[week one - sunday]

[hypertoxic]

[ Vriska has been incredibly busy today. But, she thinks, this should be her last conversation for the day. It's past midnight, and Jinah is by now asleep, allowing Vriska to slip outside.

Hopefully he won't be hard to find.

And, in the end, he's not: Vriska finds Battler sitting outside his own hut, and it does not surprise her to see that he's still awake. She'll offer a quiet "hey" as she approaches, not loud enough to wake anyone, but enough to get his attention and keep from startling him. She'll settle down next to him where he sits, glancing up at him with thoughtful, if somewhat eerie, pure white eyes. ]

I know this has been a pretty rough day for you. How are you doing?

[ This is a pretty significant turnaround from the girl who sneered at and insulted him on the beach.

But, well, things have changed in the past few days, haven't they? ]

Comments

[itsalluseless]

[He's been thinking. About the situation here, as well as what's waiting for him back on Rokkenjima. It's not like there's much else he can do.

The change in Vriska's demeanor catches him off guard, but he definitely does not mind it. Insults are the last thing he wants right now.]

I've had better days.

[A tiny bit of an understatement, there.]

[hypertoxic]

I bet you have! If you have had anything like a relatively normal human life, I'd imagine a situation like this would be terrifying. Then again, you showed up here yelling about witches, so what do I know?

[ Vriska sighs gustily, bracing her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands. ]

Tell me what you're thinking right now, Battler.

[itsalluseless]

Yeah, I haven't had an entirely normal life.

[Now it's his turn to sigh.]

What I'm thinking is... as much as I hate all of this, I have to do the best I can. Because I've got to get back home.

[hypertoxic]

Considering your reaction earlier, that does not surprise me to hear. [ The way he'd gone from shouting and refusing to simply ... going along with it. There's a reason for that kind of thing. The humans she's known wouldn't have budged an inch on the matter. ]

What is it that you need to get back to?

[itsalluseless]

...That witch I was talking about when we first got here? I made her a promise that I need to fulfill.

[hypertoxic]

That must be some fucking promise if you're willing to kill in order to get back and fulfill it! What's the deal with this witch, anyway?

[itsalluseless]

She killed my family. Stopping her is the only way I can save them.

[So no pressure or anything.]

[hypertoxic]

Oh.

[ holy shit. ]

That is a pretty good reason.

[ ... ]

My species don't have the same concept of family that humans do, so I can't really understand how you feel from that perspective. But I have lost people I cared about. And I think I would do pretty much anything if it meant I could save them! In fact, I have. I got my ass killed thanks to a stupid plan that was meant to keep my friends alive.

[ so, hey, surprise! she's dead. ]

We will get you back to your family, Battler.

[itsalluseless]

[He's not especially shocked by the revelation that she's dead. Because hey, he's died a bunch of times himself. Maybe her circumstances just were similar.]

Thank you, Vriska. That means a lot.

[He takes a deep breath and then releases it, expelling thoughts of Beato and his family with it for now.]

What about you? Do you have people waiting for you?

[hypertoxic]

Groan. Don't thank me for that, you goober.

[ Braces her chin in her hands, looking sulky. ]

Anyway, not really? I guess I'm not sure what the answer to that question is. Most of my so-called friends hate me, so I don't really know what I'm going back to, to be honest with you! But it's still up to me to save all their asses, so I'll do it anyway. It's probably just going to suck? Haha.

[itsalluseless]

...That sounds pretty rough.

[Even if Vriska's friends probably just hate her because she's a little shit? But still.]

[hypertoxic]

[ that is exactly why vriska's friends hate her. you already know her so well, battler.

anyway, she's actually like. kinda quiet for a moment. ]

To be honest, I pretty much deserved all the hate they had for me. I spent most of my life being a huge bitch who got my friends killed. That plan I just mentioned? I really did intend to save my friends, but I was too obsessed with my own greatness to realize it would have actually gotten them murdered instead. One of them took me out before that could happen, and she was right to do so.

[ kind of subdued. she'll sigh, flapping a careless hand. ]

But that is all pretty ancient history by now. I will figure something out. Don't worry about me!

[itsalluseless]

[He takes a moment to mull this new information over.]

This is probably gonna sound patronising as hell, but it says a lot that you can recognise what you did wrong. Maybe your friends will appreciate it too. I mean, it sounds like you really do care about them a lot.

[hypertoxic]

Of course I do. I always cared! I am just incredibly shitty at showing it.

[ A sigh. ]

I don't think you're patronizing me, but you're also only getting my view of things! If any of my friends were actually here, I'm sure they'd tell you all about what a fucked up terrible person I am. Don't get too invested in me learning from my mistakes. I thought I was, but in the end, maybe I never really changed at all.

[ bluh. ]

Why are we talking so much about me, anyway? Me me me. Who cares. I want to hear more about you! Tell me more about this weird witch deal you've got going on.

[itsalluseless]

[He sighs. It'd be nice if he could say more to Vriska, but she's got a point. He learned the hard way that people aren't as quick to learn and improve as he'd like to think.

As for his weird witch deal... he already told Raven the whole story in detail. He really doesn't feel like repeating that.]

I've been playing this game against her. She shows me crazy murders that supposedly aren't possible without magic, I try to prove that they are.

[hypertoxic]

[ Deep down, Vriska is impossibly relieved he let the subject go. Her "goodness" - or lack thereof - was a hot topic right before she showed up here. Her emotions are still tender and bruised, as much as she doesn't want to admit that being called a monster really got to her.

But that's neither here nor there. ]

Holy fuck. So you're already accustomed to this whole crazy murder thing. [ a beat, and rather baldly: ] It must really suck to be on the other side of it, given your situation! Haha. So how does she show you this stuff?

[itsalluseless]

Yeah, it sucks.

[Said without any hesitation or uncertainty. Even without witches directly involved, it still feels like he's switched over to the witch side of the game here. It's like he's betrayed everything he stands for, just for a chance to get off this island alive.

It sucks.]

There's... it's hard to explain. It's sort of like the events play out in reality, but we're watching it from... behind the scenes, I suppose?

[He's never given much thought to exactly how the game board works. It hasn't been a priority.]

[hypertoxic]

That sounds a lot like a game to me. Wouldn't you need magic to do something like that in the first place? Or just, like, the right technology, I guess. Weird witch!

[ Leaning forwards against her knees, Vriska will clasp her hands behind her neck and tilt her head to watch him. ]

... this is going to sound really morbid, but I think we can probably make use of your experience.

[itsalluseless]

I don't care how she made the game itself work. Magic, technology, whatever. I just need to prove the murders weren't done by magic.

[He also has... some suspicions about the nature of the metaworld, but he'd rather not put them to words even in his own mind. Some things are easier not considered too carefully.]

...You're probably right, as much as I hate to admit it.

[hypertoxic]

I can understand that. Who cares about the constraints of the game, as long as you win? The victory is what matters.

[ which. you know, kind of speaking of. ]

Listen, Battler. I am not asking this because I want to second guess you. It's an honest question. Are you going to be able to do this?

[itsalluseless]

[...]

I don't know. I mean, I need to get back to my family, and I want everyone else to make it out of her too. But...

[Can he actually pay the price? Even if it means giving up his soul?]

[hypertoxic]

That's not a bad answer. I'm not going to get on your case for not knowing it just yet.

You don't need to figure it out right away. The rest of us can probably handle the first week. But you will need to decide eventually where you're going to stand. When you do, I hope it's with us.

[itsalluseless]

No matter what happens, I'm not going to fight against you guys. You're trying to do the right thing, even if it's... really messed up.

[He just doesn't know if he can truly bring himself to stand with them. Wouldn't he be betraying the memories of his family by essentially going to the witch side?]

...Sorry. I'm making a big deal out of this, but it's not like it's easy for anyone else either.

[hypertoxic]

[ ...

Shakes her head slowly. ]

I think you might be the only person among us who hasn't killed anybody before. It may not be easy for us, but at least we know what we're getting ourselves into.

[ A beat. ]

I won't say it's fine for you to do nothing. Right now, though, I'm not going to hassle you about it. It's a lot to swallow. Just remember we are all in this together now! You can rely on us, if you need to.

[itsalluseless]

...I've killed someone. Very nearly, at least.

[battler that is an extremely different circumstance and you know it]

[hypertoxic]

... you?

[ There is incredulity in her voice, but maybe not for the reasons he expects. ]

What, did someone force your hand? I can't see you killing someone voluntarily.

[itsalluseless]

Witches can only exist if people believe in them. So the more you deny them, the more it hurts them.

[He rubs at his face, looking very tired.]

I couldn't quite kill her, though. There's one last riddle left that I couldn't answer. I promised her I'd solve it and kill her for good.

[And he's pretty aware that she could have easily stopped him with the other ones if she wanted to. His theories were absurd and he knows it.]

[hypertoxic]

[ .... sNORT ]

Ahahaha, fuck, sorry! [ she's laughing, god, why ] Holy shit, that is so funny. I barely know you and that sounds like exactly the kind of thing you would say. You're the noble-hearted type! You'd probably be willing to die right alongside her if that was what it took. Jeez.

[ scrubs her face, still kinda smiling. battler is really something else. ]

You have some truly shitty luck, getting stuck here with the rest of us.

[itsalluseless]

[for a moment he looks a little affronted because wow, don't laugh at his noble visual novel drama?? but then kinda smiles because okay, maybe she's kind of got a point.]

I've always had shitty luck. It's not really even a surprise.

[hypertoxic]

[ Vriska will smile back at him, small and crooked and deeply sincere in the kind of way that makes her look as young as she is. Almost like a real kid. ]

You're a good guy, Battler. [ Nudges him with her shoulder. ] Maybe to a fault! But honestly ... one of us should be.

[itsalluseless]

Hey, I wouldn't say the rest of you are bad people.

[The smile turns into a grin for a moment-]

Just, you know. Not as good as me.

[hypertoxic]

[ EXCUSE HER

Vriska will snort and start to cackle with surprised laughter, elbowing him. ]

Yeah right! Whatever would we do without our shining paragon of morality to show us the way!