Round 3 [closed]

[sunborne]

Characters: Daylight, Castiel, Cao Pi, Rosinante, Kuai Liang, Vanitas, Riku, Maes Hughes, and Bucky Barnes.
Location: Town hall.
Date/time: February 8. In the 'evening'.
Content: Townhall Meeting 3: This Time, It's Personal. (Or how Daylight and Cao Pi bring the others up to date on Dr. Solis.)
Warnings: Pending.

After some time has passed and information has been compiled and notes - so many notes! - have been reviewed and organised, Daylight decides it's time.

With the help of some spirits he's made friends with, he sends out sealed notes to those who are in the know of what's going on. It's a short and simple note, informing the recipient of a date, a place, and only five words:

Ready. We've got to talk.

Comments

[equinoctials]

[ Mysterious! Riku would have probably been a lot more suspicious if this kind of letter reached him months ago, but having recently achieved a certain level of nihilism-adjacent attitude, he might as well see what this is about. This can't possibly be as bad as some of the other stuff that happens here, those things never have the courtesy of sending a sealed envelope ahead of time.

Besides the fact that it's pretty concerning for very obvious reasons why a small town like Beacon would have access to devastating weaponry, he can't exactly fault them for being desperate. ]

You guys learned a lot...

How is the town here if they used all those bombs?

[callada]

[There really is a lot to take in. He can imagine such a bomb, though - maybe not all the finer points of it, but he knows entire civilizations in his world have been bombarded and reduced to ruin. Something of that power, the sort of thing that could wipe out an island, wasn't able to take down a World Eater? What the hell are they?]

It must not have been right here when they bombed it. Something that size could probably cover a lot of ground quickly. It could have been days away by the time they were able to aim at it.

[But were there people over there who bombed it? Were there other nations, other governments, involved? Something so destructive, both bomb and monster, would surely be noticed by more than just this one town.]

[sunborne]

[ at rosinante's comments, daylight makes an affirmative sound. ]

Dr. Solis explained the first bomb gave away their position and it took a while for the World Eater to reach them. It probably means they saw it approaching them and tried to get it before it reached them.

[ which did not work. leading to- ] When they used all four... I guess they had done it from somewhere safe, like before they retreated to the mines, wherever that is. Some bombs and missiles can be controlled through remote access or even put it on a countdown. Giving them time to escape.

[equinoctials]

[ That explanation works for Riku. ]

Was she able to explain about the bonfire? Why is it here?

[evulsed]

[ Vanitas is much more defensive than anyone here. He's self serving, and while the information is good, he's the last person to want to willingly spread what he knows unless he believes it will be better for him. Maybe this secretive nature was adopted from Xehanort, who dished out details like scraps from a table. Maybe, Vanitas thinks everyone else is doing the same thing.

But he grabs Riku by the wrist when he's unoccupied and everyone is talking to each other, drags him to the opposite side of the room, far enough away it turns their lanterns into a little island. He steps right into his personal space, his voice so low Riku will have to lean down to hear him. ]

That thing we found says 1979.

[equinoctials]

[ Vanitas catches him by the wrist and together they head to the other end of the room. The whole way, he carefully watches Vanitas as if he's trying to ascertain his thoughts by his expression alone, avid in his interest.

Riku are fair opposites on the sharing of information. He was as big a proponent and contributor to things like the newcomer's app and the log books because he believes that sharing information and continuity are key to their success. It hasn't been lost on him that many don't feel the same way and keep things to themselves, which is disappointing but not altogether unexpected. Blame it on his lived experience in the Darkness, he understands the shadows in people's hearts.

He noticed that particular year, too, but he hadn't wanted to give any indication he might be holding something back, when the real case is that Riku doesn't want to spout off about information he hasn't confirmed yet. He leans in, shoulder to shoulder, to answer into his ear. ]

Yeah. Without what we need to power that place, we can't find out what's on it. I don't want to spin them up over what might be nothing.

[evulsed]

Tch.

[ He doesn't disguise his frustration, his eyes casting away from Riku to search the middle space in front of him. He's angry that their solution in the theatre didn't work, because for all intents and purposes, it should have. It even started to, before it gave up, but Vanitas has long since to expect that this world doesn't act in the way he thinks it should. But just after his arrival, he'd felt his powers dampened, and that hasn't really changed. ]

All this and we still don't know anything of use.

[equinoctials]

...

[ Riku pushes his palm up over Vanitas's shoulder, tightens his grip in a supportive squeeze, understanding his frustration, sharing in it, having no solution but enough room in his heart to encourage anyway. He doesn't insult him with empty platitudes. ]

That's what these meetings are for.

Even if our break never comes, we tried. We've gotten further than others have. [ He says, thinking about all those other resets. ] We can still do this.

[evulsed]

[ He shrugs Riku's hand off, like he's irritated by the comfort, but he doesn't pull away. Instead he turns toward him, tipping his head up to bring them almost face to face. There's something aggressive in the gesture, and from afar it might look like Vanitas was about to start a fight. ]

I don't care about the others.

It's impossible to defeat an enemy you know nothing about, and even Dr Solis doesn't know.

[equinoctials]

[ They face off with just inches to spare. After the subtle lift of his pale eyebrows, Riku appears to glare back, an expression that loses some of its menacing potential when the corner of his mouth quirks up into a smirk. ]

I know. But it's a good sign if we've made it further than others have before us.

[ If they aren't on the right track, they're at least doing enough right to survive longer than others who were reset sooner ]

Besides... if Dr. Solis had all the answers, this whole thing would've been solved already. We just have to keep looking.

[evulsed]

[ Vanitas cocks his head, raises his chin so he's staring at Riku from under the angry low slash of his eyelashes, and doesn't back down. ]

You don't know that. How many people have come and gone? How many resets?

[ The numbers are there, revealing; how long the the doctor has been hidden, the fact the Lighthouse Keeper has changed before. That resets have happened not just because people lost their minds, but because the World Eaters came too close. If they had anything the others tried before to go off of, that might change things.

A heartbeat passes, a tension fed into the space between them that might be entirely flooded there because of Vanitas' tumultuous response to this whole situation.

Finally, he eases, putting a sliver of space back between them, his eyes cutting to the side. ]

They eat Light, not the world itself. That's the most important thing.

[ In Vanitas' understanding of things, at least. There are huge mysteries in this place, why they're here, who else might exist beyond those that live in the Night Market— but Vanitas isn't a diplomat. He's a weapon, and a weapon needs a direction. ]

[equinoctials]

Twenty five, thirty resets. Robin could only give a rough estimate.

[ He doesn't disagree. Their chances of failure and ruin are almost certain. There are many moments when Riku pauses in the middle of his work, or in the middle of writing something into the log books, and asks himself what's the point? What keeps him going isn't blind optimism.

It's so whenever the end comes, if he's there to see it, he can at least look into the eyes of his friends one more time and know that he did all he could. ]

All the more reason to work together and try to solve this. Can't leave you to laze about the planet all by yourself, Vanitas.