The Silence After the Storm

[vrdr_mods]

The Ken Amada who made certain threats, whom Igor didn't bring to the Velvet Room and didn't welcome, has been permanently contained within his other-world self. Many of the Velvet Room residents mobilized in the effort to neutralize the threat he posed, and now, in the moments after the devastating battle that sealed Ken away, perhaps you have business to conclude.

Maybe you're a fighter, left in the rubble the battle made of its surroundings—or maybe you were a noncombatant this time, left behind to wonder what's happening or prepare for the aftermath. Maybe you linger around the battle site, or maybe you have other things to do.

Or maybe you didn't survive. Maybe you're one of the glowing forms slowly coalescing in front of Igor's desk in the Velvet Room over the course of the subsequent half hour. Igor presides over them gravely, with no sign of his usual smile. Near his desk sits a box of snacks, familiar to anyone who's used the operation's training room.

[[ooc: This post is a general catch-all for the aftermath of the battle! It's backdated to February 26, the day Ken got got.]]

Comments

[thedevilinyourdetails]

"I bit his arm," Akira chuckles. "For you." A pause; he shakes his head. "Don't worry about me. I just don't want you to get...head hurt. Right now."

stumbling in

[unfoggedlotus]

Ow. What the fuck. Wasn't this supposed to heal already...?

If anyone's paying attention, they'll notice it takes much longer for Ren, codename Joker, to make it back to the Velvet Room than the rest of the anti-Amada-geddon party -- a mystery quickly solved once he does finally show up.

Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Joker's practically dragging his right foot behind him, left clunking heavily against the floor in a dramatic, enunciated limp. It hurts, but he doesn't have any other options.

Yes, you do.

Shut up, Ren smacks at Arsène in his mind. The red cane in his right hand -- also his melee weapon since it has two hidden daggers -- is good enough. Deep breaths. Deep breaths. Not the police this time the police didn't beat me up again.

"Hah...ow."

[fogboundcrow]

"I'm..." He could deny it, but she's probably perceptive enough to see through him. So, blowing a small sigh, he moves closer. "What about you? You're the one who..."

He can't bring himself to say it.

[fogboundcrow]

Oh! That's Ren. Ren rushing at him at ridiculous speeds, pouncing, annnnd...

Raven stumbles, but Shiro pops up behind him, keeping the two of them from crashing into the Velvet Room floor. "I hope we didn't worry you too much."

Raven blinks a few times, then places his forehead against Ren's. "It's all right if we did."

[fogboundcrow]

Raven had noticed that Ren wasn't among the victors, so when he spots him in the Velvet room, he rushes over, wide-eyed and a tad apprehensive. "...We did, yes. But are you all right...?"

That's, erm. A rather odd thing to ask a formerly dead member of the undead, but it's important!

[vampirethief]

"I'm okay now. I gotta say, what a way to find out that vampires can be killed the same way as zombies."

It made sense, but Ren's really annoyed that having had to find out this way by dying again. Though it did raise the question of can he be killed by a stake through the heart, or if attacking the brain really is the only way.

"In all seriousness, I'm just relieved that the threat is over now."

[willowandoak]

Ren glances tiredly up, then does an alarmed double-take at the sight of Joker. "Shit, dude," he says, pushing himself to his feet. "Go sit down—actually, no, stay put. I'll get a chair from the training room."

What even is the problem? Broken leg, dislocated knee, broken ankle, torn tendon... it could be anything. The real question is, why didn't it fucking heal?

[unfoggedlotus]

"Drake?" Yeah, that's Drake. "Just point me in the direction of the chair..." his laugh feels like blowing through a straw, right leg twisted in an almost unnatural way, obscured by the tails of his costume.

[mountainfoggedlotus]

"Worry me too much?" Ren laughs. It comes out hysterical. "You were fighting a gosh-darned avatar of death! And I couldn't be there!!" He's squeezing Raven, hard. "I feel so...ugh. Sappy."

[wipingallout]

"Tired, but I'd definitely be feeling worse if we'd failed," she admitted, picking out one of the bottles of tea that Ren had gotten when she'd asked. "You don't have to feel bad about feeling uneasy just because I or anyone else went through something. We're all together in this."

[undyingcrow]

There's a rigidness to the way Goro moves, bitterness etched into his features. His footsteps are heavy, just a step away from stomping, fists locked up tight. "I should have been stronger."

He should have done more.

He needs more Personas. He needs to be more.

[unit_8910_wolf]

"Yeah," Akane can't help but weakly chuckle after Hamuko's reassurance and the mention of sleeping. "I only ever felt the need to sleep for the sake of optimizing my processors but now...I think I genuinely feel exhausted." She isn't as bright or cheerful as before but you could probably chalk that down to the death experience she just underwent.

Unnervingly, she held up the bottle and tilted it to the side- watching the water moving back and forth. Should she even drink water?

She slowly brought her hand to the cap and twisted it before just- observing it again. She didn't match Hamuko's relief, somehow her anxiety was only growing- looking away from her as she finds herself fidgeting with her broken mask.

If I threw this away would I actually look like him?

Him?

My...actual dad..?

"...I don't think I will be able to go to sleep," Akane's voice grows quiet as it cracks at the end.

[willowandoak]

"Don't worry about it." He pats Goro's back. "I can do a crazy laugh. I've got us covered."

He closes his eyes. Fuck, he's tired.

[willowandoak]

"Yeah. I don't usually say shit like this, but whatever comes next, there's no way it could be worse. Like. Fuck. But we'd better have time to take a breather first."

He doesn't address Igor again, because she's told him to be nice and he won't ever be able to manage that. But he does shoot Igor a meaningful look. Still sad and unsmiling after all the deaths, Igor looks back at him in cryptic silence. Ren rolls his eyes.

[fogbornphantom]

"I've already seen it before." With Sparrow's Ren and, through Raven, Falcon. There's an odd nonchalance to his words, mixed with weariness. "And you can't tell me you want to stand there alone."

[willowandoak]

Even the thought of Raven dying makes Ren draw back in alarm. "Fuck. No, don't worry about him, he's fine. Just tired. Can you imagine if he actually..." He can't quite bring himself to say the word died to vampire Ren. "You can tell that didn't happen because Magpie didn't murder me in revenge."

No one would forgive Ren if that happened to Raven, and he wouldn't deserve forgiveness. Shit. What a concept.

[lakebrat]

"Hey." He gives Ren a little shake. "No falling asleep. They're almost cooked."

Indeed, only the tip of Hamuko's nose is now coated in blue light.

[willowandoak]

Ren is already halfway to the training room door. He ducks inside and grabs one of the lawn chairs he put there when it first appeared, thankful for the second time today that he left all that stuff near the entrance. He only gets a good look at Joker's leg when he emerges again and hurries over.

"Shit, that looks nasty. Here." He unfolds the lawn chair behind Joker. "Do you need help sitting down? How the hell did all the healers miss you, man?"

[vampirethief]

Ren relaxes at this. Thank gods Raven survived.

"No kid should have to suffer death, even with this place having death be temporary."

Hell, he was 16 when he died the first time, but Raven's like 14 or somewhere around that age.

"I'll have to check on him later."

[willowandoak]

"Can I sit down?"

He doesn't usually vibe with asking permission just to be somewhere, but it's safe to say that this isn't a normal situation. He doesn't really care about what Hasegawa's face looks like, but his eyes linger on Akane's regenerating body.

[willowandoak]

"Sure, so have I. It sucks."

...Actually, this is stupid. Ren's arguing for something he doesn't even want. "But yeah, you can come. Thanks."

[willowandoak]

"I'm not falling asleep. It's just..."

It's just nice. To be able to close his eyes.

[lakebrat]

It is nice. He wants to sleep more than he ever thought was possible, even after Okumura, after Kamoshida, after his awakening—in safety, with Ren in his arms. After all the nights he sat up with his mother, or the times they fled whatever hole they'd dug into without paying the rent.

He leans down, placing a light kiss on Ren's hairline. "You'll want to talk to them. I'll head back to Leblanc, turn the bed down. I'll have soup waiting, and some hot food."

He knows Ren, after all. First the soup, then the food, when he realises he could eat a horse.

[wipingallout]

"That's okay... it's okay to not be alright for a little while," Hamuko offered gently, tilting her head. They'd gone through something horrific... and Akane had been digital up until recently, right?

She didn't realize there was more under the surface, there.

"What's on your mind right now, Akane?"

[wipingallout]

"Heheh. That'd be nice! Let us all have a little vacation. Honestly, maybe we should have a little group get-together - have some fancy sushi or something to celebrate!"