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subdivided2019-07-28 09:09 pm
cyclists) wrote in subdivided2019-07-28 09:09 pm
week eight: mingle
Week Eight
9 in Competition
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.
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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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.
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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. ]
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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? ]
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"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.
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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. ]
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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. ]
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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.
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... 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. ]
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[ 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? ]
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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.]
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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.
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"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?
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...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.]
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(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. ]
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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. ]
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...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.]
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[ 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.
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"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. ]
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... [...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.]
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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.
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[ ... 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.
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It doesn't mean he isn't scared though, but...there's nothing they can do. This is how things have to be, and as long as they don't let go it'll be fine. He takes the lead, holding both of their hands as they begin the long, silent climb down from the clock tower.
He wants to ask what they plan to do to him, but at the same time he doesn't. Instead, he walks and blinks to clear his vision as they finally reach the bottom of the stairs and enter the station. He continues on, exiting the station hand in hand with his friends and eventually stopping in the center of the main platform outside.]
...you'll come find me, right? [After it's over. Don't leave him for too long, please.]
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...
Ah, he volunteered for it, but why is it that he can't get away from these icky jobs? ]
'Course. You know we'll be the first ones you see when it's all over. Who else would it be?
[ he takes a breath and lets go of Roxas's hand long enough to take a step back. They brought weapons but ... none of them feel quite right. His hand flexes at his side. ]
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[ her sobs are quieter now, her voice catching in her throat and preventing her from saying anything more. unlike axel, she's reluctant to let roxas's hand out of her grasp, as if she can hold onto this moment as long as she doesn't let go.
she might need a little push or nudge from either of them. ]
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A promise. [There's a short nod...and he looks at his hands. The two of them brought weapons, but...this isn't what they've trained for.]
...I've been practicing a little more. [He doesn't elaborate what that means though. Instead, there's another breath, eyes closing for a minute before two bursts of light surround his hands, and two weapons appear. They aren't his, and he knows that, but the replicas are the same size.
...he lingers, holding the familiar weight in his hands before slowly rotating them to hold onto the blades themselves, presenting the hilts to his friends.
It's time.]
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