Marco's Heart

[peccatore]

You find yourself in a bright white, circular room. It's nearly empty; too bare, almost clinically so. But the bareness of it means that what is visible here stands out:

A podium in the center, where a familiar figure sits, head buried in his hands. Three paths running from the podium to three different spots near the edges of the room - not corners; circles don't have corners - where three doors leading seemingly nowhere stand with no regard for their complete lack of structural support.

It doesn't take you long to figure out where you are, does it? You only have to decide where to start.

Comments

[peccatore]

As soon as they step through, the world seems to shift on its axis.

It doesn't really; nothing physically moves. But there is a sense of disorientation, maybe even a loss of balance, and two things happen simultaneously.

One: The entrance hall of an opulent, but disheveled mansion takes shape all around Mithrun and Marco. There are a half-dozen other people here, picking themselves up; a lanky man with dark green hair lies motionless on the floor.

Two: Marco suddenly falls to his knees as if gravity chose to spite him specifically. He gasps, limbs shaking and eyes unfocused. Agnes is suddenly here, kneeling by his side.

[want_not]

[. . . is that guy died . . .]

[Mithrun makes sure Agnes has Marco, and approaches the ??? body ???]

[peccatore]

It looks like the guy in question is alive, but barely. Shallow breathing, very faint pulse.

[want_not]

. . .


Should I kill this guy?

[peccatore]

"What the fuck is wrong with you," the not-quite-dead man wheezes.

[want_not]

. . .

We don't have time for that.

[peccatore]

"... It's okay, Mithrun."

Marco sounds exhausted. He's on his knees right now, slumped over in Agnes' arms.

"We've... arrived at the end. I wonder if we can just go back now..."

[want_not]

This is the end?

What happened . . .?

[peccatore]

"Something happened with... Kaphlar." He points at the barely-conscious man. "That man on the ground. I-I... The details are fuzzy. I wasn't well at all. But... Agnes came for me."

Agnes furrows her brow slightly, looking into the distance.

[want_not]

You really don't . . . remember what happened?

[peccatore]

"I remember I was angry. And exhausted."

[want_not]

. . .

He seems like a guy that deserves to be kicked a bit.

[peccatore]

"I... wanted to do more than that."

Agnes takes this opportunity to cut in.

"You're still avoiding the crux of the matter."

[want_not]

[stares expectantly]

[peccatore]

Agnes stares at Marco in turn. He appears to withstand this for a total of six seconds before letting out a shuddering sigh and lying down.

"I should have just told you in the first place. This has been absurd, hasn't it?"

[want_not]

. . .

[quietly goes to lie down next to him]

Sometimes . . . it takes a while.

I understand.

[peccatore]

He hesitantly reaches for Mithrun's hand, staring off into the fuzzy, indistinct approximation of a ceiling.

"I... I hurt so many people. I know it wasn't the end... I know this isn't even the end," he says, patting the floor. "But it doesn't change what happened."

[want_not]

. . . well. No. It doesn't change it.

But—people hurt people.

[peccatore]

"I... hurt a community, Mithrun. I would have hurt the world at large, given time."

And then, finally, he proceeds to tell him everything.

But we JUST did a thread like that so like, feel free to assume he tells Mithrun pretty much what he told Tristan.

[want_not]

[NO, TYPE IT ALL OUT AGA—no]

. . .

[Mithrun listens patiently, brows furrowed a bit]

You don't—really want to hurt them anymore, right?

[peccatore]

"Of... Of course not."

[want_not]

. . .

You're really, really hard on yourself.

[peccatore]

Instead of responding, Marco continues to stare at the ceiling.

[want_not]

. . .

[just rolls over next to him, pressed against his side like a cat]

[peccatore]

"Wha-- What are you doing?"