lup staggers, slightly, blinking up at the ceiling? she frowns a little, and then:]
Hhhghh. I wanted to eat. [she grouches, leaning on her staff. she does, however, pause, when she sees jason, and her ear flicks. she opens her mouth - and then closes it, and glances at her companions. anyway.] What, we're line cooks?
[... she's less reluctant this time, though. even if she doesn't remember the chaos.] I guess I can help with something. Curry, maybe?
[ While the turning back time where things are reverted back including injuries (he is checking where the dragons clawed him) with some small changes isn’t too weird, he doesn’t process immediately that he’s the only one that remembers. Usually, he has to die.
He leers at Jason. ]
A curry is fine.
[ It may not be actual Jason, but he starts selecting the hottest peppers possible. Die. ]
[why is joonghyuk so terribly aggressive with peppers.
anyway, there are scars from the dragon claws! so that's nice and fun. as they begin to split off to begin selecting ingredients for curry, the ground shakes around them and soon a pathway erects in the center of the kitchen. it looks...like a crosswalk. two of them are on one side of the road, and the other is by themselves. the ingredients, utensils and supplies are scattered everywhere. they will have to figure out how to access everything with this road in the center.
and they should maybe be careful, because every now and then a motorcycle speeds through at a high pace. vroom vroom.]
at first, lup doesn't seem to care very much? she just stares at the crosswalk like it's personally mugged her and just sighs. that's the thing about this place - she's not even surprised anymore because this shit just happens and she has to deal with it. but she'll start pulling together other ingredients to try and get them in one place, tossing items to both shinobu and yjh as she goes. there's a pause in there where she just frowns and pats herself down like she's looking for something? and then goes ): but keeps going.
she lost her horny dragons...
anyway this is a problem until a motorcycle nearly runs her ass over, and she yelps and falls back. probably falls on her ass, actually, sometimes you're not expecting a motorcycle.
jason control your ride you absolute delinquent. she just. shoots an icicle after it to try and pop the tires. binch.]
[ do you think shinobu cares about the rules of overcooked? she'll cross this crosswalk, if she wants because she's tiny and fast and she thinks this is stupid.
(shinobu would watch before crossing, unfortunately, even though it'd be neat to be run over.)
maybe it's better that she doesn't have a lightning bolt with this setup, but her gloves mean she can keep a good hold of ingredients when necessary. they got this. they can be efficient.... it's fine....
[ But he appreciates that they’re tossing him and ferrying him stuff. I’m going to decide he’s on the side with the pans, pots, and stovetop.
If the ingredients weren’t already chopped, he chops them, then puts them into the pot with some spices. Cream? I’ve decided there was a carton on the road; another motorcycle comes by and runs that over and we are all heavy milked.
Is Jason smirking at all of this. I hope so.
He starts preparing to plate, but first he checks to see… Where is the turn-in? Aka is he on the side to offer the curry or is it on the other side? ]
[of course jason's watching? this is entertaining, dinner and a show! he doesn't seem all that bothered that they're dealing with traffic, although he does make a show of checking an imaginary watch.
lup falls on her ass, but the icicle is shot out at one of the motorcycles passing. it hits the front tire, but it's just enough to turn it and gently graze shinobu's leg as she darts across the street. the three of them work together, but they may not notice that the restaurant around them seems to continue to fall apart. the walls begin to cave and peel. the windows are dirty and cracked with glass missing in places. the lights outside aren't as bright.
jason's stomach rumbles, and for a brief moment he looks around as if debating how much food he can take with him for later.
the turn in, of course, is on the other side. the motorcycles move faster, occasionally dodging obstacles to veer off the road.]
[lup is thoroughly burned and covered in milk, this is great.
the turn in is on the other side, and lup makes a very frustrated noise and says:]
Just - run across! I've got it! Jesus, I hate this place --
[and then she brings up a wall of earth to try to block the motorcycles from ramming into them so shinobu and yjh can finish the dish and bring it to jason's impatient ass. i have lost track of how many spells she's used but it's a lot just saying.]
[ the graze makes her stumble, but at least she manages to keep whatever she had in hand, just barely. ]
I can't believe we have to do this.
[ she waves at yjh with her shield to go once the dish is done, echoing lup's sentiments. she will act like a traffic officer that the motorcycles will likely ignore but at least she's got a shield to literally try to stop them. ]
[ Putting the curry into a bowl and then on a platter, he makes a run for it. With both hands occupied with keeping the curry IN the bowl, he can’t take a stab at motorcycles that maneuver through their defenses.
May Shinobu and Lup cover for him. At the very least he will get it onto the counter to the other side. It is spicy. It is burn your eyebrows off spicy.
Have it, not-Jason. I hope as he turns it in, that the area is still on road so he gets crashed into right after. ]
[lup is definitely almost out of magic. even with her +3, she likely has like 2 shots left. the wall of earth blocks a motorcycle, but it tilts up, riding up like its a hill before crashing down and right into shinobu herself and knocking her off her feet. she has her shield, so the damage isn't as bad as it could be ARA, but it is likely that one of her bones truly just snapped from the weight of the vehicle.
joonghyuk hustles with the curry, and as he drops it on the counter for jason the other man grabs a spoon to take a scoop and pop it into his mouth.
there's a moment's pause...and then jason shrugs.]
I guess it's okay.
[and at this moment, joonghyuk finds a careening motorcycle also slamming into him, right into a sharp knife left out from chopping as it stabs him in the heart.
...and a kitchen timer dings.
suddenly, everything seems to move in reverse. there are no more peppers or motorcycles, the road deconstructing as pavement peels up and crumbles away. there's no more milk, no more spicy smells in the air...no more stabs and no more broken bones...and for lup and shinobu, there are no memories of the last several minutes of chaos, and there are no longer any injuries from that event.
inside the kitchen, they will find that there are pots, pans, plates and cutlery moving all on their own. the kitchen itself is stockpiled with fresh ingredients, and as soon as they enter the door snaps shut. three snazzy aprons and chef's hats drop onto them, and they'll hear the commotion out in the restaurant grow in tenfold. the lights flicker overhead, and soon the wall separating the kitchen and the bar falls away as all of the cooking supplies stop moving.
the restaurant is empty. it's worn, broken and dark. the wall between the bar and the kitchen is broken and crumbling to pieces. there's nothing but silence outside, dingy lights flickering and barely welcoming anyone into the restaurant. the world is cold and empty. the tables are covered in grime, burners fried and furniture broken.
the door opens. two differentfigures enter the restaurant. they appear beaten, wounds and blood on both of them as they stagger up to the bar and drop into the two seats available.
the silence continues...and soon a small screen drops down from the ceiling of the kitchen with an order spelled out.]
she feels woozy, for some reason, and she's not sure why. this doesn't seem right? this seems... off. she didn't get her food, and - she feels more tired, but there's no reason to be. the restaurant is abruptly broken and horrifying, and lup gives the two figures approaching a startled look - before looking over at joonghyuk.
what... is going on.
well. she's not going to get in the way, but she'll hand him a healing potion of hers, if he wants it, before looking at shinobu with a totally confused expression.]
[ there's the snap of bone, and then there's nothing.
no memories, no injuries, just the apron and a broken down restaurant in an apocalyptic world. two people enter, and it's hard to miss dokja. it's hard to miss who the girl is, too.
shinobu wants to help them both, but this is joonghyuk's ordeal. she knows it is. it's not her place to interfere. not yet.
not when she doesn't know why this doesn't feel quite right, besides the obvious. ]
[ Well, he dies? He dies. But they're back and he better understands why the setting kept falling back into place. Frowning deeply, he looks at the surroundings and they're a lot more familiar. This is what he's used to... And he should be used to seeing people bloody and in tatters, but his pulse quickens to see both of them come in, anyway. Dokja is a complicated case, the young girl he hasn't seen since his arrival to the Starlight Hotel.
It doesn't cross his mind that this is the trial. His impulse just tells him to help both and he snatches Lup's offered potion to do that. He shoves his own at Dokja's face, making sure spout goes into the idiot's mouth first, but then kneels down to the girl. ]
Mia—take this.
[ With her, he's careful much like an older brother would be, like a father would be. He helps her sit up on the stool and gently helps her take sips.
[the girls let joonghyuk have his moment, obviously having realized this was the trial long before he did. dokja's hands tremble a little as he takes the bottle and drinks from it, but when joonghyuk reaches mia the girl leans against him just slightly for support. for comfort, maybe, knowing that her brother's here and doing his best to help her.
but the potion...doesn't seem to work. even as they both drink from the bottles, their injuries continue to drip onto the floor, cuts and tears in their flesh visible and growing worse with time. it seems like maybe they require something else.
the sign flips again.]
One customer only.
[as they look around, the silence is heavy and the lights flicker again as a lightbulb pops and shatters above them. their ingredients are suddenly sparse. there's only enough for one plate of food, one meal for one person. it's enough for one chance to help someone.
the kitchen timer ticks. soon, only joonghyuk hears the same voice as before inside his head.]
"You have been given a responsibility to fulfill. But you must choose your path to pave the way back."
[dokja leans heavily on the bar, head drooping just slightly as his hand covers a bloody patch in his chest. tears well up in mia's eyes as she attempts to leans further into joonghyuk's hold.]
""You must choose what is most important to you, and what you will cast aside. Make your choice."
[ once again, it's a terrible choice of the heart that they shouldn't be witness to but are anyway.
it's terrible and painful to see each and every time, especially when there are two who are bleeding out whom you should be able to help.
she hates it. she hates this. she hates these scenarios for each and every one of them, how their hostages are used against them, how the people they've to care so much for are used against them.
[ Right... They're on this stupid trip and he's being tested between his hostage and someone he and his companions vowed to save. He looks at both of them, solemn and forlorn, while he gently caresses Mia's head and lets her take comfort in him being here.
Instinctively, he weighs choosing one over the other. He can't help it, not with so many years of having to make decisions to survive. Even with something like this, he thinks about it logically despite whatever his heart says.
... His sister, the very first Mia, she's happy in the first worldline where he left her to never return. And Mia now is also alive and well, outside of this trip. They can be happy despite the many times he has failed to save her, even sacrificed her. His thoughts rush through memories of her being left at his doorstep as a baby, how he had to navigate raising a baby when he was only a teenager himself—how they only had each other because their parents were nonexistent. They didn't exist, in the first place.
Kim Dokja is the reason at all that she's alive this long... He gave him a world where they didn't need to sacrifice, but now he's beyond reach. Joonghyuk and his companions have not saved Kim Dokja once, despite the multiple times he has saved them. For his sacrifices, Dokja gave him and his loved ones happiness.
... He has to repay that debt, doesn't he? Quietly, he goes to cook a simple meal and returns only to hold his sister longer. ]
I'll be returning home soon.
[ The plate he leaves not for her, but for Dokja instead. As he makes this decision, he remembers what Mia said to him before he arrived here...
“Orabeoni, you did your very best. No one can do more or better than what you have already done.” ]
[they are on this stupid, stupid trip. the two potatoes watch, but as they let joonghyuk work little by little they start to remember the other iterations of the loops. their injuries also slowly start to come back, inch by inch, tick by tick.
it's best for joonghyuk to cook this meal on his own. this is his choice. he has to be the one to choose who he will save and who he will sacrifice. as he prepares the dish, he'll notice that the world around him shimmers a little. lup and shinobu are still there, but he no longer sees them. it's only him, dokja and mia. the three of them are surrounded by a world that was never meant to be saved. happiness cannot be found here, but maybe someday...maybe someday, joonghyuk will be able to have both of them like he wanted.
the debt is repaid. as dokja bows his head in gratitude and begins to eat, mia stays in joonghyuk's arms for the duration of the meal. it feels like a lifetime and a minute all at once. it isn't long enough. is it ever?
dokja finishes the meal and offers a slight smile. the food seems to have helped stabilize him. he watches joonghyuk and mia as the girl takes her final breath, but then he speaks softly.]
See you back at the hotel.
[and like that, kitchen timer goes off.
this time, the world doesn't rewind. it's lup, shinobu and joonghyuk in the restaurant with its worn down appearance and musty interior. all of their injuries have returned, and though the girls are still missing a large chunk of their memories of the two other loops they remember certain actions that caused these injuries. joonghyuk, unfortunately, remembers everything. dokja and mia are gone, but the empty plate remains on the bar counter. in the kitchen, there are three plates of the same meal. one for each of them.
they can eat and rest for a moment, if they would like.]
this is almost worse, standing here, just waiting, watching as dokja and mia slowly bleed out. she can't do anything to help. all she can do is stand here - slowly get dizzier and dizzier. by the time joonghyuk comes out to slide the plate across to dokja, lup is leaning heavily on her staff, biting her lip.
there's silence, when everything is done. lup stares at the meals left behind, and then looks to joonghyuk.
very cautiously, like approaching a wild animal, lup moves over to rest a hand on his back.]
... Maybe we should take a bit of a break. [she tries. he helped her, before. he helped both of them, her and shinobu. it'll... be okay. they can make it through.]
[ it is worse in a way to see mia slowly die in joonghyuk's arms when at least taako could more quickly go, taako and—
...?
it would be better to mercy kill his sister, kinder, but what can she do when it's not her trial to bear? when her own trial was—
...?
bit and pieces of their memories come back, and it hits shinobu, regaining time and injuries she didn't know she had. it makes her take a single staggering step, but she keeps her eyes on joonghyuk.
he deserves his own moment, too, and she takes a seat in front of one of the plates. ]
[ Generally, he doesn’t like being touched, but he doesn’t feel it in him to react or retaliate. He lets it happen as he stares at the spot Mia used to be… It’s difficult to forget how she felt in his arms when this isn’t the first time he has lost and failed her.
He repeats the words she told him, and other words he has heard… Words he even said himself—to not think of this as failure. All three of them have done all that they could on this trip. They couldn’t have done this better.
His gaze shifts to Lup right beside him, then Shinobu, clearly remembering all they as a group suffered.
But he can’t help and wonder, maybe he could have done something different? Maybe they could have saved one of them? If they could restart, go back to the beginning of this trip, could they have done this a second time and received a different ending?
It may not be real… But saving those you care about, even once, even in some simulation, means something, doesn’t it?
Closing his eyes tightly, he tries to quiet the voices and takes a seat in front of one of the meals. They have to leave. The sooner the better. ]
[the three of them are able to have a seat. the food is before them, and as they begin to eat it warms them and they feel some of the aches and pains subside just a little. the world outside is still falling apart, the occasional crash heard in the street but no one comes to bother them. nothing approaches them. they can enjoy one meal together in silence, a solemn solidarity they may or may not have wished to have.
as they eat the meal, they find their eyelids begin to droop. they feel a little too relaxed...sleepy, even. the adrenaline has worn off and exhaustion settles in their bones with their weapons, items, and injuries all in tact. their movements are slow, and it's the same feeling of suspended freefall despite sitting still.
peacefully, all three of them drift off to sleep...
...when they next awaken, they find themselves in the sorcerer's tower. the room looks to be about the same as they left it, except the world outside is nearly pitch black. the candles burn and flicker, the book on the table still wide open and the tower still empty as before. behind them, the chalkboard has a new message.]
Your hurting will be mended, when they return to end it.
[the tower is eerily silent. on the table next to the book sits a treasure chest.]
[as she eats in silence, she's reminded of sitting in a restaurant on the outskirts of a bustling city, a hole in the wall that taako had dragged her to. she remembers the way it was a relief from the heat outside, remembers absently pressing her ankle to his like always as they chatted, as they ate a meal together, and how good it felt to just... exist. she's reminded of her brother, and how all three of them have lost, how all three of them here had to forsake family to get through.
she hates this solidarity, but. it's there. and then she drifts off to sleep.
... when she wakes up, she coughs a bit, and then:]
What? [oh. treasure chest. neat.] We're here again.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
guestservices) wrote2022-07-17 07:06 pm
no subject
lup staggers, slightly, blinking up at the ceiling? she frowns a little, and then:]
Hhhghh. I wanted to eat. [she grouches, leaning on her staff. she does, however, pause, when she sees jason, and her ear flicks. she opens her mouth - and then closes it, and glances at her companions. anyway.] What, we're line cooks?
[... she's less reluctant this time, though. even if she doesn't remember the chaos.] I guess I can help with something. Curry, maybe?
[she looks between shinobu and yjh, tiredly.]
no subject
she blinks at the aprons, frowning at them (again). she looks over at jason, frown intensifying.
of course someone from the hotel would show up here. ]
I can make curry.
no subject
[ While the turning back time where things are reverted back including injuries (he is checking where the dragons clawed him) with some small changes isn’t too weird, he doesn’t process immediately that he’s the only one that remembers. Usually, he has to die.
He leers at Jason. ]
A curry is fine.
[ It may not be actual Jason, but he starts selecting the hottest peppers possible. Die. ]
no subject
anyway, there are scars from the dragon claws! so that's nice and fun. as they begin to split off to begin selecting ingredients for curry, the ground shakes around them and soon a pathway erects in the center of the kitchen. it looks...like a crosswalk. two of them are on one side of the road, and the other is by themselves. the ingredients, utensils and supplies are scattered everywhere. they will have to figure out how to access everything with this road in the center.
and they should maybe be careful, because every now and then a motorcycle speeds through at a high pace. vroom vroom.]
no subject
also what the fuck
at first, lup doesn't seem to care very much? she just stares at the crosswalk like it's personally mugged her and just sighs. that's the thing about this place - she's not even surprised anymore because this shit just happens and she has to deal with it. but she'll start pulling together other ingredients to try and get them in one place, tossing items to both shinobu and yjh as she goes. there's a pause in there where she just frowns and pats herself down like she's looking for something? and then goes ): but keeps going.
she lost her horny dragons...
anyway this is a problem until a motorcycle nearly runs her ass over, and she yelps and falls back. probably falls on her ass, actually, sometimes you're not expecting a motorcycle.
jason control your ride you absolute delinquent. she just. shoots an icicle after it to try and pop the tires. binch.]
no subject
(shinobu would watch before crossing, unfortunately, even though it'd be neat to be run over.)
maybe it's better that she doesn't have a lightning bolt with this setup, but her gloves mean she can keep a good hold of ingredients when necessary. they got this. they can be efficient.... it's fine....
it's fine.... let's get this
breadcurry! ]no subject
[ But he appreciates that they’re tossing him and ferrying him stuff. I’m going to decide he’s on the side with the pans, pots, and stovetop.
If the ingredients weren’t already chopped, he chops them, then puts them into the pot with some spices. Cream? I’ve decided there was a carton on the road; another motorcycle comes by and runs that over and we are all heavy milked.
Is Jason smirking at all of this. I hope so.
He starts preparing to plate, but first he checks to see… Where is the turn-in? Aka is he on the side to offer the curry or is it on the other side? ]
no subject
lup falls on her ass, but the icicle is shot out at one of the motorcycles passing. it hits the front tire, but it's just enough to turn it and gently graze shinobu's leg as she darts across the street. the three of them work together, but they may not notice that the restaurant around them seems to continue to fall apart. the walls begin to cave and peel. the windows are dirty and cracked with glass missing in places. the lights outside aren't as bright.
jason's stomach rumbles, and for a brief moment he looks around as if debating how much food he can take with him for later.
the turn in, of course, is on the other side. the motorcycles move faster, occasionally dodging obstacles to veer off the road.]
no subject
the turn in is on the other side, and lup makes a very frustrated noise and says:]
Just - run across! I've got it! Jesus, I hate this place --
[and then she brings up a wall of earth to try to block the motorcycles from ramming into them so shinobu and yjh can finish the dish and bring it to jason's impatient ass. i have lost track of how many spells she's used but it's a lot just saying.]
no subject
I can't believe we have to do this.
[ she waves at yjh with her shield to go once the dish is done, echoing lup's sentiments. she will act like a traffic officer that the motorcycles will likely ignore but at least she's got a shield to literally try to stop them. ]
no subject
May Shinobu and Lup cover for him. At the very least he will get it onto the counter to the other side. It is spicy. It is burn your eyebrows off spicy.
Have it, not-Jason. I hope as he turns it in, that the area is still on road so he gets crashed into right after. ]
no subject
joonghyuk hustles with the curry, and as he drops it on the counter for jason the other man grabs a spoon to take a scoop and pop it into his mouth.
there's a moment's pause...and then jason shrugs.]
I guess it's okay.
[and at this moment, joonghyuk finds a careening motorcycle also slamming into him, right into a sharp knife left out from chopping as it stabs him in the heart.
...and a kitchen timer dings.
suddenly, everything seems to move in reverse. there are no more peppers or motorcycles, the road deconstructing as pavement peels up and crumbles away. there's no more milk, no more spicy smells in the air...no more stabs and no more broken bones...and for lup and shinobu, there are no memories of the last several minutes of chaos, and there are no longer any injuries from that event.
inside the kitchen, they will find that there are pots, pans, plates and cutlery moving all on their own. the kitchen itself is stockpiled with fresh ingredients, and as soon as they enter the door snaps shut. three snazzy aprons and chef's hats drop onto them, and they'll hear the commotion out in the restaurant grow in tenfold. the lights flicker overhead, and soon the wall separating the kitchen and the bar falls away as all of the cooking supplies stop moving.
the restaurant is empty. it's worn, broken and dark. the wall between the bar and the kitchen is broken and crumbling to pieces. there's nothing but silence outside, dingy lights flickering and barely welcoming anyone into the restaurant. the world is cold and empty. the tables are covered in grime, burners fried and furniture broken.
the door opens. two different figures enter the restaurant. they appear beaten, wounds and blood on both of them as they stagger up to the bar and drop into the two seats available.
the silence continues...and soon a small screen drops down from the ceiling of the kitchen with an order spelled out.]
Help me.
no subject
she feels woozy, for some reason, and she's not sure why. this doesn't seem right? this seems... off. she didn't get her food, and - she feels more tired, but there's no reason to be. the restaurant is abruptly broken and horrifying, and lup gives the two figures approaching a startled look - before looking over at joonghyuk.
what... is going on.
well. she's not going to get in the way, but she'll hand him a healing potion of hers, if he wants it, before looking at shinobu with a totally confused expression.]
no subject
no memories, no injuries, just the apron and a broken down restaurant in an apocalyptic world. two people enter, and it's hard to miss dokja. it's hard to miss who the girl is, too.
shinobu wants to help them both, but this is joonghyuk's ordeal. she knows it is. it's not her place to interfere. not yet.
not when she doesn't know why this doesn't feel quite right, besides the obvious. ]
no subject
It doesn't cross his mind that this is the trial. His impulse just tells him to help both and he snatches Lup's offered potion to do that. He shoves his own at Dokja's face, making sure spout goes into the idiot's mouth first, but then kneels down to the girl. ]
Mia—take this.
[ With her, he's careful much like an older brother would be, like a father would be. He helps her sit up on the stool and gently helps her take sips.
But he can't choose both can he? ]
no subject
but the potion...doesn't seem to work. even as they both drink from the bottles, their injuries continue to drip onto the floor, cuts and tears in their flesh visible and growing worse with time. it seems like maybe they require something else.
the sign flips again.]
One customer only.
[as they look around, the silence is heavy and the lights flicker again as a lightbulb pops and shatters above them. their ingredients are suddenly sparse. there's only enough for one plate of food, one meal for one person. it's enough for one chance to help someone.
the kitchen timer ticks. soon, only joonghyuk hears the same voice as before inside his head.]
"You have been given a responsibility to fulfill. But you must choose your path to pave the way back."
[dokja leans heavily on the bar, head drooping just slightly as his hand covers a bloody patch in his chest. tears well up in mia's eyes as she attempts to leans further into joonghyuk's hold.]
""You must choose what is most important to you, and what you will cast aside. Make your choice."
[tick. tick. tick.]
no subject
... they saw this one coming. it's up to him. she looks away, though. she wants to give him a little bit of privacy.]
no subject
it's terrible and painful to see each and every time, especially when there are two who are bleeding out whom you should be able to help.
she hates it. she hates this. she hates these scenarios for each and every one of them, how their hostages are used against them, how the people they've to care so much for are used against them.
for everything that has been used against them. ]
no subject
Instinctively, he weighs choosing one over the other. He can't help it, not with so many years of having to make decisions to survive. Even with something like this, he thinks about it logically despite whatever his heart says.
... His sister, the very first Mia, she's happy in the first worldline where he left her to never return. And Mia now is also alive and well, outside of this trip. They can be happy despite the many times he has failed to save her, even sacrificed her. His thoughts rush through memories of her being left at his doorstep as a baby, how he had to navigate raising a baby when he was only a teenager himself—how they only had each other because their parents were nonexistent. They didn't exist, in the first place.
Kim Dokja is the reason at all that she's alive this long... He gave him a world where they didn't need to sacrifice, but now he's beyond reach. Joonghyuk and his companions have not saved Kim Dokja once, despite the multiple times he has saved them. For his sacrifices, Dokja gave him and his loved ones happiness.
... He has to repay that debt, doesn't he? Quietly, he goes to cook a simple meal and returns only to hold his sister longer. ]
I'll be returning home soon.
[ The plate he leaves not for her, but for Dokja instead. As he makes this decision, he remembers what Mia said to him before he arrived here...
“Orabeoni, you did your very best. No one can do more or better than what you have already done.” ]
no subject
it's best for joonghyuk to cook this meal on his own. this is his choice. he has to be the one to choose who he will save and who he will sacrifice. as he prepares the dish, he'll notice that the world around him shimmers a little. lup and shinobu are still there, but he no longer sees them. it's only him, dokja and mia. the three of them are surrounded by a world that was never meant to be saved. happiness cannot be found here, but maybe someday...maybe someday, joonghyuk will be able to have both of them like he wanted.
the debt is repaid. as dokja bows his head in gratitude and begins to eat, mia stays in joonghyuk's arms for the duration of the meal. it feels like a lifetime and a minute all at once. it isn't long enough. is it ever?
dokja finishes the meal and offers a slight smile. the food seems to have helped stabilize him. he watches joonghyuk and mia as the girl takes her final breath, but then he speaks softly.]
See you back at the hotel.
[and like that, kitchen timer goes off.
this time, the world doesn't rewind. it's lup, shinobu and joonghyuk in the restaurant with its worn down appearance and musty interior. all of their injuries have returned, and though the girls are still missing a large chunk of their memories of the two other loops they remember certain actions that caused these injuries. joonghyuk, unfortunately, remembers everything. dokja and mia are gone, but the empty plate remains on the bar counter. in the kitchen, there are three plates of the same meal. one for each of them.
they can eat and rest for a moment, if they would like.]
no subject
this is almost worse, standing here, just waiting, watching as dokja and mia slowly bleed out. she can't do anything to help. all she can do is stand here - slowly get dizzier and dizzier. by the time joonghyuk comes out to slide the plate across to dokja, lup is leaning heavily on her staff, biting her lip.
there's silence, when everything is done. lup stares at the meals left behind, and then looks to joonghyuk.
very cautiously, like approaching a wild animal, lup moves over to rest a hand on his back.]
... Maybe we should take a bit of a break. [she tries. he helped her, before. he helped both of them, her and shinobu. it'll... be okay. they can make it through.]
no subject
...?
it would be better to mercy kill his sister, kinder, but what can she do when it's not her trial to bear? when her own trial was—
...?
bit and pieces of their memories come back, and it hits shinobu, regaining time and injuries she didn't know she had. it makes her take a single staggering step, but she keeps her eyes on joonghyuk.
he deserves his own moment, too, and she takes a seat in front of one of the plates. ]
Let's rest.
no subject
He repeats the words she told him, and other words he has heard… Words he even said himself—to not think of this as failure. All three of them have done all that they could on this trip. They couldn’t have done this better.
His gaze shifts to Lup right beside him, then Shinobu, clearly remembering all they as a group suffered.
But he can’t help and wonder, maybe he could have done something different? Maybe they could have saved one of them? If they could restart, go back to the beginning of this trip, could they have done this a second time and received a different ending?
It may not be real… But saving those you care about, even once, even in some simulation, means something, doesn’t it?
Closing his eyes tightly, he tries to quiet the voices and takes a seat in front of one of the meals. They have to leave. The sooner the better. ]
no subject
as they eat the meal, they find their eyelids begin to droop. they feel a little too relaxed...sleepy, even. the adrenaline has worn off and exhaustion settles in their bones with their weapons, items, and injuries all in tact. their movements are slow, and it's the same feeling of suspended freefall despite sitting still.
peacefully, all three of them drift off to sleep...
...when they next awaken, they find themselves in the sorcerer's tower. the room looks to be about the same as they left it, except the world outside is nearly pitch black. the candles burn and flicker, the book on the table still wide open and the tower still empty as before. behind them, the chalkboard has a new message.]
Your hurting will be mended, when they return to end it.
[the tower is eerily silent. on the table next to the book sits a treasure chest.]
no subject
she hates this solidarity, but. it's there. and then she drifts off to sleep.
... when she wakes up, she coughs a bit, and then:]
What? [oh. treasure chest. neat.] We're here again.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
1/2
2/2