[no one gets (air)left behind]

[founderinglight]

[The police have taken your Mastermind, and the spaceport is yours, it seems, for the time being, without any further interruptions.

Except...

Why is there another ship parked at the door? (The door, it should be noted, furthest from the police cruiser.)

There's one more person who intends to put on an appearance today, it seems.

-> Investigate?]

[[Welcome to the Airleft Bonus Continuity CMO and catchall post! For those who aren't familiar, the TLDR of Airleft is "Airlocked, but a bit to the left." The short version is that this one time, at Space Mall, Church and Ardyn ran into someone very familiar... Running basically the shittier version of Armigod. Wanna meet space dad's actual bro? Now's your chance.]]

Comments

[burninglight]

Shut up. What the hell are you doing here?!

[founderinglight]

Well, I was going to fuck shit up until we got you back, but that's apparently unnecessary.

[burninglight]

You're a little late! And what makes you think I wanted your help?!

[founderinglight]

I know you didn't.

[He presses a hand into his stomach, but straightens, and there's... a slightly different set to his shoulders.

Also, he appears to have gone to an undercut with a stylized sunset worked into the shaved part, if Ardyn's looking for details. With that and the tattoo still at his neck, there's little chance that anyone won't be able to tell them apart, at least for the moment.]

But even if my particular doom is to always be too late, at least it's not never.

[burninglight]

[He'd address how ridiculous Izunia looked later. For now, he pointed accusingly with his left hand--now bearing a black ring with a blue streak.]

I would have preferred 'never'.

1/2

[founderinglight]

You ate a fucking death cookie and talked about how sure you were I didn't love you, so quite frankly, stuff that up your ass and deal with it.

[He pauses, takes a deep breath.]

italics are me refusing to go fuck around with google translate latin

[founderinglight]

...I didn't come here to fight with you.

[And lets it out, slowly and evenly.]

Wherever you go, my love goes with you. I wish I could make that stick in your heart the way your memories of your new family did, unable to be altered or erased.

[burninglight]

Too bad, because I can't fight that underfed treant and I want to punch something!

[...he has not exactly learned the healthiest coping mechanisms for anger yet]

You are not my family. Not after what you did, not ever again.

1/2 AGAIN

[founderinglight]

[I mean it's not like Izunia has learned the best of them for grief.]

Maybe so. But you will always be mine. My family, and -

[It's not really a warp so much as a very quick-moving phase, directly into Ardyn's space - ]

[founderinglight]

[ - and concluding with a weight, pulled from Izunia's Armiger and settled heavily onto Ardyn's shoulders.]

- the only king I would ever bow to.

[Heavy black fabric with gleaming gold - a king's raiment, unmistakably. But it is not some imitation of the modern kings. The shoulders are less ornate, the collar wider to accommodate the everpresent scarf in closer against Ardyn's neck. And the cape part is two layers, a short one of plain black and a longer of lacy fabric -

- that's identical to the layer of such on Ardyn's old coat. Close inspection will reveal the slight irregularities of hand-stitching.

Izunia doesn't stay close long enough to close the dangling chains around Ardyn's neck, but steps back in one swift motion and bows, deeply as he is able, at the waist.

Theirs has always been a line of grand gestures. He can only pray that this one carries the meaning of his heart.]

1/2 can play this game

[burninglight]

Don't touch me--

[...But then the weight settled around his shoulders, and he actually paused to process it along with the words he was hearing. With the gesture he was faced by.]

[burninglight]

[Anger dissipated into genuine confusion, Ardyn raising a hand to the unclasped chains as if he couldn't fully process what was happening. A familiar look, to those who watched Airlocked and saw him dissociate clear out of the galaxy every so often.]

[And then...everything, the whole events of the day and all the weeks before it, all the stress and pain and re-fracturing and reconstructing of everything Ardyn Tenmyouji was just came crashing down, and he dropped to his knees with his head in his hands and a strangled sob tearing its way from his throat.]

italatin strikes again

[founderinglight]

[...Ah, that's.

Not as planned. Fuck. God damn it.

Izunia goes to his knees at his brother's side instantly, hesitating just shy of touching.]

You were always the sun, and this was always yours. Please, don't make me go out into that night again.

[burninglight]

Get away from me--

[Ardyn warped back in a flash of magenta, staggering as he reappeared and backing against a wall while swiping the back of his hand over his eyes.]

Liar. Traitor. Don't...don't come near me, don't, I've had enough betrayals in the past weeks and I don't need you back in my life now!

[motherfucking_ghost]

[IF THERE IS A DOOR TO KICK IN IT WILL BE KICKED. If there is not a door to be kicked in then something is getting kicked. It might be feelings.

It might also be Church ready to fight with a fucking molotov in his hand. The nice thing about those is you can throw them...or you can just bash someone's head in with a bottle!

Where did this ship come from? Whose is it? He does not care. Is that Izunia or is that some weird punk rocker, who cares, he sees Ardyn and Ardyn is upset and he has come.]

Someone tell me why the fuck my boyfriend is crying right now and maybe I don't light you up like the Fourth of July.

[founderinglight]

[Church would a random punk rocker even be capable of making your boyfriend cry? Probably not.

Izunia just... stays, right where he is, hand just slightly lifted. He doesn't move. It's possible to believe that he doesn't even breathe.

There's nothing he can do. So he just. Doesn't.

The expression frozen on his face is somewhere beyond pain.]

[burninglight]

[Ardyn warped again, streak of magenta stopping right in Church's space to Ardyn wrapping his arms around his fiance tightly. That was safety, was the one person he could trust above all others. Even if every single person in the world turned on him, Leonard Church never would.]

...he's lying. He's lying, he's lying, he's lying--

[It came out like a half-manic rambling, Ardyn not present enough to focus on more than that.]

Just going to turn on me. Like the Doctor and Diver and even Choromatsu, just another traitor like everyone else.

[motherfucking_ghost]

[Yep, that's a one-armed hug, nice and tight. Because the other arm is raising the molotov higher as a threat. He's glaring daggers at--what the fuck did Izunia do to his head--the twin brother, but speaks to Ardyn.]

Nobody's betraying you. Nobody's turning on you, not by a long shot.

drives by, doing absolutely nothing

[press_start]

Izunia-san, I did say that this entrance was a bad idea.

[The small anime girl pokes her head out the door, and stares for a split second at the twins.]

….ah! Tenmyouji Wakasa Church Caledonia -san. I'm acting pilot while Izunia-san is... over there. Carry on, I'll be inside if you need me.

[burninglight]

Just Tenmyouji is fine, pleasure to meet you.

[...hey, you haven't done anything to him lately.]

Kitchen's upstairs, help yourself before Noctis steals the rest of it.

[press_start]

I'm glad to be able to finally meet you in person. I'm not hungry, though, so it's okay. I'll look after the ship while you do what you need to.

[burninglight]

Very kind of you, dear. I hope my brother's not been too much trouble.

[press_start]

I don't mind trouble. The worst thing he's done is turn into an armoured ghost and cover his apartment in black cloth.

[burninglight]

He does that.

[press_start]

.... like right now, he's doing that.

[ gonna let you go fight your brother now.]