paradisa | The first die cast -- again.

[Amelia's given herself a little over a day to settle back into the Castle, much of it spent retracing steps she'd forgotten about completely until twenty-four hours ago. Most of that time has been spent alone, save for a few random encounters; she wants to be ready before she talks to most people, and to one person in particular. But midway through the day, Amelia opens her journal, still largely blank, lets out a slow breath, and starts speaking.]

This is Amelia. If anyone remembers when I was here before, I'm back now.

[She pauses for a moment then, considering something. The first time she'd been drawn to Paradisa, she needed a long conversation to realize what had been taken from her. This time she's noticed a certain absence right away, not a memory but a thing, although that doesn't make it much easier to accept.]

I think this place or whoever runs it--[Because she still refuses to completely believe the Castle is sentient]--took something else from me. I still have that same loss from before, but I can't find my glove. Not my cloth gloves; it's technology.

[Amelia hesitates. She wants to describe it, because maybe it can be found...except she knows better. Just like she knows that when she left, that memory came back only to be taken again.]

Anyway. I guess I should ask what I've missed.

[But of greater concern is the trek Amelia makes shortly after she finishes the entry. There's a piece of long overdue business to address, and Amelia heads downstairs to the castle basement. Regardless of anything else, Amelia can be glad for the chance to finally finish things with Legato.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[well, the jail is largely empty, now. Only a few scattered prisoners are left in rows of cells all largely the same... and then there are the special cells on either ends of the hall. Built much differently than the others, their walls are white, thick glass keeping visitors safe instead of the bars that the others have.

One of these special cells is empty. The other, on the opposite end of the hall, houses Legato.

He isn't under the haze of sedatives today, which means that he's bound up in a straitjacket and tethered to the wall. Slumped apathetically in some corner, he doesn't even notice that someone is coming to visit him]

[Amelia keeps her pace steady as she makes her way down the corridor, but she can't control how her heart begins to race as she gets closer. She knows he won't be able to touch her, either physically more mentally, but Amelia can't deny the fear she feels.

So long as Legato doesn't pick up on it, though, that's fine. She'd be stupid not to be afraid, after what he did to her.

She stops in front of the glass, looking in at the bound man. At first Amelia just watches what he's become, unable to comprehend what cause could have been worth this result. But that's why she's there, isn't it? To figure out exactly what on Gunsmoke is going through Legato's head.]

Legato.

[the sound of his name pulls him back to himself, but he can only care so much. He only raises his head enough to be able to glance at her-- his gaze listless and blank, as if he doesn't even recognize her.

Maybe he doesn't remember. Their interactions were such insignificant things...]

[Insignificant only in his mind. To Amelia, the reality that Legato forced upon her cut more deeply than almost anything else she has experienced in the castle. Both her own morality and her own insignificance were forced far too close to the surface.

But Legato can't provide solace for Amelia in that regard. There are other questions, however, things she's long wanted answered. When he stares, silent and all but unseeing, she raises a fist to strike the glass.]

Don't just stare through me like an idiot. Say something!

[that little bit of violence... just a fist banging uselessly against glass... it sends a ripple through his mind. Little sparks in the middle of something entirely cold, burning bright by comparison. In doing so, she brings him a tiny gift.

It makes him smile, just a bit.]

What do you want?

[he's listening.]

[That brief acknowledgment may have been what Amelia asks for, but the smile only refreshes the frustration everything about Legato sparks in her. Someone so incredibly strong, who apparently wants nothing more than for everyone to suffer and die--it's something Amelia will never understand, and that she'll always despise.]

I want to know why.

[She drops her hand, grits her teeth to try and keep some calm to her voice.]

Why did you do it? Any of it?

[It doesn't work so well as she hopes, but maybe Legato is still vacant enough to work in her favor. Maybe.]

No. You don't want to know why.

[calm, empty, offhanded. as if the conversation is already beginning to bore him.]

That isn't why you are here at all.

Oh really? Can you read my mind now, along with all of your other powers?

[All of which are blocked, from what Amelia's been told. Even as she asks she knows it isn't possible for him to read any of her thoughts, or take control of her body, make her fire her gun--

Yet it does little for the anxiety, or the way it threatens to make her temper flare.]

If you really think that, then you tell me why I'm really here.

If that was why you are here, I would answer your question and you would take it and simply walk away. ...But that isn't going to happen, is it?

[he straightens up a little, the movement making the buckles creak]

Would you really be satisfied with any answer I could give you?

Probably not.

[Because nothing could justify the things he's done, even just those that Amelia knows of. How many other horrible crimes is Legato responsible for, either in this world or their own?

Amelia's body tenses at that creak, but she holds off the urge to step back. She won't show him any fear, damn it.]

But I still want to know what the point of all of it was supposed to be.

Why? Are you hoping it will bring you closure? Peace of mind?

[he's still only looking at her in the vaguest sense, head mostly hanging and eyes unfocused. And he sounds tired, like he can't quite muster the energy to invest all of his attention into the conversation]

I already said it wouldn't.

[It might go against the better judgement of the guards or whoever else is listening, but Amelia frowns as she hits the glass again. Even if his reply had been that creepy smirk the first time, at least it was something.]

Don't act bored. Maybe trying to kill a whole city's worth of people really doesn't mean anything to you, but not everyone is insane. I want to know why you did it, Legato. What on Gunsmoke were you trying to prove to Vash, or anyone else?

[again, that little bit of violence gets a reaction. Invoking Vash's name helps as well. His expression doesn't change, but his eyes do sharpen up, voice sounding a bit more present.]

I don't know why you're asking, when you have very little hope of understanding at all. I'm sure I've tried to explain it before.

[but she's asking so nicely. ...ah, and now there is a small smile]

I was trying to help.

The first die cast -- again.

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