Endgame: Gathered on This Beach of the Tumid River

[animusmods]

Characters: open
Setting: all around the Tower from the 25th of May to the 1st of June
Format: any
Summary: A general mingle for all characters throughout the Tower.
Warnings: Standard Animus warnings; please note anything specific in the subject headers of your threads

[The Tower is stagnant, the only signs of activity confined to the second block. There isn't much time left; it might be a good idea to rest and do whatever strikes your fancy before the timer hits zero.]

Comments

[myblueskies]

Romeo spun round to hug Ken tightly back, Pinocchio jumped across onto Ken's head and then started snuffing at his clothes, looking for Tan.

"Thank you!" Romeo grinned at his friend.

[miseris_socios]

Tan was hiding in Ken's pocket, but Ken gave Romeo another squeeze. "I think we're both bigger. We're definitely bigger than we were when we came here."

[myblueskies]

Pinnochio found him and tried to coax him into a game of chase. Romeo squeezed back and reached down to grasp Ken's hand. "We are, much much bigger and much more grown up." He smiled. Ken had always acted more grown up than Romeo but Romeo thought that Ken had learned a lot as well, he was different now than what he once was.

Ken's birthday wasn't until the end of June and all of a sudden Romeo felt really sad that Ken would never get to be fourteen. Not here anyways and not with Romeo. If they somehow managed to save all their worlds then he could be fourteen but if they all went to heaven... people didn't grow up there.

An idea struck Romeo and he looked up at Ken with a smile. "It should be your birthday today too, you can share mine and then we both get to be proper grown ups before the time runs out!"

[miseris_socios]

Ken pulled back a little and nodded. "I think we'll make it, but sure. We can be twins."

Not that he really shared Romeo's belief that fourteen was an adult, but if it made Romeo happy then he could go along with it. Besides, he was from an earlier time, and people had to become adults faster, right?

[myblueskies]

"Yes!" Romeo knew that wasn't how twins worked, his baby brothers were twins, but he liked the idea anyways.

"Happy birthday then!" He rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a nutrition bar. "It's not really a good present, but I'll find something better!"

[miseris_socios]

"Thanks." Ken gave Romeo an extra tight squeeze before backing up again. "What are you gonna do when you go home?"

[myblueskies]

Romeo thought for a moment, "I'm not sure. I guess... it depends what home is like. Will it still be a bit broken, or will people just be normal and not know that they all died? I want to help everyone as best I can though. I was going to go to school but I think I've learned so much here..." Once reading and writing and being able to count seemed like the greatest heights of knowledge he could get. But he knew all that now and much more besides and he knew he would have to go further than a village school to learn all he wanted to.

"What about you?"

[miseris_socios]

"I guess it depends how things turn out. If other people remember what happened here, then we could prepare for things a lot better. If nothing else, I'm a lot stronger. But since Chidori, Jin, and I are all from the same world and I was told that even when it looks like you're from the same world you're from worlds that are just really really close... I don't know. I'd try to help them as much as I could." Ken looked down for a moment, shaking his head.

"We have to figure out how to beat this thing at home, or everyone's going to die. But SEES probably won't listen to me on my own, so I'll have to show them. But we'll win. And then... I don't know. Maybe see if I can push the Kirijo Group into paying for school for me. I know enough of what they did to people to maybe make them do what I want them to do, and I'm strong enough to fight back if things go bad. And I want to go back to school and learn how to be a lawyer, so I can fight for kids who don't have anyone else to fight for them. No one's going to get left to fend for themselves if I can help it."

He blushed a little as he looked down again. "And... maybe I'll go to Inaba if I can, and help Yu and his group with their problems. I'd like to see Nanako again, even if she doesn't remember me. And maybe when I get older I can take in a few kids myself. I want to leave the world better than it was when I got there."

[myblueskies]

Romeo nodded, he thought it would be a bit sad. But happy as well because even though they weren't the same Jin and Chidori from his world then at least they won't have been here.

"That's a really good idea, I think you will be a really great lawyer and help loads of kids." He nodded, "And I bet Nanako will like you even if she doesn't remember you because your really nice and kind and I bet you will be friends again."

And get married one day. But he doesn't say that because he doesn't want to embarrass Ken.

"I like that, to leave the world better then when you got there..." He thought for a little longer. "I don't know if there are any laws in my world that help people who get sold, but if there are I want to help make sure that everyone gets to be free. And if there aren't rules... well there should be and I don't know what a person who makes rules is called or if I'd be clever enough but I'd like to do that."

He tilted his head, "And I'd like to make a place for kids, where they can go if their parents can't afford to feed them any more or if their parents die. A place where they can be safe and get food and where doctors will look after them if they get sick. I need to find Bianca too since I promised Alfredo I would look after her, she wants to be a doctor when she's big and I bet she would help. It would be keeping Alfredo's dreams alive."

[miseris_socios]

"Usually that's someone in politics. They make the rules that judges punish people for when they break them. I bet you could be a mayor or a governor or even a king. Or an adviser to a king or something like that."

And as for that second part... "An orphanage. To take in kids and keep them healthy and help them grow up. You'd be really great at that. You really care about people, and I want you to keep that part of you, always. Never stop caring, even if it hurts, because there's not enough people who do."

[myblueskies]

Romeo grinned, he couldn't be a king! But an adviser... maybe he could do that. He could make sure those people who had power knew about what happened to people who didn't and once they knew he was sure they would try and fix it.

"An orphanage, is that what it's called?" Romeo nodded, to be able to look after the kids and help them grow up big and strong and so that they could go and help others.

"I will, I promise." He darted forward to hug Ken again, "And you too, I know you like to pretend that you don't need friends but you do and you're a really great person and everyone will like you do you don't got to be afraid and just be Ken."

[miseris_socios]

"Yeah." Ken smiled a bit and gave Romeo a squeeze, putting his head on the other's shoulder. "And... I've gotten a little better at that, I think. In my world fourteen is still kind of a kid in a lot of ways, but... that's okay. Once I finish up with the saving the world part, I can do my best to still be a kid. I missed out on a lot of that, so I need to catch up."

He'd never be able to really be a kid, not totally, not with what had happened, but he could try.

[myblueskies]

"You do!" Romeo was glad that fourteen isn't an adult in Ken's world really because he had missed out on being a kid for so long, he should get to be one for longer.

He rested his head on Ken's. "You're going to be great and I'm going to tell everyone all about you, though they probably won't believe me."

[miseris_socios]

"That's okay. We both know about each other, and that can be enough, right?"

He can't exactly tell most people about Persona anyway.

[myblueskies]

"It is enough." He smiled, though he felt a huge lump of sadness well up in his. "I'm going to miss you. Lots and lots."

[miseris_socios]

"I know. I'll miss you, too." He patted Romeo on the back carefully. "We'll be okay, though. Right?"

[myblueskies]

"We will!" Spirits up. "Because we won't ever forget each other, not ever because we will always be with each other." He reached over to poke Ken's chest. "Even if we don't get to see each other ever again."