed him, but it feels pertinent to point out anyway, to draw attention to it if only to make it known that it's been noticed — I see you — and that whatever progress Vanitas has made is appreciated even if he won't acknowledge or talk about it himself. ]

I like this better.

[ Ventus admits with no hesitation whatsoever even if he might be jinxing himself and drawing out Vanitas' contrary nature by saying so. ]

[evulsed]

[ It shouldn't grind on him as heavily as it does. I like this better. Like Ventus even has a say in who or what Vanitas has done or become. Only, that isn't entirely right, because he's always been a reflection of this boy at his side. Vanitas was honest as far as he understood the world when he stated he was defined by Ventus and by Sora. He wouldn't even exist without them, would he? No matter how long he may have been the Darkness sleeping in Ventus' heart. The truth is that some small part of him here's it and connects it to every insistence Riku has ever made that he and Vanitas are friends now. ]

Consider yourself on probation.

[ It's the first real threat he's issued since laying eyes on Ventus, just another example of how far he's come from the shadow in the desert. But for all that... what Vanitas is hasn't changed. He still gets a perverse glee out of finding the wound and pushing on it, hard, in other people. Interacting with him still has a 50/50 shot of turning into a fight.

Not weeks ago he'd tried to kill Riku, despite the fact they share a living space, in a fit of monstrous jealousy.

He tries not to look at Ventus, trying to focus on the light of the bonfire becoming stronger as they had back to Beacon proper, but can't seem to help himself sneaking a sidelong look. It's still hard to believe that he's really here. ]

[reposer]

[ It's supposed to be a threat of sorts, but compared to the overt ones Vanitas has made in the past, it's hard for Ventus to truly take it as one. Besides, in this place Vanitas doesn't have anything to threaten him with, Aqua and Terra aren't here and Ventus is already dead; he doesn't have anything left to lose anymore. Not to mention the supposed threat itself bemuses him because... ]

Not sure for what, but okay.

[ All the same, he humors Vanitas despite not knowing what he's on "probation" for. (Shouldn't Vanitas be the one on probation with him, all things considered?) If it keeps them from fighting then fine, he'll go along with whatever will keep this tentative truce between them in place. He never wanted to fight Vanitas in the first place anyway, it was always his darker half forcing his hand one way or the other. He'll gladly take the respite for however long it lasts.

The bonfire up ahead briefly diverts his attention, the relief of the warm glow a palpable thing to him the closer they get and it's distracting. If he wasn't such a restless spirit, he would have stuck close by it since being near it makes him feel better. But curiosity and his drive to stay in motion are stronger still and so wandering off into the dark was an inevitability for him.

It doesn't hold his focus for more than a good few seconds when Vanitas is currently the infinitely more interesting subject by far with his drastically changed appearance and it's impossible to look away for long, gaze drawn back as if by some irresistible magnetic pull. Vanitas is being very agreeable for... well, Vanitas and so of course Ventus is curious to find out how far he can push that. Sure, they're walking together to get somewhere inside, but that's no guarantee for answers and neither of them owe the other any. So: ]

Will you tell me what happened to you?

[evulsed]

[ Vanitas sighs loudly, his breath rising in a cloud in front of him, like he's annoyed by the questions and finds Ventus childish. In many ways he does. His understanding of his other half is as surface level as Ventus knows him, not that Vanitas is entirely aware of this fact. When they met, Ventus was wide eyed and naive. He has no reason to really think it's any different now, despite how ignorant that might be. But his understanding of the world is still very black and white.

He's only slowly learning that theres a grey area in between.

Hugging his arms closer around his torso, Vanitas decides that Ventus is only asking after what had happened recently. There's far too much to go over otherwise, and Vanitas isn't interested in having that kind of conversation anyway. Whatever connections he's forged, purposeful or otherwise, are ones he jealously covets. ]

I tried to leave. The spirits can get into my Corridors of Darkness.

[ He shoots Ventus a nasty look, like this is somehow his fault. Mostly, Vanitas is still annoyed by the fact he hadn't succeeded in his personal mission to cross the lake and find a World Eater. ]

Just because we're in this realm doesn't mean you can't be hurt or die again. Let that lantern go out and you're toast.

[ He's not sure why he's telling Ventus this. Anyone else could show him the ropes, give him the warnings. For all intents and purposes if he went off and died it should be no loss for Vanitas — only, he knows what will happen if Ventus is gone, now. Because he felt it when Sora's tether to Beacon was snapped. Selfishly, he doesn't want to feel that again. ]

Dr. Solis can bring you back, but not if she can't find you, or if your lantern is beyond repair.

[reposer]

[ It's not entirely what Ventus had been asking after, but that he gets any kind of answer at all is satisfactory enough when he'd been expecting none after that put-upon sigh. Not even the nasty look he gets as if he's to blame for Vanitas' unfortunate encounter ruins it when he has new knowledge to absorb. It tells him a lot about the spirits in this place if they can follow Vanitas into his corridors and seriously injure him. For all that he's beaten Vanitas in their past fights, Ventus knows how strong his other half is and wounding him to this point is no small feat.

He'll know to be more careful.

Especially with what Vanitas goes on to tell him. It's even more surprisingly helpful despite the fact that it fills him with many more questions — who is Dr. Solis? How can you die when you're already dead? — but he knows better than to (immediately) ask. He doesn't find himself questioning the lantern bit, weirdly enough. He'd felt it was important the moment he held it and hadn't thought to examine the feeling all that closely with everything else that occupied his attention.

The significance of Vanitas telling him all this isn't lost on Ventus and so: ]

Thank you for telling me.

[ He says it sincerely, the corner of his mouth lifting in a lopsided smile that's a little distant but true nonetheless. He pauses after, hesitating for a tiny moment as he stares sideways at Vanitas' hunched frame and the peek of a bandage under the cardigan he can see; the obvious vulnerability keeps snagging his attention like a loose thread caught on an edge. It leads to a tentative offer. ]

Do you need a heal?

[evulsed]

[ He snorts, the sound wholly ungraceful and extremely dismissive. He doesn't want Ventus' thanks. Some knee jerk part of him almost wants to take it back, just so that the other boy won't think he's trying to do him any favors. He'd told him for his own sake, he reasons. He isnt Ventus' keeper and he has no intention to be but —

He remembers the hollow feeling. He remembers what Sora said, that he'd felt that first death, when Vanitas had been dismembered by the spirits in the forest. He gives a shiver that can't entirely be attributed to the cold.

Luckily he's distracted by the question, and Vanitas actually gives Ventus his full attention for the first time since they started walking. The expression on his face is caught somewhere on it's way between surprise and incredulity — and then his brow furrows. ]

Do you think I'm stupid? I tried that. And so did Riku.

[ Talking about Riku feels suddenly taboo, like he's given something away to Ventus without meaning to, some vital piece of information. Or like by speaking his name he's invoking the other boy. They don't share that kind of connection, not even close, but Riku is something to him now. He looks quickly away. ]

Magic doesn't work right here. Come on, hurry up.

[ The latter is tacked on like a distraction, and Vanitas hurries forward into the square where the bonfire casts warm light all over, making a beeline for the Invincible. ]

[reposer]

[ The reactions he gets are somewhat expected, both rude dismissal and the surprised look alike come as no surprise. Ventus knows it's a strange thing to offer someone who, by all accounts and experiences, is an enemy. After everything that's happened between them, he has no real reason to want to help Vanitas especially after his previous attempts to reach out had been rebuffed. If anything, he should probably want to hurt Vanitas if only for all the times he threatened his friends.

But Ventus takes no enjoyment in his other half's suffering and he never truly outright hated him despite everything. (At worst, it's been a cold indifference that he's treated Vanitas with.) Besides, seeing him so weak unsettles him more than he would like to admit out loud. Even in defeat Vanitas had never looked like this. If there is something Ventus can do to alleviate it, he feels compelled to try. Not being as versatilely skilled as Aqua is in magic, a meager Cura is honestly all he can offer though.

Of course it's one that Vanitas doesn't accept or decline gracefully. ]

That's not— [ "what I meant by that." He means to say in an immediate swell of frustration except the wind is knocked right out of his sails because... ] Riku?

[ The name actually stops him in his tracks, feet coming to an abrupt halt as he's stunned by the implication of hearing that name in this place. Magic doesn't work right here, Vanitas goes on to say and it only registers faintly, the importance diminished in the face of the unwanted revelation.

Vanitas hurries on ahead and Ventus goes from stillness to a sudden burst of motion as he moves to catch up with an urgency and panic that doesn't entirely feel like they might be his own. Ventus doesn't care to make the distinction right now. All he cares about is getting Vanitas to stop and explain, reaching out with every intention of catching his other half by the elbow to do so as he nears. ]

Wait! What do you mean?

[evulsed]

[ The Invincible isn't that far away, though Vanitas hasn't been thinking very much on what they'll do once they get there. He's not actually sure if there are rooms available, but he thinks he should probably have some clothes in the room he's been squatting on just because he doesn't want to give up the novelty of having his own space. It's probably stupid, since he barely spends any time there, but he's reluctant to give it up.

He'd never had his own bedroom before.

It couldn't be that simple, though; things between him and Ventus never had been, and probably never would be. If Vanitas takes the time to stop and think (which, he isn't) about everything that's changed in the past eight months or so, the world he'd known has completely been turned on it's head, and Ventus being here can only herald new, life altering realizations. He never imagined he would have any kind of attachments to anyone, that he could feel anything other than hatred and pain. But Beacon has proved so much of his understanding of his existence wrong, evolved it into something different.

Ventus grabs him by the elbow and Vanitas whirls, yanking his arm out of that grip with too much vehemence, but still turning around to face him. It draws him to a full stop, his arms loose at his sides like he's ready for a fight. It makes the cardigan fall open, a black frame around his bared torso. He can feel the place the other boy's fingers folded on him through the cardigan like a sunburn. He snarls: ]

What don't you understand? That Riku is here at all? Did you really believe Riku would just stay behind while his precious Sora was lost?

You know he isn't the only one who came here.

[ His tone has taken on a nasty shift, like he's purposefully trying to hurt Ventus, now, and this is familiar. This rising swell of Darkness inside of him. He lifts his right hand, counting off the names. ]

Kairi. That Replica Riku calling himself Dawn. Sora, too, before he took off when Kairi disappeared. Number i — Xion — decades ago. Now, it's Naminé, and some guy from another time with some pieces of Sora inside his heart.

What hurts you more, Ventus? That your friends are dead? Or that you, once again, could do nothing to help save them?

[reposer]

[ Vanitas yanks away so hard and fast that Ventus barely has time to register he touched him at all and the aggressive move has him instinctively shifting his weight to his back foot, coming very close to automatically slipping into his ready stance. The tension turns the line of his shoulders rigid, though Ventus is paying none of it any mind when he's gotten Vanitas to face him and terrible answers are quick to follow and do absolutely nothing to assuage the dawning horror setting in.

Vanitas isn't wrong. It's not unthinkable for Riku to be here. Riku who, for all that he'd kept calm and steadfast in his belief in Sora, is the one most desperate to find him. But part of the reason why they decided to go into the Realm of Darkness was so that Riku wouldn't have to. Aqua had argued again and again that someone would have to and Ventus had been the first to cave and agree. It hadn't taken long for Terra to concede after even though neither of them wanted Aqua to have to set foot in that place ever again. They went to spare anyone else the struggle and pain, because Aqua knew what would be waiting for them there and at least together they could face it.

So much for that.

Worse yet is that Vanitas goes on to list more familiar names and Ventus feels his stomach sinking fast, icy tendrils of dread taking hold. If shock didn't overtake him so wholly, he would have had the childish urge to clasp his hands over his ears. So many people that he knows who shouldn't have been here at all and knowing that Sora was right here only to slip away again— Ventus' face pales and his fists clench by his sides, muscles locking so tight that it sends a fine tremble through his whole frame as Vanitas tears into him with words, effectively honing in on what hurts the most.

It's the most familiar thing his other half has done so far. ]

You're lying.

[ Ventus knows he's not and the tight tone of his words sounds feeble to his own ears despite how he manages to spit them out, but he would rather believe that over the truth when it brings nothing but a deep well of despair. ]

[evulsed]

Am I?

[ He asks it plainly, the caustic edge if his voice smoothing into something stoic and drawling. Looking at Ventus, he can see that this information has hit the target, a knife right in his ribs and twisted up into his heart. The cruel part of him, the one that hates not just Ventus but the world at large, his self satisfied by the response.

Everyone should hurt. And Ventus deserves it just as much, if not more, in his mind for getting all the things Vanitas never had.

In reality this place has probably put them on a more even footing than they ever had been before. There is no war to fight, most of the people they know aren't here. Vanitas has a handful of people he cares for, that could be weaponized against him, and he's more human than he ever was in their own universe. This Darkness doesn't benefit him and it doesn't degrade those it draws in. All of them are equal in death.

Despite the unkind way he speaks, Vanitas doesn't actually look like he's gloating. ]

You can tell yourself that, but everything I've said is true. Ask Riku if you don't believe me.

[reposer]

[ It would be easier if Vanitas kept taunting him and pressing maliciously on all the things that hurt the most because it would mean Ventus could switch to anger and let that carry him forward, keep the despair at bay a little longer to get swept up in rage instead. He would feel justified in punching Vanitas — whether he's hurt or not — as his hands kind of itch with the urge to lash out and do so. But it's not what Vanitas does. Although he's not being nice in the slightest, he doesn't look like he's particularly delighting in it or mocking Ventus.

He doesn't want to believe Vanitas, but that doesn't change the fact that he does and he can neither fool himself or his other half. Why would Vanitas lie when he can wield the truth expertly like a weapon?

Ventus' shoulders sink and his expression shutters, obvious disbelief and dismay bleeding away into something unreadable as his gaze falls to the ground, eyes going distant like he's retreating into himself. His voice is a quiet, toneless murmur when he speaks again, as blank and far-away as the look on his face. ]

They should have been safe. We went so no one else would have to put themselves in danger.

[ He died for nothing, it feels like.

In the end he couldn't make a difference at all. ]

[evulsed]

[ This time, Vanitas does laugh. The sound bursts out of him, like a bird startled out of his throat. He puts his head back to let it loose, just for a second, before resetting and looking at Ventus with a new sort of animation in his expression. The yellow of his eyes glitter, the smile on his face is mean and without humor. ]

You really haven't changed. You'll always be that naive little boy stuck on your perfect little island with your perfect little family.

[ He gestures wide with one arm, at Beacon as a whole. The ever present darkness of night, the pinpricks of light as some of it's scant residents move about in the dim. This place was large, and by contrast, there aren't very many of them. If Vanitas puts his mind to it, he doesn't have to see anyone for days. The more locations they discover, the more they all spread out. ]

Sacrificing yourself for others is pointless, but you just can't see it. You're just like Sora, ready to throw your meaningless life away in the hope that it might do something.

[ He points at Ventus, at the middle of his chest; it's clear he's on a roll now. ]

Did shattering our heart even change anything before? Terra and Aqua still fell to Darkness, and you slept through the whole thing until I came and woke you up. You're useless, Ventus. You always will be.

[ When he spreads both arms, the cardigan hangs open under his arms; it's too big on him, because the young man it belongs to has inches of height on him, baring his whole naked chest to the bonfire light. Even under the bandaging, the scars stand in sharp relief. There's a splash in the middle, a keloid in the shape of a star, when he'd stupidly taken a blow for someone who wasn't even in this town anymore and the boy healed him with his Light, incompatible with his Darkness. It looks like a target, the way he holds both palms open. ]

And now you're dead. You're stuck in the Darkness with us.

So much for the power of Light.

[reposer]

[ Vanitas laughs, mean and cutting, and Ventus reluctantly drags his gaze back up to look at his other half, already knowing exactly what he'll find there. It's the expression he's seen the most on Vanitas' face, a thing that's familiar in an old and tired way much like the animated spiel Vanitas launches into.

Ventus is quiet as he watches and listens in a manner close to detached.

Perhaps only seconds ago the scathing words would have succeeded in getting a proper rise out of him and get him to attack, now they do nothing but leave him cold. Vanitas already has done his worst by giving him the information about the death of his friends, nothing he says to point out Ventus' perceived flaws is worse than that. He's not saying anything that counts as new information to Ventus.

There's a lot he could dissect and argue: that his "family" was never perfect when the father figure tried to kill half of the family, that his sacrifice was worth it for even just a slim chance at helping them even if it didn't in the end, that he doesn't tout himself as some grand warrior of Light when Vanitas is the one who clings so steadfastly to the dichotomy. The thing is, he doesn't want to. He feels too tired and numb, he can't even bring himself to roll his eyes. He only wants a few things.

He wants Terra. He wants Aqua.

He wants to go back to sleep to escape into the warmth and safety of a kind boy's sweet dreams.

He can't have any of those. All he's stuck with is Vanitas, as delirious looking and sounding as ever albeit changed in ways that are beyond Ventus. He doesn't even know if the scars put on display by Vanitas' gesturing are new or old. But then, he never really knew Vanitas beyond this kind of antagonistic back and forth, did he?

Rather than throw out any of the arguments he has, it's with eerie calm and stillness that he looks at his darker half and simply asks: ]

And what difference have you made, Vanitas?

[ They're one and the same. If Ventus is useless, then so is Vanitas. Their very existence is because of someone else's mad grab for power and ultimately they did not fulfill the purpose they were created for either. They're equals in their failures. ]

[evulsed]

[ Despite his words, despite his perceived conviction, not everything is the same as it was. Even before coming here, the rules that dictated Ventus and Vanitas were already starting to warp. The person Vanitas had met, too broken to raise his voice, had grown a backbone and developed into his own person. He found wants and needs, people he wanted to protect, his own desires. Like a foil, Vanitas didn't grow at all. Static, like a still, black ocean that the world moved around, desperately clinging to the dichotomy of Dark and Light, Bad and Good, because he had nothing else to show him any other way.

Because if that wasn't all he was, then what was the point of any of it? Why did he even exist?

Vanitas finds the soft spots and digs in with the wickedness of a switchblade, prying open the carapaces to find the vulnerabilities underneath. Others are supposed to react a certain way, fight back. Shout and rail and come at him swinging — but the boy that raises his eyes to look him in the face, standing across from him, isn't the fiery tempered one Vanitas had goaded into battle by threatening the choke the life out of his friends.

It's the one that let his arms go loose at his sides and calmly said, Okay.

Calm and still, like an ocean, so much deeper than it ever appears at first glance. Something about it beats the wind completely out of his sails, and Vanitas drops both hands back to his sides. They don't fold into fists, just hang there. What difference have you made? Vanitas watches him evenly, mirroring back that inhuman, eerie impassivity. Something far, far older than either of their young faces would suggest. ]

None.

[ He finally says. What difference had he made? He never cared to. Even making that x-Blade that Xehanort so desired had never been for him. Vanitas only ever wanted it for himself, to stop the pain. But what goes unsaid is true: Vanitas had never succeeded in that, and when he finally laid eyes on that weapon, it hadn't changed how he felt inside anyway. A waste of everything.

He turns around, giving Ventus his back as he resumes his walk back up to the Invincible. ]

[reposer]

[ It's the best way of dealing with Vanitas he's found yet: to not rise to the bait, to not budge when shoved, to capitulate when his darker half is expecting resistance. When Ventus is so sick and tired of the constant (and needless, in his mind) struggle between them, it's an easy thing to do. He's not as naive as he used to be, he's grown as a person, too. It might not be as immediately obvious as with Vanitas, but there are things Ventus knows now that he did not before. Like loss and grief. He's matured, in his own way, and it feels easier now to reach for the stillness — ancient and unknowable — inside of him.

He watches Vanitas go lax and in that very moment where they're merely staring at each other he already knows his other half will fold. And Vanitas does, conceding without fuss.

At least I tried, Ventus could say. He could rub it in the way Vanitas wouldn't hesitate doing so. He doesn't. He's made his point well enough and Vanitas gets it. He's adequately flipped the script on him and got him to back off (for now) and that's all Ventus wants when he can't have what he desires most.

Besides, Vanitas is already moving on.

Ventus hesitates for a beat or two before, at a lack of knowing what else to do, he somberly and quietly follows him. He wants to know what happened to his fallen friends, but he knows better than to ask Vanitas about them. He'll have to ask Riku later. For now he'll just make sure that Vanitas will be okay, walk him back like he said he would. ]

[evulsed]

[ He could have, but the dig may not have had the effect Ventus wanted; not the way at least I have some had, what feels almost like a lifetime ago now. Still, some part of him wonders if Ventus will even keep following him; there was a kind of finality to that exchange that could have dictated they go their separate ways.

For all this, Vanitas has almost forgotten the reason they're together at all is because Ventus had offered to walk him back to his home. Always trying to help, sticking his nose in where it doesn't belong; it's something all these heroes have in common. Just because they're dead and the darkness prevails doesn't change what they are... and it keeps the veneer of dichotomy up. So long as all these lightbearers act that way, Vanitas will have something to be a foil again.

The door jingles, a bell tinkling overhead as he steps inside. The immediate warmth stings all his bare skin and makes his freezing cold feet tingle, makes him curl his toes against the floorboards as gooseflesh breaks out all over him with a single, visible shiver. His eyes go to the bar, which until recently had been staffed by a teetering tower of small spirits that would hand out questionable drinks. Vanitas pauses for a moment at the now-empty space. It wasn't long ago the aurora happened and the spirits had thrown themselves into the Light, destroying their bodies on impact.

Diverting his attention, he heads for the staircase. ]