[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]

[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.

[burninglight]

...what do you want from me?

[Even though it was half-muffled against Church's shoulder, the question was directed at his brother.]

I don't want your help. I don't trust you. I don't-...I don't believe you.

cw: suicidal ideation probably

[founderinglight]

[It takes him a minute, to put together that the words are directed at him - ]

...Then there's no point.

[motherfucking_ghost]

[He doesn't know what is going on, what Ardyn is wearing, or anything except that Ardyn is upset and it's Izunia's fault. And because today has been A Fucking Day, and Leonard Church is by no means the sanest one in the room, go fuck yourself, he pulls his arm back to lob the molotov into Izunia's face.

It's not a gun, he (probably) won't miss.]

[burninglight]

Stop--

[Ardyn caught Church's arm, more out of autopiloted desperation than anything.]

Don't. Don't. I-...

['I don't want to hurt him' didn't quite make it out, mostly because Ardyn didn't understand why not.]

[founderinglight]

[Just... slow, owlish blinking. He doesn't move, because Izunia.exe has not booted up, FounderKing.exe has been permanently exiled from the hard drive, and all other systems can only be operated through the Izunia.exe operating system.

Well, okay, his hand is no longer hanging sadly in the air and drops across his knee, but that's it.]

[motherfucking_ghost]

Okay well someone fucking say coherent words or I'm gonna either set him on fire or beat his skull in.

[burninglight]

[Slow, deep breaths. Focus.]

...he says he came to help.

[founderinglight]

[despair.exe it's still running but okay we're going to. put face in hands and try. try to look like we have self control.

just. over here. face. hands. deep breath. sob.]

[motherfucking_ghost]

I DON'T SEE ANY FUCKING HELP.

I HAVE A LOT OF PENT-UP ANGER AND SO HELP ME I AM NOT AFRAID TO LET IT LOOSE.

[burninglight]

...please stop. Leonard, just--I'm alright. Stay here, don't hurt him.

[your fiance is tired and wants none of the yelling please.]

Izunia...I'm not...I'm not your king. I never was.

HMU if u rather i delete this!!

[press_start]

Do you want… drinks?

[she has some spacebucks and some alcohol and oh what’s this.]

[motherfucking_ghost]

Something strong, please and thank you.

[press_start]

I heard you shouting from inside.

[booze? booze. here.

she also seems very unaffected by the twindrama over there.]

[motherfucking_ghost]

[He can drink with one hand and threaten people with a molotov in the other, it's called multitasking.]

So who are you supposed to be? Do I have to get angry at you, too?

[founderinglight]

[Finally, words, ragged and rough - ]

You should have been.

[motherfucking_ghost]

Nothing about this seems all right.

[burninglight]

But I wasn’t. [He kept right on clinging to Church, at this point as much for Izunia’s sake as his own.

Why should I—why should we trust you, after what you did?

here let's underlatin instead

[founderinglight]

...In my heart, you were.

[And that's too tired to be anything but the truth.]

I can't make my words reach any further now than I did before. I love you, I have always loved you, I will burn for you at a word, but I have nothing more I can give.