(atrocious)

[banquetofjustice]

[ it's the depths of night and he's wandering--searching--hunting when the starlight goes stale.

he has to stop, briefly; turn, survey his surroundings, try to decipher why all the shadows are so washed out and why the road under his feet isn't the same one he was walking on not a moment before.

(his first thought, before he can stop it: it's dead max's fault)

(recalling hiding behind the same hero identity back when he wasn't robin but then again it feels so much more real now) ]

Where--?

[ half a demand question posed to the sparse few silhouettes parading past him and falling on deaf ears--nobody doing so much as casting a glance at the boy in the cape and the mask.

(and he gets the feeling that they're all brainwashed, and maybe he's been put here for a reason) ]

Comments

[tachyondragon]

[ The starlight is definitely stale, because Mizael can't hear a thing from the stars in this--whatever this place is. It's quiet, and empty, and hollow and he can't stand this serene scene.

(he wants to hear the song of the stars flowing through his veins but he can't because he is enveloped by this human meat and even with his lapis hanging so boldly across his neck there is nothing)

But there's--something. He hears something.

(not the stars he wishes for, but)

A quiet song. A familiar one--one that brings out himself. The hunter. And even this weak song is enough. ]

Number.

[ He doesn't even address it by name. He can see its--motherly?--tendrils floating lazily in the air around the human, and he knows this is the source of the faint music.

(he wants it because it is his duty to collect these numbers and Mizael is as loyal to his duty and his mission as a dog is to its master, but also because it's familiar and it hums and a Numbers is much better than this stinging silence)

Without thinking, he already has his duel disk out, the bandages wrapping around his hands are another comfort he can partake in. ]

Human, relinquish your Numbers.

[banquetofjustice]

[ he feels the other before he even notices his approach. it's a stirring in the air, something sending chills down his spine, a resonance with the glowing digits imprinted on his soul.

robin turns to face the stranger, and behind the gentle curves of his mask his eyes are colder and more calculating than one would ever expect from someone so young. ]

I should say the same.

[ the human part barely registers with him; any notice he takes of it is passed over as exactly the kind of thing a servant of darkness might say.

(and the other has a numbers card because he can feel it and the gentle voice in his heart guiding his movements is telling him to take it take it take it)

his duel disk stays stowed, for now. he'd rather not bother with that if he didn't have to. ]

I have been charged with keeping this world safe from the likes of you--

[ (this world? or another?) ]

--and I cannot allow you to continue on from here with that card--!

[ (delusional, says a different voice, quieter and more timid; now's your chance to get rid of her)

(but it is all too easy to ignore) ]

[tachyondragon]

[ The audacity of this Numbers holder almost makes him smile. It's a welcome change from the silence and wandering thoughts. He has a goal, a mission, and he's going to focus and complete it even if it kills him.

(because it's barian sekai no tame ni)

(a brainwashing mantra) ]

The likes of you aren't supposed to have those cards.

[ He's ready. He's ready for a fight, his spirit is boiling and reaching fever pitch and the adrenaline rush from the anticipation has already cracked his face into a smug smirk. ]

How pitiful, to be controlled by such a weak Numbers.

Humans are weak.

[ (challenge me, his spirit rumbles)

(tachyon stirs) ]

[banquetofjustice]

[ he bristles at that--at weak, at the clear provocation that he's in far too deep to ignore. the numbers seal pulses aquamarine on the back of his hand and that first feminine voice is screaming.

(no no no he's wrong your mother galaxy queen is far from weak and you have to show him that) ]

Servant of darkness! Minion of Dead Max! I'll make you rue the day you crossed paths with ESPer Robin!

[ and he believes it, truly and wholeheartedly; losing is inconceivable and certainly not permitted because that's something fuuya would do and he is fuuya no longer.

(does not ever want to have to be fuuya again, but that's a different matter)

his duel disk folds out and he smiles (and he's a child how can he possibly manage to look so dangerous)

(fixes his gaze on the other and waits because the first move is not his to make) ]