[Thread] Break the World in Half....

[misguidedherald]

Characters: AU!Yuki Judai [misguidedherald] // OPEN
Where: the Plaza, near the fountain
When: during the third stage of the mod!plot, shorty after awakening from the hallucinations of death and destruction.
Summary: He had died thrice -- upon a pyre of lies and betrayal; in that sunless world, when childish, naive innocence had been murdered within him by

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[hero_of_dark]

It was entirely coincidence that Juudai had spotted his other self, but not one that he completely disapproved of. He'd been curious to see how his alter had come out of the experience, even though it was probably dangerous to even go near him now that the cuffs were gone. His unpredictable nature was always a reason to be cautious around him, though the older Juudai seemed fairly relaxed.

He simply met the other's golden eyes with his own brown ones, not questioning or accusing, just looking. It wasn't like he was completely, one-hundred percent fine and dandy in his own right, either, to his alter's credit. And after everything he'd likely been through, even though Juudai didn't know all the details... it was hard not to almost sympathize.

Almost.

[misguidedherald]

Even as utterly detached as he was from his surrounding environment, Judai couldn't possibly hope to not notice his alter's presence, loathsome though it may have been to him. Silently, he raised his own eyes, meeting the other's gaze straight-on -- wayward and nameless emotions flickering in those sickly, yellowish depths

[hero_of_dark]

Juudai narrowed his eyes, blatantly unimpressed by this display of insanity. He'd really waste his energy trying to kill someone who wanted just as much to protect those he cared about? Then again, he thought, he probably thinks that he would rather turn on his friends again at the first sign of trouble, with how narrow his line of perception and course of thought is.

"Yeah," he said flatly, unamused, "I'm aware of that. I think everyone is."

[misguidedherald]

"And I take it that you are also aware of the consequences."

There was a fair amount of amusement within his tone -- even if of a rather unsettling and decidedly sadistic flavor, one which could only be found within an individual capable of deriving pleasure from another's suffering. To any other, Judai's line of thought might have seemed quite foolish -- yet, to the boy, it made perfect sense. After all, he had obviously not forgotten the humiliating defeat handed to him by his double, or the days spent alongside him and Andersen, his every weakness and fear visible to their eyes -- shameful things, whose bitter memories he wished to erase with the only thing that could serve to mend his wounded pride: vengeance.

His alter had a great deal to answer for, in the end -- only one thing more added to that list made little difference, yet it could offer Judai a good amount of satisfaction.

Deranged smirk never leaving his features -- an expression which clearly illustrated the fact that the 'not-death' experience had shaken

[trouble_angel]

Misha was drifting above the ground around the plaza area when she spotted her roommate. Immediately, without hesitation, she floated over to him, wings working to their fullest again, and called out to him softly.

"Judai-kun...?"

Her eyes were reddish around the edges, a clear indication she'd been crying after the nightmarish experience. Crying for what, or for who, was entirely up to speculation, though.

[misguidedherald]

He hadn't seen either her or Yubel properly after awakening -- having fled the Paj hallway immediately after being released from that horrendous illusion, still half-convinced that he was indeed dead and everything that he was seeing was merely some kind of inverted reality, a punishment imposed upon the boy by the purgatory into which he had been brought

[trouble_angel]

Misha immediately hugged back, curling her white wings around them both, some loose and slightly glowing feathers occasionally falling to the ground. She was of the opinion that they comforted each other, and not simply one to the other. Judai said nothing, and she felt he didn't need to say anything, but she felt as though it would help to whisper to him quietly in an attempt to be comforting.

"It'll be okies," she tried to say soothingly, but instead it came out somewhat quivery and uneasy. "We're all alive now... so we gotta make sure we stay alive, su... I gotta be a better angel, too, so I can protect everyone, su..."

[misguidedherald]

...Protect everyone? It certainly took almost all of Judai's self-control in order to suppress the cold, thoroughly mirthless bout of laughter which had risen from within his throat. If he -- the Herald of Gentle Darkness, living embodiment of a Force of Creation -- had been completely incapable of doing anything when it had mattered the most, just how could this naively foolish child think that she could hope to fare better

[prismaticeden]

What was the point in waking when the world was just as horrible as the dream? It was said that nightmares would wake the dreamer and leave them drenched in a sweat and overwhelmed with a terrible sense of dread inexplicably threaded with a vague but profound sense of relief---because it was over, because it was finished, it could not hurt them

[black_not_white]

It was probably idiotic of him to be wandering about right now. The cuffs were gone, and though he wasn't going to particularly complain about it (would you, if you were suddenly liberated from being forced to wear anything of a color that represented everything you despised with all your being? ...He realized how shallow that probably sounded, but didn't care), the fact was that he wasn't all that spectacular when it came to defending himself, and would probably be safer indoors

[misguidedherald]

For his part, Judai was so far removed from almost anything occurring around him that almost nothing short of an earthquake would have been thoroughly sufficient in drawing his full attention. However, what little he managed to glance of the other -- from merely a cursory look, just enough to make certain that his ambling walk didn't bring him into anyone else's path -- was enough to cause the boy to simply stop dead in his tracks, all thoughts grinding to a particularly painful halt.

He recognized Manjoume -- and how could he not, for the other boy had certainly offered him quite an enjoyable rivalry, during his year at the Academia, being one of the first of his peers for which the young Haou had felt a certain sense of respect (even though he had rarely showed it). Judai had known that Manjoume was present in the compound -- having seen him held captive, during his alter's Duel with Yubel -- yet meeting him so close to his monumental failure was guaranteed to stir a fair amount of guilt and self-loathing within the boy, images of

[black_not_white]

All right, fine, he had been noticed. Manjoume, himeself, would have been perfectly content if Judai had just passed him by (or so he convinced himself). But he was in the mood to talk, too - it might even get his mind off things.

"Judai," he greeted in kind, his tone that of a simple statement.

[misguidedherald]

For the most part, Judai had attempted to steer clear of the other Academia students present within the compound, unwilling to interact with them due to a combination of factors. Firstly, there was his still lingering fear and self-recrimination for the dreadful state in which he had left them, within his own world, after having been whisked away in such an unceremonious manner.

In a sense, he worried that Amnael's betrayal had resulted in their deaths -- unwilling to verify the validity of that particular supposition by speaking to individuals who had or hadn't passed that point.

Secondly, there was his own self-imposed distance from most beings -- an effort that he had made at the Academia, with little to no success. The young Haou had attempted to drive them away on repeated occasions, to keep all of them at arm's length, from an emotional point of view. He had failed to do so -- and, in the end, that traitorous teacher had used their lives in order to draw Judai straight in his Shadow Game.

Such a thing would never happen

[fullmet_al]

Alice was scared. She thought that she wouldn't be able to get back to her own world and get her brother his body back. The Alchemist didn't think that she would survive the previous day when William had tried to save her, but it still didn't help. They had both died. She had been unable to help anyone. She didn't know what was going to happen when she woke up, but she was glad that she was still alive.

She really didn't know where she was going, she just wandered. Her mind was focused on the loss that she had been dealt. She knew that she had almost died when she had meet Scar before coming here, hell, she had been willing to give her life for her brother, but this was totally different. This was a slaughter and there was no way to stop it unless they could get rid of the Keepers.

She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Judai a few feet away. Great. This is just what she needed right now. Judai without the cuff. This wasn't going to end well.

[misguidedherald]

Locked in his own turmoil though he may have been, Judai certainly noticed her -- it would have been difficult not to, given the anger that this particular girl had the unfortunate habit of stirring within him.

Smirking slightly -- indeed, there were some benefits to this entire disaster -- gloved fingers idly touching the skin where the pearly-white cuff had used to be, days earlier, Judai slowly turned towards her, a small, feral smirk playing upon his lips, yellowish eyes covered by a swatch of dirty hair. While it had been amusing enough to knock her around some time ago, the cuff had certainly held him back from offering Alice Elric the castigation that she so rightfully deserved.

Seeing as the cuff was certainly no longer an issue, Judai intended to see that she would know the true meaning of agony, punished for having dared to cage him with her powers.

[fullmet_al]

Alice just stood there, both arms hanging by her sides. She may not look it, but she would be ready to act in an instant. She didn't want to fight him, not after what she she had just been put through. Everyone in the compound had just been put through hell and she didn't need another fight on top of that.

She started to back away, unsure if Judai would even let her, but she might as well try.

[misguidedherald]

Wicked expression never faltering for one moment, Judai stepped forward, with that greatly enhanced speed of his, one gloved hand gripping Alice's flesh-arm and brutally twisting the wrist in a counter-clockwise motion. Subtle tendrils of power began to flow underneath her skin, bringing with them that particular brand of ringing pain that only Judai's abilities seemed capable of engendering within others.

"I do not think so" the boy chuckled darkly, upon noticing her attempt to back away from him, narrowed eyes and flared nostrils giving quite a fair indication of his almost thorough immersion in cold, livid anger.