subdivided | week eight: mingle

week eight: mingle

Week Eight
9 in Competition

As the sun rises on Monday morning, all participants will find themselves awakening with a sense of purpose. Regardless of where they slept the night before, they’ll find themselves compelled to return to the main meeting hall first thing in the morning.

Approaching the hall, however, they will find three large, swirling masses grey in color looming near the sakura tree. These swirls cannot be approached just yet, but seem to be locked and waiting for something more. Later in the day, if those in the village approach the third mass they will find themselves in a version of their home world. This world is completely void of people, but seems to be just as they last remember it. No darkness will be found in this world as well.

As the last member of the village enters the hall, they will find Lune and Sol at the head of the room. They don't speak immediately, but wait for all to settle.

Welcome to your week eight mingle! We have now hit endgame week.

In addition, ensure that all of your week seven private conversations were reported on the page. If you'll be taking anything from locations, please report that as well.

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[It's quiet in Twilight Town, just like it always is during this time of day. The sun hangs in its perpetual half-risen half-set state and the train below gently chugs along the track heading toward Sunset Terrace.

From this high, he can see everything. The light breeze is enough to register the chill as the deep red splashes on his clothes begin to dry, and he allows himself a moment to think.

The mission for today was completed. His job was done for the day, and it was time for after work ice cream with his friends. He had finished what he had to do, but it seems as though he's arrived too early. His friends aren't here yet.

...was he supposed to buy the ice cream today? No. He bought yesterday, so it's someone else's turn.

And so he sits and he waits, the ticking of the clock counting the minutes as they pass by and he keeps his arms around his knees. He ignores the way his hands stain the light khaki of his pants and he keeps his face tucked into his knees to regain his focus.

They'd come soon. They had to.]

[ Axel is the one who leads them here, climbing up the steps of the clocktower. He'd seen Roxas once they were down there, but... he'd known beforehand that's where he would be. That's where they always were in their hearts, weren't they? It's home.

It still doesn't prepare him to see Roxas sitting there, curled in on himself, covered in... It'll all be over soon. Like a bad dream. That's all Axel can keep telling himself.

He throws a look to his companion before going to stand next to Roxas, holding out ice cream for all of them. ]

Here you go. The icing on the cake.

[ it feels empty to say it right now. ]

[ this should feel uncomfortably familiar to xion.

but, for once, it doesn't, because it hasn't happened for her yet. and even if it had, the only other witness to what happened atop the clock tower the last time she'd be in twilight town is right there... and he wouldn't have even remembered it.

she never will get to the bottom of this timeline thing. she guesses she doesn't need to, after this.

when axel offers the familiar blue bar, she hesitates, but... takes it, in the end, before sitting down next to roxas. it wouldn't make any sense to let it go to waste now, to let it melt under the perpetually setting sun. ]

. . . The sunset is always so pretty from up here, isn't it?

Thank you. [It's to Axel even if he doesn't look up immediately, only lifting his head just slightly to hold out a hand and take the ice cream bar. He pays no mind to the fact that his fingers leave behind a small streak on Axel's hand, nor does he pay mind to the way Xion seems to pause.

They settle nearby, and he remains curled into himself as he holds onto the strangely-blue treat. There's a strange silence that falls over the three of them, and even when he takes a bite it's small and just enough to start in on it.]

Yeah. The sunset always looks best when we're here. Axel once said that it's because of the way that light travels. Red is the one that travels the farthest, so it's the brightest. Right? [That's not. Quite what Axel said, but it's close, and it's obvious what's on his mind.]

...both of you have come really far, too.

Edited 2019-08-01 02:53 (UTC)

[ he can't bring himself to mind the bloody streak on his fingers or the fact that roxas gets it wrong, settling in on his far side as he looks away. He wants to say something, to keep that illusion of everything being normal going for a little while longer, but he can't. He just can't.

He takes a bite of it, and he tells himself his throat is closing up because it's a little too salty today. No other reason. ]

... Yeah. I guess so. [ it's quiet ] An' you've been with us every step of the way.

[ it's important that he knows, axel thinks. ]

[ despite her having accepted the dessert from axel, she has yet to touch it, merely holding it in her clasped hands. she's about to start speaking, but she realizes she made a silly mistake—sitting on the very left means both roxas and axel are on her blinded side, which means she has to turn almost all the way to the right to see them.

it's so easy to forget things, especially little ones like that.

when she finally finds her voice again, it's quieter than usual. if the town's usual hubbub had been present, it might have been enough to drown out her words, but in the almost unnatural silence of this replicated twilight town, it's impossible for them to be missed. ]

This isn't how it was supposed to be. This isn't how I wanted the three of us to be together.

[ "the time i spent on that clock tower was real." she grips the popsicle stick tighter.

is it? ]

[Things like that...they agitate him. Everything about the way the universe has treated everyone here irritates him and makes him wonder about the universe he's served.

"If it's the universe playing a joke, I have to find a way to stop working with the universe and stop it from carrying out its plans."

"But at the same time...I don't know. I can't help but wonder if this is just helping along what the universe wants us to do, or if it's still really wrong. That's crazy, isn't it?"

Ice cream drips off of his own popsicle stick, a small drop falling from the height of the tower as he contemplates those words.]

You were never supposed to come. We had time. If I had done more, or if I had tried harder, maybe the universe wouldn't have needed us to play this part and bring you here. None of this would have happened. It wasn't good enough.

[He finally looks up, yellow eyes staring straight ahead.] I want our life back. I want to be together, but not like this. We have to go somewhere else now.

[ Except for Roxas blaming himself... Are either of them saying things Axel hasn't ever thought before? Even that part is only reserved for Axel himself instead.

That's why... he looks towards both of them. Even if Xion might not see, even if Roxas won't look... Axel can't look away. He owes them that much. ]

We'll get that life. The three of us... We'll always be together. [ he puts a hand to his heart, uncaring of the streak of red coloring it. ] This is just a blip.

[ he has to believe it. for their sake and his own. ]

Edited 2019-08-01 03:58 (UTC)

[ axel's words make her heart twinge. the memory of the picture he'd shown her on his gummiphone, with the three of them happy and smiling, rises to the forefront of her mind. it takes her everything she has not to start crying, to choke back the salty tears; maybe that's why she has yet to touch her ice cream.

it's when she sees roxas's eyes that the gravity of the situation fully sinks in. she'd been able to see past it with the blood he'd brushed against axel's hand, but those yellow irises are something she can't ignore. ]

Roxas, you're...

[ ... it's begun. ]

[It's begun. He doesn't speak immediately, listening to Axel's words even as his expression dips into a light frown. Together...that was the point, wasn't it? To always be together.

He came back for his friends. His friends have sacrificed so much, and even now they still have to experience more pain before this is over. Why can't they just make it stop?]

...I want to go home. [This isn't the first time he's said this to Axel, at least, but it's calm and an affirmation of his ultimate wish. To settle this, and to go back to the life they earned. There's a pause, and he looks at his own hands as if noticing they're still dirty.] I did my job. The numbers are growing smaller now. It's almost over, and then we can go home and find Sora and everything can be okay again.

Axel promised.

[ Axel looks at them both. He did, didn't he? He promised them a lot of things. He wonders... if he'll be able to keep them. ]

... Yeah. Once it's all over, everything'll be okay. [ he wishes they could be okay now. more than anything. ] Roxas. You know what we're here to do, don't you?

[ if they could just stay here forever and watch the sunset... but that's never been an option. there's something they have to do, first. ]

...

[ there's nothing xion can add, at least not verbally. so she reaches out and covers roxas's hand with both of her own—if he'll let her—then squeezes. she's well aware that the sea salt ice cream she's also holding is melting, but she doesn't really care. a streak of baby blue mixes with the crimson already on roxas's.

of what spills onto their linked hands, which is saltier: the dripping ice cream, or xion's tears? ]

Edited 2019-08-01 21:02 (UTC)

[For a short moment, it almost seems like Roxas isn't going to respond. Xion's hand is on his and he stares at it briefly before he rotates his wrist to hold her hand. The ice cream is cold and it's kind of a mess mixed in with someone else's blood, but it's...fine, maybe. The job is done.

He should be proud that he's still doing something to help, isn't he?

"Don't tell me you're gonna give up now. You're still you. I thought you could use the reminder."

...he's not himself anymore. He knows that, at least, but he knows his job as a guide is to make sure to see this to an end. Axel's right, but what if he doesn't...want to...]

...I'm not ready yet. [He knows that it's what has to happen, and someone had asked him what he wanted to do. Be purified, be revived, go forward and live his life. But there's no Mikazuki and he wonders where he is, and the last amount of hope that he had to find another solution has evaporated and left the moment he delivered the first body of the week elsewhere.]

[ He doesn't want to force him. And that's unfair-- everyone has to do their part. It has to end soon. Axel knows that.

But... ]

We can't give you forever. [ He lifts up an arm to ruffle Roxas's hair, but it's a lot more gentle than he'd usually be. There's nothing he can do to comfort either of them for real, or himself. They have to do this. But... ] But we've still got some time.

[ He can't bring himself to care if it's true or not. He looks towards the sunset. ]

We shouldn't do it up here, anyway.

[ roxas's words hit xion like a punch to her stomach. she knows how he feels, understands that hesitation even if their friend isn't completely himself; she's been there just days before they all got sucked into this mess.

"well, the answer you come up with can't just be right for you. it has to be one that works best for everybody. you and your friends, and everyone else."

...

she nods when axel makes that comment. her voice quivers, even cracks a little, but she manages to mostly coherently ask: ]

Will you come with us? Maybe not... all the way back to the beach, but back down, in front of the station, at least?

[There's zero resistance to the hair ruffle but even when they both ask those questions and say those things, his grip on Xion's hand grows tighter. Mikazuki has warned them that they can't shy away from the truth, but why couldn't the truth be easier?

...he leans forward a little, looking down at the ground and seemingly considering it.]

The numbers have to go down. [Still focused on his mission, he can't even pretend that he and Mikazuki aren't a part of those numbers. Perhaps this wasn't the plan he had intended, but does it matter, as long as his last moments are with the people he's been fighting for this whole time? His voice is quiet and he doesn't move yet.]

...can we finish our ice cream first? [After that...then he'll get back to work.]

[ Finish the ice cream first... It's melted a little for all of them, hasn't it? The ice cream dripping down like a countdown to the end.

(But it's not the end. He has to believe that.)

He throws a look at Xion that he's not sure she'll see before nodding. ]

'Course, buddy. I didn't bring them up here for no reason, you know. [ He can't quite get the tone right, but it's fine. He was never gonna lighten the mood right now. ] We'll eat our ice cream, and then... We'll go.

[ Ah, and isn't that familiar, too? He never did figure out if any of it was real or not. It felt real, both times. Maybe that's all that matters. Those feelings they've shared... they've always been the most important thing to him. ]

[ she does indeed catch axel's glance, and returns it with a tiny nod of her own. letting one of her hands leave roxas's to bring her bar up to her lips, she takes the smallest of nibbles. bitter is never a taste she thought she'd associate with her favorite flavor, but...

for some reason, perhaps in order to desperately remind herself she's with her best friends, she attempts to put on a friendly, cheerful smile. ]

Since the two of you got the last rounds... that means... next time is on me, right...?

[ . . .

she hardly manages to finish the question before she starts to sob. ]

[Xion has always been the most emotional of the three of them (sort of.) That's no surprise, but he continues to hold her hand even as he takes another bite and watches ice cream melt and fall away from the tower. He still doesn't know how to comfort upset girls, and he still doesn't know how to make this better, but he's not letting go.]

...next time. [His own voice is starting to break a little, but he takes a breath and forces himself to look back to the sunset again. There's a promise of next time, no matter what.

It feels too soon that the last bit of ice cream disappears from his bar. He pauses, automatically looking at the stick before wordlessly handing it to Xion instead.

A winner stick. They can cash those in later.]

... [It's time, but he's not saying so. He still doesn't want to go even though he has to, but...] Even the bad stuff is worth it for the good memories we did have, and the ones we'll have later. [...it's more monotonous than his usual voice, but. It's an important reminder. He'll move when they're ready, but just one more good memory for the road.]

Yeah. Next time.

[ Axel looks away when Xion starts to sob, because he can't... If he starts crying now, he doesn't think he'll ever stop. He takes a bite of his ice cream and stays quiet until it's all gone-- both the ice cream and their time.

But Roxas is the first to speak up when that happens, and he has to clench his eyes shut when they water, letting out a short laugh. It's not funny at all, and yet... Both of them can't keep internalizing all the stupid, cheesy stuff he says. It's too unfair. ]

Right. Even the stuff that's bad... If I'm with you guys, I never want to forget it.

[ Never again.

He can't let either of them be the first to make that move, so he stands up and holds his hands out-- for both of them. ]

We'll go together.

[ it's a subtle change at first. when she finishes her ice cream, her hand is shaking; when roxas hands her the stick, it's extended to her whole body; when axel holds out his hands, she stands up.

"we'll always have the memories." "i never want to forget." "don't you remember?"

she knows those things aren't true. so how much of this is? with tears running down her cheeks unchecked, she screams at the two of them, ]

Stop! I can't take it anymore! None of this is okay—we can't keep ignoring the fact that we're all going to kill each other! I'm tired, I don't want to keep pretending—can't we just end it all now instead of trying to make ourselves feel better about something this awful?

[ ... it shouldn't be a surprise she's the one to let her emotions get the best of her. ]

Edited 2019-08-01 22:27 (UTC)

[There's no polite way to say that this isn't the first time he's killed a friend, or lost a friend. Not when he knows she doesn't know any of that yet. She screams and he doesn't even flinch, on his feet now. He's still holding her hand as she yells but he'll take Axel's too, as he thinks of the words to say.]

... [...or, you know, there are no words and there's a noise of surprise as his own tears start. The problem is she's not wrong? This is bad for everyone. This is what he wanted to avoid, but here they are now.]

It's going to be alright. There's something coming. Someone promised it would be okay in the end. But we can't stop now. [And somehow, he sits on those words for a little too long. "Can't we just end it all now?"

Almost on autopilot, he tries to tug them forward. If she wants this to end, then...it has to start with him. Even if he still doesn't want to, even if he's gripping too hard onto Axel's hand, too. Help.]

[ Of course Xion would be the one to just come right out and say it. Axel's never been too good at that part. He flinches and looks away a little, trying to think of something, anything...

But there's nothing he can say to make this right. It's not right. Nothing's been right this whole time. Maybe he shouldn't have let her come. He can't tell if it was more or less selfish to take her along anymore. Would it have been easier for her...

Roxas takes his hand and tugs them forward, and Axel goes, but-- ]

Xion... You're right. Maybe we are pretending. But I meant everything I said, today and before. You guys are the best thing that's ever happened to me. Nothing can ever change that.

I... I know! Axel, you and Roxas mean the world—mean everything to me... but...!

[ ... the difference between roxas and axel's reactions is sobering, a little; it at least reminds xion that they need to stay focused now more than ever.

she doesn't look up at them, doesn't try to split her single eye's view between the two of them. she just closes it, breathes, and squeezes roxas's hand. ]

... okay. Let's go. Together. The three of us. Before it's too late.

FINAL DAY - 2, 3.

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