zerotohiro | [W5, Post-Trial]

[It's insanely late by the time Hiro takes care of everything. There isn't much to take care of, really, but he's wasting time. Feeding Mera's dog and making sure Fie's plants are taken care of for the night doesn't take long, but he's quietly sitting in his hut for a while staring at Yona's empty bed.

He knows people are dying tomorrow, including himself. He knows the village around them is quiet as people gather together to say goodbyes and commiserate. It's why he remains quiet for hours.

It's maybe 1am when Hiro gathers the bedsheets from his room to carry with him, stepping out into the snow and tracking down Vriska and Cream Soda. The offer was open and while he didn't necessarily think it was something he needed to do, it was something he thought, maybe, he wanted.

So when he finds Vriska leaning against the liger he approaches, carefully settling down next to her and wrapping himself up in one set of sheets for warmth before tentatively pushing the other set (Yona's set, actually) toward Vriska.]

I don't think ghosts get cold, but...[A shrug.]

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... actually, we do. Thanks, Hiro.

[ Vriska will curl up smaller against the liger's side, tugging the sheets around her. ... there's something familiar about them, but--

no, better not. ]

Finished what you needed to do?

Edited 2017-09-10 07:34 (UTC)

I think so. I don't know what'll happen after this, but if the game really is over when the last Siren dies then I suppose he'll be in good hands.

[...he doesn't think he needs to elaborate, but:] Mera had a dog. And Fie was taking care of him before she died, so he's been staying in my hut with me since then. I wanted to make sure he was fed and taken care of before tomorrow morning. ...did you? [He's assuming there were things she needed to do, anyway.]

Seriously? Huh. Cool. Mera was actually pretty awesome? I liked her. Shame how that worked out. I mean, not like she won't be fine tomorrow, along with everyone else.

[ A sigh, slow and measured. ]

I just had a few people to talk to. Once that was done, I came here. I'm pretty tired, Hiro.

I liked her. We didn't get to know each other that well, but she was one of the people on this island that didn't immediately make me feel like I was way out of my depth here. [He's busy curling up further into the sheets, leaning against Cream Soda just as carefully as before.]

I don't doubt that though. You fought the good fight even with the odds. We still got out of this trial with as few casualties as possible, you're still dying, and the game's ending. We solved just about all of the mysteries we really needed to solve. It was almost kind of perfect. [And yet it feels exhausting and hollow.]

I didn't have anyone left I needed to speak with. I already said everything I wanted to say to you and Katara during the trial, but I figured you were just as awake as I am despite being tired.

Somehow it doesn't feel like that though, huh? We won, but it kind of feels more like we got a raw fucking deal. [ Yeah, she's got the same feeling, Hiro. ]

Ghosts don't sleep either, actually. I tried once or twice, but my species is prone to horrific nightmares. It wasn't really worth it when I didn't exactly need to.

People are going to have their own perceptions about what happened in this game and the people left. We won, but there are things people are going to block from memory. Just things people are going to remember differently.

[Will the people in today's trial remember the events that led to this ending? Or just the outcome? It doesn't matter, but he thinks about it anyway.]

...makes enough sense why you'd avoid it. Nightmares are kind of a pain. [A pause.] I had a lot of them after my brother died. Not the same as being a troll, but I get how annoying they can be.

I feel like there's something that needs to be done in our last hours alive, but everything's going to be fine as soon as you and I are both dead. We don't really know what we're walking into tomorrow, do we? Did the Chiefs ever say?

[ ... ]

Trolls don't have family. It's just not how our biology works. But I once told someone that I thought of Battler a little like a brother. I mean, it's not like I know exactly what you've gone through, but I can at least agree that it really fucking sucks to lose someone like that.

[ Vriska leans her head on Cream Soda's fur, staring out at the darkened sea. ]

I have no idea. The Sirens were told the four ways to end the game, but only Lucina knew which ones were the right ones. She told a few of us a week ago. But I don't think even she knows what happens when the game ends.

[ A sigh. ]

It ends when the final Siren dies, so it'll end when Bellamy kills me. After that? Who knows!

[He takes a moment to flap a hand in a gesture Vriska might recognize as her own, slow and insignificant.] I wouldn't expect you to, and I wouldn't expect people to think it matters too much here. I know...that Battler was really important to you. Even aside from both of you being Sirens. It was kind of noticeable. It sucks. It sucks a lot to lose people you care about, but some people handle it better than others, I think. Tomorrow you'll get to see him though. That's kind of exciting to think about.

[He's also staring out into the water.] Remind me. You knew she was the last Wickie before this was all over today? I think the Chiefs purposefully left all of us in the dark on what happens after we die and the game ends. Preserve the suspense, keep us playing. It worked. That's the dumb part. [He shakes his head.]

...Bellamy will be quick about it, right?

... tomorrow we'll see all of them again.

[ and she isn't sure how to feel about that, with their blood on her hands. her willing hands. ]

I knew a lot, Hiro. Honestly, let me just explain the last fucking week, because it was a lot.

[ A SIGH. And then she'll mimic him mimicking her with a slight sardonic smile before launching into her tale. ]

Bellamy, Prussia, Lucina and I all met last Sunday to discuss strategy. Prussia has a role, by the way, but fuck her. I hate her stupid ass. Anyway! I agreed to the meeting before I learned some other shit, courtesy of our favorite guy, Hal. After I miraculously survived last week's trial, I hunted him down, because he owed me info. So he told me about the method we'll be using tomorrow to end the game, but forbade me from telling anyone else. Naturally. So the meeting ended up being kind of useless! I had to spew some cryptic bullshit and leave it at that. Thank fucking god Bellamy and Lucina figured it out, but shit went wrong again. Bellamy told me he'd be coming to kill me on Thursday night, but just for the sake of being thorough, I'd already made plans with the Chiefs to kill Yona! If Bellamy killed me like we planned she'd live and I'd be dead, no problem. But if I lived... well, you know why I killed her.

[ ... sigh. ]

Of course, you know how that turned out. Everything that could go wrong this last week did! I am honestly amazed we actually managed to get through this.

[He's quiet as he listens for a moment because that explains a lot. It explains more than he initially thought and he wonders just how many other secrets the game held. Maybe it doesn't even matter. None of it matters anymore because here they are at the end of the world.]

And that would be why Bellamy couldn't find you on Thursday, you killed Yona, Lucina went after Fie, and while you were gone Jinah disappeared and...yeah. Okay. Caught up. I got it.

[He's busy running a hand through his hair, tugging on his bangs carefully.]

Like I said, we're on Moron Island for a reason. But somehow we managed to salvage everything we could. Even with the restrictions applied, people trying to sacrifice themselves, and even with Akira's confession people argued about that, too. I think I'm amazed too, actually.

...you did your best orchestrating the events. I don't exactly agree with all of them, but I know why you did it and I understand some of the how now. So now we just...wait for death.

[A pause.] I wonder if anybody realizes we got really lucky we're ending the game with nine people and no less. But tomorrow's going to be a long, weird day. [A beat.] Any last requests?

[W5, Post-Trial]

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