peccatore | Marco's Heart

Marco's Heart

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.

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[Ashwyn frowns. This is a memory. She's not going to be able to change it. But...]

[She strides towards the arena, snaps her fingers, and says:]

Freeze!

[Her hope is that the memory will freeze in place so she can examine it more closely. Failing that, maybe the lanky guy will stop for a moment.]

The good news is: the memory does freeze! Everyone remains exactly where they were. The real lanky man's advance stops mid-step, making his confident swagger look somehow unbalanced.

The bad news is: the lankier man who followed her does not stop.

"Whatcha looking for, inspector~?"

Please. I'm not a cop.

[She gets into the arena and starts looking at the people more closely. Rifles through their pockets. That kind of thing.]

[She also pushes the frozen lanky guy over.]

"Phew. I don't think a cop's qualified to deal with this guy's baggage anyway."

The young women don't seem to have anything noteworthy in their pockets, but a bag of beans does fall out of the lanky guy's pocket when he falls over.

[A bag of beans? What kind?]

Just regular dried beans. A bag full of 'em.

[She looks at the beans, looks at the fallen lanky guy, then looks at the still moving lanky guy. What in the fuck, dude?]

[She stows the beans in her jacket, then stands next to Marco and snaps her fingers again.]

The still-moving lanky guy shrugs. "Don't know why you're bothering, really."

... Regardless, time resumes. Somehow, the fallen lanky guy seems to clip back onto his feet, and then he takes no time at all to announce, opening his arms with a broad, sweeping gesture:

"Thank you sooo much for coming, Marco Evangelisti! Man of the hour! Man of the YEAR, the way things are going!"

Marco's eyes quickly dart around... but they seem to linger on Ashwyn a moment longer than anywhere else.

"Mr. Kinra, I'm not sure what you want from me."

[Whispering:]

I got your back, Marco.

[She doesn't move from her spot.]

Marco's brow twitches unpleasantly. The events carry on as they did, regardless.

"Oh, just looking for a chat," says the man who's apparently named Mr. Kinra.

"In front of a live audience? In front of cameras?" Marco stretches his mouth into a practiced smile. "I think my office would have been a nicer venue."

"Maybe." The lanky man's grin, in turn, twists his delicate features into anything but. "But I thought, 'Gee, wouldn't it be funny if the organizers had Good Samaritan Mr. Evangelisti on speed dial?' And lo and behold, they did! Now why is that?"

"I'm not a difficult man to reach."

"Unless someone tries to invite you to an afternoon picnic, am I right?"

The so-called Mr. Kinra is advancing in on Marco again.

[Ashwyn smoothly steps in front of Marco.]

Get to the point, Kinra. I'm not feeling really patient today.

For a moment, Kinra and the spidery-er version of him speak in unison:

"Awwww."

But then, things resume. More or less.

"You want me to get to the point? Alright then." The smile on his face is a mockery of sweetness. "Might wanna get out of the way, sweetheart!"

He winds up for a punch. Think fast.

[Ashwyn kicks him in the crotch.]

"Fuck, OW!" He doubles over -

But curiously, behind her, Marco falls to the ground with an audible, inhuman hiss.

The man who followed Ashwyn in grins and conjures a blue flame at one of his fingertips, wagging it at her before he blows it out.

[Ashwyn conjures a red flame above her middle finger, then flicks it at him. Her next move is to help Marco back up.]

He seems to shrug it off. Meanwhile, Marco recoils from Ashwyn.

"N-No point. There's no point. They all heard. They all saw."

Hmm.

[She snaps again.]

Back up.

[She wants to see what she missed while Marco was behind her.]

Wow, rewinding time?! If only the spidery man here were the real deal, rather than the version of himself that lives rent-free in Marco's head... This is surely only the second Jojo reference of many that you're missing out on, you know.

But no matter. If she goes back to the point where she stepped in front of Marco, he starts to say, amid a nervous stammer:

"If you wanted to go out for lunch, there were far more harmless ways to--"

"Ew, what?" Kinra interrupts. "Spare me."

[Gods above, now she's being razzed. Great. Is this another sign she's losing her mind?]

[Nevertheless, she watches carefully, wincing in sympathy.]

Don't worry, Ashwyn. The narration is just getting silly with it. A mindscape built on self-loathing can probably use some levity where possible.

Especially when things are playing out the way they are. Kinra continues -

"I know I'm gorgeous, but I don't swing your way. Besides..." Another step closer to Marco. There is a dangerous glint in his eyes.

And then, things happen very quickly.

"Between you and me, Marco? I get the feeling nobody's -" (there; he's winding up for that punch again) "- gonna be calling you to dine out -" (but it isn't a punch; a bright blue flame blazes to life in his hand) "- after today!"

Kinra swipes. Mortal danger whizzes inches past Marco's nose, and that is when he stumbles back, hissing in the dead silence of the arena.

[Ashwyn watches Marco. Does he look different than normal? Or is the hiss the only indication that something was up? Surely, if it was just the hissing, Kinra attacking someone would be a bigger issue...]

At the very moment Marco hissed, his glamour failed. It was only for a second, if that, but that single moment was apparently enough to put the majority of the audience, including the crew, in shock.

Also, a certain lanky, spidery observer is still here. He leans in and adds, in a sing-songy voice:

"It's all on camera."

Dunno what a camera is. But I'm guessing the problem here is that a lotta people saw that happen. Word can travel quick.

[She faces Mr. Spider.]

So if I'm understanding right, you lured Marco somewhere where you could break his magic publicly. Why? What'd he do to you?

"Hahah! Projecting a little, aren't you? But I don't blame you forgetting the wrong idea, you know. You only have a fraction of the picture."

[Ugh. She hates this kind of guy.]

So fill in some'a the gaps for me. I figure I'm here for a reason, and I wanna know what that reason is.

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