After All [Closed, In Progress]

[darkknightfall]

WHO: The Goddamn Batman Bruce Wayne Clark Kent and Ienzo? Zexion
WHAT: Old allies, new beginnings.
WHERE: The Sanitarium
WHEN: Day 256, Night

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[darkknightfall]

"I don't trust them, either."

Not entirely true. He trusted them both to be true to their natures. Which was to say, he trusted them to want to execute Zexion and Axel for their crimes. And with Rivelata's laws being what they were-- namely, whatever the whim of the Queen was at the moment-- he couldn't trust them to keep Axel and Zexion safe. From everything he heard, there would be a trial... But who the judge and jury would be hadn't even been declared, and there was no guarantee the legal system here was anything like what the legal system back home he knew was, either.

Then again, if he needed to, he could probably break Zexion and Axel out himself, as he had Schuldig and Farfarello to save their lives-- and possibly the Queen's. Truth be told, there was no one here more experienced in breaking out the Queen's prisoners than the vigilante, ironic as it seemed.

"I'll do everything I can to see that you and Axel are treated fairly, Zexion. What you've done isn't to be taken lightly... but neither is the change you two have undergone. And if the system isn't fair... We'll find our own way."

[book_of_mirage]

"... thank you," he said.

Once again, he smiled, holding out his wrists. "I suppose you should just take me in now. I'll save you the trouble."

[darkknightfall]

"You're welcome."

Bruce paused a moment, looking at the illusionist. The changes the man had undergone here must have been wrenching. Though the potential for this was hinted at early on, he had instead fallen deeper into darkness-- or was it deeper at all, Bruce had to wonder, what he had done here? Was it worse than what he had done before? Perhaps even better? There was no way of telling without asking, and bringing up the past, especially a past like that, in a situation like this was never a good idea. But he had been wrenched from that darkness, torn from it and tossed about by-- by what? What gave him a heart? What caused him all this grief when before he couldn't feel regret or remorse?

"It's late. We don't want to cause a panic by bringing you there this late, even in handcuffs. Better to do it in daylight, or at least some time during the evening when they're all more likely to be awake. Tomorrow."

A pause as his eyes evaluated Zexion.

"I know you don't understand everything, but... I'd like to know what's going on. Everything. Off the record."

Normally, the way he phrased it, that would have been a command. If he were Batman, talking to a criminal, it would have been. But it was like talking to Harvey, all that time ago. Zexion wasn't just a criminal, wasn't just the enemy, he was a friend, and so it was an honest question, one that didn't have to be answered here, but would be answered, however completely or incompletely elsewhere later on.

oh god, everything?

[book_of_mirage]

"Oh Heart of Hearts, where do I begin?" he mused aloud. "Everything?"

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Well. This may take a while. I suppose... if you want to understand everything, I may have to begin at the very beginning. It's... difficult to understand my actions here without knowing how I came to be here..."

"You may want to take a seat. If you want to know everything, this will be a long night... and feel free to interrupt and ask questions. I can get a little sidetracked."

[ooc: everything everything? XD like "starting from radiant garden up through coming to rive etc" everything?]

[darkknightfall]

"Zexion, I need to understand not just who you've been here, but who you were before, or there won't be much I can do to help you."

Bruce had expected it would be a long, complex narrative. This was, after all, Zexion. And, more than that, the change he had undergone-- from being a human, to a Nobody, to having a heart again-- was immense, to say the least. Nevertheless, if he was to help Zexion form a defense, if he was to be able to trust Zexion-- who had switched allegiances how many times in his time in Rivelata alone (or had his allegiance, as a Nobody, always truly been to himself alone?)-- he needed to know everything, not just the adulterated snippets he had been told before by Zexion, who had, at the time, likely been trying to cover his tracks and those of his compatriots.

"I think we're both used to long nights, Zexion."

Out of the darkness he dragged two chairs, and, fairly certain Zexion was alone now, shut the door the lit a few candles, sitting across from Zexion, expression intent and concentrated as he waited for the former illusionist to begin.