darkinferno | [ic inbox]

wait, what?

vic's gone?

[Okay, calm down. First things first.]

do you mean she just wasn't there when you woke up this morning? or is all her stuff gone too?

we'll figure it out, vera, try not to panic too much

do you need me to come over?

Some of it is still here, some of it is gone.
She wasn't here when I woke up and won't answer her phone.
I can't connect to her Retrospec account either.
I don't know what to do.

[It's a little late to not panic.]

God I hate you sometimes.

[Well, about ten minutes later he'll receive a picture of a sour-looking Vera wearing the tiara wrapped in her side-ponytail.]

It's actually not as gaudy as I was expecting it to be.

it'd be weird if you didn't

[Waiting... waiting... and hey! Not bad, Vera!]

it suits you pretty well. how's it feel?

My hair feels heavier, I guess?
I dunno, not ridiculous.
Which is better than expected.
Does it look okay?

[Give him a moment while he checks for himself--nope, he can't reach Victoria through the network either.

Which means that she's not a part of their little party any more. Either she's gone from Recollé entirely, or she won't remember anything of the network or any memories she'd once remembered. There's nothing good about her name being gone.]

okay. what would she normally be doing on a day like today? maybe she had to turn her phone off for some reason. let's see if we can find her first, and we can worry about the retrospec account later.

yeah it does

it looks like something you're meant to be wearing

the real question here is how you felt when you got it. when i got my gloves and sword, somehow i KNEW they were mine even though they just showed up

was it the same for you?

Usually she'd go to the gym. Then come home and eat breakfast with me.
Sometimes she'll go to the mall or the library.
She's always got some new book on ancient history-- usually Greek.

[Stop it, Vera. Now isn't the time for reminiscing.]

Should we look there?

Yeah.
There's no mistaking it. This is mine.
I've never seen it before in my life, but it feels like I have.
It's so weird.

[ look he’s just covering the bases here ]

just checking
anyways i’m headed over so i’ll see you soon!

[She hums happily when Dante kisses her forehead. Honestly, it's the little things that she loves. Dante is Dante-- even if he should walk into her room with raven black hair and Hot Topic eyes.]

Mm-hmm. I've only got about one more bag full, and then we can go. [She gestures to the... several bags she has already. Her clothes are folded nice and neat despite being in plastic bags.] You can make yourself something to drink if you want-- there's coffee in the kitchen.

[She picks up a pair of jeans and inspects them, somewhat alarmed.]

Hold on... why aren't these blue anymore?

Edited 2017-06-21 02:48 (UTC)

Be careful, Dante, or I really will start compiling evidence against you from here on out. You don't want that, do you?

[Dante...no??? what the heck??]

[Okay it wasn't that bad he just drank a lot and maybe kissed Makoto and danced up on Mikleo and that's it???? But even if some people might classify that as out of control he knew what he was doing, it's just easier to do whatever he pleases when he drinks!!

...that all being said, Dante doesn't like the idea of an evidence folder against him, even if he is reasonably certain Ardyn's just making threats.]

if you're trying to call my bluff it's not going to work

but don't call it evidence you're not taking me to court over it

yeah

we'll check the gym and the library first

we'll find out what's going on

[There's a blink from Dante. And then two. And then:]

Wait, that isn't why you were going through your clothes in the first place?

Ari... have you looked outside today at all?

Thanks Dante.
I'll meet you at the gym?

W-what? No, I set this up months ago. I go through my closet every summer.

[She's a celebrity; she amasses a ridiculous amount of clothes. Though, as he brings it up, her eyes move to the shades. She hurriedly draws them open against the high sun. Nothing leaves her mouth but a soft gasp, and then there is silence.

Blue is gone, but so is green. It looks absolutely alien out there, like a retouched photo, and...]

No, this is all wrong... Why is it all gray? If everything blue and green is gone too, then-- [Wait.] -- but your eyes are fine!

[Reading Dante's text is like flipping a switch in Sora's head. It's impossible to describe the feeling one gets when seeing one of these memories, but it's like being in two places at once. On the one hand, Sora is aware that, physically, he's in his room, sitting on his bed, staring at his phone. On the other, it's like the memory is playing in front of his eyes like a movie, reliving the experience for half a moment.

Sora sees Dante again, but this time they're on what seems to be the deck of a ship, but this time the other boy is watching him with the utmost contempt. He nearly jumps out of his skin when a creepy, shadowy version of himself pops up, and it startles him out of the vision when he almost falls off the bed.

It's the most intense memory he's had yet, and he doesn't even know what to make of it. Not for the first time, he wonders what he did to Dante in that past life to make him hate him. It's almost frightening to think about. It takes him a long several minutes before he can pick out any part of that to respond to.]

whats a heartless

they're monsters

[Why is Sora still talking to him? Dante's a little bit surprised (he'd thought that memory would have been enough to send him packing), but by this point he doesn't care, either.]

born of the darkness in people's hearts

looks to me like you must've had a lot of darkness, huh?

[He has no idea if that part's true or not--after all, he'd summoned that darkness up, he'd shaped it into Sora's form... hadn't he? But he knows it will cut at Sora again, and that's all that's important in this moment.]

sounds good, i'll meet you there

[True to his word, Dante will be at the gym in a little under ten minutes, looking around for Vera as he arrives. Even if he'd deny it aloud, he's more worried for her than he is anything else... after all, she and Vic had gotten pretty close very quickly. If she'd been talking about coming out to her father, she must've been in deep. Dante's used to people leaving him behind, and he's never let one of his drunken flings get out of hand like this, but he doesn't think that it was a fling to Vera.

Which means that, if Vic is gone, this isn't gonna end well.]

Vera! There you are.

Dante.

[The heiress rushes to her friend's side, face clouded with distress and lacking her usual makeup. There wasn't time to care about how she looks. She has to find Victoria, that's all that matters.]

I asked the front desk if they've seen anyone by her description, but they said they weren't sure.

[He's silent as he watches her go to the window, leaning back against the wall with his arms folded, knowing already what she's going to see outside. Gray, gray, and more gray, somehow dull even with the bright light shining against it all.

Dante waits through the initial shock, but once she realizes that his eyes are still blue, he nods, pushing away from the wall and unfolding his arms.]

Anything that Retrospec was responsible for--my eyes, stuff they've sent to people... all of that's still got its color. Do you remember the sword I told you about last month? It's still blue too.

[To underscore his point he holds out his hand, summoning Soul Eater to it and holding it out for her to see (and if she wants, to take it, pommel first).]

I'm guessing you haven't checked the network yet, either. Jim made a post about it taunting all of us. Like it's some sort of game...!

[He can tell just by looking at her how upset she is. Man, Vic, what's happened to you...?]

All right. We can take a look around ourselves. You check the women's locker rooms, and I'll check the classrooms. We'll meet back up at the stairs in the middle, got it?

[They're both students, so getting past the front desk isn't too hard. But it's pretty quickly clear to Dante that Victoria isn't going to be anywhere to be found here. All the classrooms are empty, and it's a Monday morning during summer break, so while the gym's busy, it's not packed.

It's not looking good, sorry Vera...]

[It doesn't take long for Vera to check the locker room. There is only a handful of women inside, and none of them come even close to matching Victoria's stature or figure. The heiress doesn't waste any time looking further, and pivots to rush out the door, garnering some looks of confusion and concern as she does.

So she'll return to the staircase and wait for Dante to return.]

She's not here... but it's kind of late anyway. Maybe she finished up and went to the library?

you should get the hint about things you shouldn't do
even if i say you should!

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