25 | discuss; how to ruin a liar

"God, how old is this thing?" She pressed her hands into the thin mat, lips pursed. "I really think you should invest in a new one."

"You never told me about the consequences."

The woman dismissed him, joyous at his ugly expression, seen vividly with her piercing vision. "You know, if you steal away light, there is only darkness. But if you steal away darkness, only more waits behind. It is endless, inevitable. It's constant."

"I'm not interested in a philosophy lesson." scowled Lucas, impatient with his headache and sore limbs.

"Once you begin to sink into depravity, there are no walls nor hands to help you escape."

"I don't plan to escape."

She laughed, a wry sort of chuckle that hung over the room. There was a sarcastic bite to it, as if mocking his words. "How did you feel? Was it easy?"

"I feel like shit." muttered Lucas grumpily.

He, too easily affected by emotions, felt and remembered the dying thoughts and pain that had taken over him like a recent memory.

How could it be easy to have the burden of remembering the dead's last wishes, hearing their regrets and feelings regarding absolutely everything, as one killed them with their own hands?

For somebody heartless, maybe they wouldn't care as memory and memory puled up after each other. But for somebody who cared, it'd nip away at their brain, guilt crashing down on them.

Even the most cruel had stories to tell, and their death would reveal it.

"I warned you." Wren stated plainly, her face a mask of calm amusement, indifferent to his suffering. "At what point will the anguish of the dead start to overwrite your own thoughts and memories?"

"At what point will I start to mistake their death's for my own?" finished Lucas, annoyed and tired as gave up on being angry. "I already know this, stop playing your mind games, damn Joker."

Cursing, he slumped back lazily more, wanting to melt into the wall. There was no turning back, after all, and their contract couldn't be nulled. "What an unlucky ability."

"Hey! This is my prized possession, brat."

"Take it back."

"How ungrateful."

"I'd rather you just give me money."

Wren shrugged, shaking her head in an exaggerated manner. "You should be honoured to be one of the few blessed with such a powerful ability."

Lucas took in her words. One of the few?

In the short period of time since she'd been tricked, and her meeting with him, how many others could she have made a contract with?

"Don't go getting distracted, now."

Lucas yawned, carelessly glancing over as he thumbed the phone in one hand. "You heard everything that the Punisher said, didn't you?"

"Naturally." She hesitated, and a furrow of hatred pressed into her brows. "The Spade King—that man is a sly, scheming, no-good bastard. Even if he's around, he'll be hiding away."

"I know."

"Yeah, about that." Leaning in, she stared at Lucas through half-lidded eyes, scrutinizing. "How do you know so much?"

"Not saying."

"Why not?"

Lucas stared back, serious. "I can't be bothered."

"...that's not a good reason, y'know?" Shaking her head, she backed away. "Well, not that my prying is going to get anything out of you."

"It'll be a three-day plan. No longer. We lure him out, and you get to do whatever you want."

"If it was that easy, I would've found him myself."

"It's not something a person should do on their own." said Lucas matter-of-factly. "It'll involve the others, so we'll need to form a plan together."

"Relying on others to fulfill our contract? Isn't that a little unfair?"

"Use all resources available."

Wren gasped exaggeratedly. "Are you calling your companions resources? I should tell them, let them know how sneaky their leader is."

"I'm calling you an idiot. Get out." He gestured to the door. "Unless you're no longer interested in revenge? Then shut up, and let me use your power for free."

"Ha!"

She waved lightly, pushing the door wide open with a spring in her step, light spilling into the room. Lucas sighed, taking a few deep breaths to soothe the pain in his head before following her behind.

Elliot stared unblinkingly. "Hey, hey, you were hiding a whole woman in there this entire time?"

Wren winked. "I'm his secret lover."

"Wow~ if you're a secret, does that mean he's in an affair?"

The woman stretched out her arms to gesture towards the crossed arm man leaning on the couch, elegant even in his comfort as he glanced over with a raise of an eyebrow.

Elliot nodded to himself. "I see, I see. We bat for the same team them, Ghost."

"....." Lucas stared at their ridiculous conversation and moved to sit beside Elias, making sure to keep a certain amount of space in between them. He kicked Elias' long legs to the side to give him more room.

Elias glanced at him, questioning.

"Sorry. I didn't see it there."

A natural smile appeared on the other's lips. "I thought you were near-sighted, not far-sighted, darling?"

"Your pants blended in with the floor."

Elias looked down at the pale wooden planks, and then at his clean, black dress pants. "Is that so?"

Lucas nodded dismissively, before turning to Wren.

"We'll discus our next actions now. If we can lure the Spade King out, then we can find a way to trap him. His teleportation ability should be relatively weak at the moment, since he's only recently gained his Title."

Elliot barked out a life, wild intrigue in his eyes. "You're looking for that loser?"

Wren's gaze turned unfriendly, losing the teasing it had earlier. "You know of him? The Spade King?"

"Yeah, yeah, that guy. He's a real coward, alright. Always slinking around, but he always appears to lure the stupid and the weak. He's trying to make a cult or whatever."

Lucas contemplated this fact seriously. "Then it's simple. We pretend to be an easy victim for him to use."

"If we can find a way to put a tracker on him, we can also find a way to perhaps lure him into an abandoned building of sorts? His teleportation ability shouldn't cover a far distance yet." said Nora thoughtfully, despite knowing little of the situation.

"Trackers?" Elias smiled, stretching his legs out to kick Lucas' to the side a little, earning a squinted glare. "I have plenty, I'll lend you some."

"...from where?"

"Well, we all have our secrets, right?"

"......"

Lucas turned away and looked at Nora. "Are you willing to help us in this? I won't force you to do anything you don't want to."

She nodded, and he turned to Rome who enthusiastically nodded his head before the question was asked.

"Then, I'll have you two lure him out."

It was a harsh stereotype that often led a person to disaster. A beautiful woman, and a small child. The pair more easily stirred feelings of gentleness, and weakness.

Though of course, with the two guns at her belt and a courage that would later make her become one of the greatest villains, Nora was by no means weak. Nor was Rome, the boy who may have blood on his hands.

"I'll pretend to be a dying man, and I'll slip a tracker on him. You and Rome will join his group, to make sure he doesn't run off."

Elliot grinned. "Can you act well enough to fool him, Ghost?"

Lucas shrugged. "I'm great at dying."

"...oh." Elliot felt a little speechless, before regaining his irritating energy. "Fantastic! What part do I play in this plan?"

"Will you cooperate?"

"Of course! What do you take me for, a troublemaker?"

Lucas squinted at him accusingly, recalling the disaster from the Cinderella Story. In fact, he had no clue how Elliot survived within the scuffle, but he wasn't sure he wanted to know either.

"I have found the location of the man you're looking for." said the man calmly. "If you cause any trouble, then I'll make sure you never find the location."

"What? Hey, isn't that your brother? He'll lose his hand too!"

"He's not my brother." Something twisted in his stomach, and Lucas frowned. How long had it been since he last ate? "Whether he loses his hand or not doesn't matter to me."

Another uncomfortable twist in his gut, but he dismissed it. That was normal, anyway. He often forgot to eat, and his stomach would end up protesting—nothing out of the blue.

Elias, however, narrowed his gaze at Lucas' hand that had wandered over to rest over his own stomach, as if subconsciously expressing discomfort.

"How long has it been since you last ate?"

Lucas glanced over. "Don't know. In the Prison Story?"

"From the last time you entered the cafeteria then." Elias shook his head, thoughtful.

"And?"

"People ought to eat when they're feeling hungry."

Lucas couldn't fathom why he was having such a conversation with this man, and scowled. "I'm not hungry. My stomach often hurts."

Elias stared him down, frowning slightly. Although his behaviour meant he did as he pleased, and lived a luxurious life without worrying about right or wrong, the man strongly believed in living a proper lifestyle.

If one was to keep living, shouldn't they indulge in the best life?

And of course, that wasn't possible for every person—but given the opportunity, he believed that a person shouldn't seek to harm their own body.

Nobody should become satisfied with being uncomfortable or unhappy. Though time passed, and his morals had warped with the passing of years, this was the sole belief he still kept from his youth.

Suddenly, Elias realized how foolish it was to argue with somebody like this. He leaned back into the sofa, and waved his hand without a care. "Alright, go on."

Elliot sulked, plopping to the floor as he rested his face in the cup of his hands. "Whatever. I won't cause trouble, so don't go breaking our deal, Ghost!"

Elias glanced over. "And? What's my role in this, assuming that you need my help?"

"I need your ability."

The man looked over across the couch at the other, raising an eyebrow with interest. "What for?"

"We'll carry out the plan early tomorrow. Until the Ranking occurs, an event that gives us the opportunity to strip him of his title, we'll break his mentality down. Weed, you'll manipulate his closest followers into drifting away, spreading rumours of danger."

"Weed?"

Lucas didn't blink, nor answer the question. "We'll make him a nervous wreck, give him sleepless nights and then strike when he's the weakest."

"Isn't that a little cowardly?" wondered Elliot, though he didn't really care.

"A man who uses the weak for his own gratification is a coward. A man who abandons and betrays their lover for power is weak." Lucas' eyes were cold, moving over to rest on Wren's burning stare. "We'll use all means necessary. Or unnecessary."

The Joker pressed her lips together, taking a deep breath. "Can't say I have any arguments about that."

"Rome, you'll deal the final strike and take his Title."

The boy blinked his large, innocent eyes and tilted his head curiously. "Do I need to kill him, mister?"

"No, the details will be revealed later, but so long as he admits defeat, his life can be spared. You must spare his life. It's not your hands he should fall in."

"Okay. I'll do whatever you say!"

Humiliation. Pain. Suffering. The feeling of being alone, of being abandoned.

Lucas would grant the Spade King all of those emotions that Wren had been forced to accept. A promise of vengeance was what he offered her, and it was one that he would keep.

They discussed the cautions Nora and Rome should take, and what to do if something were to go wrong.

In the end, nobody should sacrifice their life for this revenge, with the exception of the two who sought it.

"Do you have any other clothes?" Wren asked Nora, glancing over at the messy, yet somewhat clean clothing that she wore. "You don't give off the atmosphere of a damsel in distress in the slightest."

Nora smiled politely. "I'm afraid not. None of my attire really suits that trope, even if I did."

"No, anything would work. We just need to mess it up a little, to make it look like you're having a hard time surviving, or that man won't fall for it."

"Oh, I see." Without blinking, the woman tore her sleeve, ripping the seams in several places.

Everybody watched in surprise as she continued, ruining her outfit into a proper display of struggle. When she finished, she smiled again and tilted her head. "Does this work?"

"...yeah, yeah it does."

"Can I ask, Wren, who this person is to you? Although you shouldn't feel pressured to tell us, it would allow us to get a better understanding of what we're fighting for."

Wren blinked slowly, still recovering from the sudden destruction of some rather expensive looking clothing. Hesitating, a coldness rested across her expression as she looked away.

"There's not much to say. The Spade King is somebody I once loved. In the end, that's as far as love goes. I became a sacrifice for him to gain his power."

"Wren..."

"That's all. If we're done, I'm out. See you."

She swung around, slamming the door into Lucas' bedroom. The owner of said room stared after her, feeling as if his privacy had been invaded.

Sighing, he stood up. "I'm going to sleep. Bye."

Elliot looked around, complaining. "Where are we supposed to sleep, then?"

"There."

"No blankets, pillows, nothing?"

"I don't own any." He considered it a little and turned away, heading to his own room. "If you want to go looking for some, you can take it from the family next door. Their apartment's open."

"Oh~ maybe I—"

"Just ignore the dead corpse."

"....."

Elliot sulked off into the corner, muttering something about inhospitality—not that Lucas cared. The sofa was the only place he could offer for sleep, and his own bedroom had little to share.

The measly blanket draped across his sunken mattress didn't help with much, either.

He closed the door behind his room, and found Wren standing by the window framing one side of his wall. The curtains were pulled wide, and the pitch skies gazed back at him.

"You don't miss the stars until they disappear."

A low voice called out from the doorway, and both Wren and Lucas turned back with evident irritation on their face.

Elias waved, strolling in and looking around. "It's emptier than I expected."

"Get out."

"I don't think that's an option. I already offered the couch to Nora and the child, and I think they'll try to offer it back if I return."

Lucas fell silent. At least, out of everybody in his apartment at the moment, it would be best for Nora and Rome to have a good rest. He sighed, crouching down to sit on his bed.

"You're so docile with him, Lucas." teased Wren, although her tone was quiet and distracted. "Where's your love and respect with me?"

"Shut up. I'm asleep."

He closed his eyes, resting his head against the wall. Already used to Elias' presence nearby from the recent Story, and considering the Joker practically lived inside his head, Lucas decided to treat them like air.

Wren shook her head, drawing the curtains shut.

"I do miss the stars. There's a lot that I didn't know I'd have to miss, until I lost them."

Elias found his own spot by the door, raising an eyebrow. "Are you about to tell a story?"

"Want to hear one?"

Lucas grumbled, "No."

Elias nodded after hearing his response. "Yes."

Wren grinned, as the sleeping man opened his eyes reluctantly and watched her, completely awake and alert. Although he wanted to sleep, he was a person that believed every story should be heard.

Since Wren would speak, he would listen.

"Once upon a time, there was a very beautiful, and awesome lady called—"

"Say it properly." frowned Lucas, sitting up properly.

And so her tragedy begun, revealed in her calm speech. "Fine, fine. Although it's damn cringy, I'm in this pathetic state for only one reason."

"I decided to love a bastard."