July 14th 2:51 PM:

Velvet Pines—the bar at the corner of the intersection... It has been closed for a week and it's under police investigation. Although, where were the media stories? To the public eye... it's closed for remodeling... Although, will it recover? It may just as well be swept under the rug... like everything else... Swept under the rug just like the plane accident... But, could the scene at the venue be covered up? It's almost impossible since many died in those flames, but, the underground work is always manipulated. Strings get pulled... and mysteries occur... and naturally it's usually swept... or strictly classified. But, could these cases be easily forgotten?

The door's bells rang, and his aqua-gaze lustered in watch as the two blondes left the scene, but those eyes soon came to dull and so did the bar's red essence. Once the door clicked close, the crime scene began to reveal itself.

The lights flickered, and the television monitors fuzzed. The eerie alternative music began to settle into his ears, but white noise interrupted. The electricity!

Where was he? He thought.

Frustration pained on his face, and he knew it... They had to get a move on...!

He walked away, however, towards the bar, and ruffled his violet hair as he began to fidget with impatience. He sighed, though, and parted his lips. "Vaati!" he yelled under his breath, clutching the counter to lean on to serve his irritated whelm.

"Oh, gee...!" A wicked laugh contorted behind the violet-haired one—a new, existing presence to the red room... A spawned appearance. "I sure don't wish to keep you waiting, really~!"

His brows began to twitch, annoyed, and he dropped his head, refusing to catch a glimpse of the wicked individual. His only recognition of the presence were the two words he murmured: "Kill him..."

But, a gasp slipped from the presence as if betrayed. "But, Shadow! What fun is it to kill an unconscious—"

"I said..." An angered breath released from his nose, and his violet hair moved with him as his gaze dropped to the floor. "Kill him! Quickly!" he growled quietly.

An itch crossed the wicked individual, but he called for no more and met with the violet-haired one's demands. He pivoted from his placement and stepped behind the bar. Not a single eye watched him and his actions... except for his own left eye. The bartender lied peacefully on the floor with his crumpled body in rest... An old man he was... But, this old man would go out in a flicker... in a whisper... A shame.

But, to be taken out in one's sleep... is a gift.

The violet-haired one's hands flew away from the counter as he turned away, and the wicked individual threw his lilac hand above the counter, locking his eye onto the old man's neck... That sound sliced through the soundless bar.

The wicked individual pealed a smile onto his face. "Crack~!" He giggled quietly, watching the head of the ending legacy limp over. "'Tis a shame, Sha—"

The violet-haired one snapped his head towards the wicked individual, revealing his furious, wrinkled scowl to him, and shouted under his breath. "Turn the lights off!"

The crimson left eye rolled, and the lilac-skinned hand rose once more in a slow flinging motion. "Yada, yada...!" The smile on his imp face smoothed. "We went over this..." and his fingers snapped, bringing darkness to shadow and death to the lights in the red room... killing all electricity that prolonged.

They were only figures in the dark room now. The red room had lost its color, but... that "red" wouldn't be the last of it. Velvet Pine's "red" wouldn't be so vain. It wouldn't end without the coating of its red essence. Cut open a velvet cake, for instance...

The tall figure in the darkness plucked a glass shard off the floor... The glass that originated from a wine glass... What a shame it was to meet that fate... But, a key it was... An objective key. It wasn't just to tie up the strings to its victim... It tied the loose ends as well.

The tall figure rushed to the backdoor with the shard in hand, and the imp watched, but completely clueless... he shrugged.

"I have a bone to pick with you..." The imp began as the shard-armed figure rummaged into his pockets. "Why do you make me do all the dirty work?!" The imp looked away—yet only for a moment...

A scream erupted, piercing the room, but it came to quiet the split second the imp peered over to the sound. The heaving, tall figure held his hand as dark, thick liquid trickled down it.

The imp rose with alert and stumbled over to the tall figure. "W-What are you doing?!"

The tall figure wheezed, containing his pain through squeaky, breathless sounds and dropped the red-glossed shard onto the ground for it to crackle further. "I sealed..." He took a weak breath through his clenched teeth and dropped a dull, red stone onto his wounded hand, closing his palm... "I sealed the deal..." He slowly gathered his strength, clearing his voice, and soon enough... a bright, tangy light began to grow in his palm by the backdoor, lighting and filling both of their faces.

An amazed... but puzzled look widened the imp's crimson eye with amber, parting his lips and forming his brows... "N-No...! What... What is that?! Th-That's...!" Did he know something? Was he unsure?

The tall figure opened his palm, revealing the light source and his fresh, raw hand. A chuckle tickled out of him, and he picked up the glowing, amber stone, holding it to his uncontrollable, cheeky smile like a child and its toy. "Vaati...?" he snickered quietly.

Vaati bowed his head slowly. "Yes, Shadow...?"

The amber light twinkled in Shadow's aquas, and he released a low giggle at first, but... slowly did it rise in mania. "He lied... He lied to us!" his voice shook.

"The rat?!" Vaati gasped.

Shadow froze, allowing his breath to slither out from him, and his hand to jolt... but slowly did he clench his hand, crushing the amber-lit stone. "N-No... No... He..." He cackled in his throat almost wheezing, but that smile crook.

Vaati embraced Shadow's mania like a drug, and so his face lit with hysteria, widening his eye to spring. He scoffed in glee. "That forsaken, filthy, blind lab rat~?!"

Shadow chuckled and opened his palm once more to pluck the amber-lit stone from his hand, fixing it in a hold between his thumb and index. "Even more so..." he sang, and within that moment of breath, he jammed the amber-lit stone into the backdoor's lock, breaking the enclosed barrier that brought Vaati to a wild gasp and a backward stagger as a red-tinted window revealed itself in front of the door. Yet, the window would only last for a second as a wide crevasse would sink into the middle, stretching out a web of cracks before the pane could hold no more and finally... shatter. The jagged shards flew at them, whizzing by, and hitting and swiping the air near their ears.

Vaati clutched his head for safety, cowering away, and screamed. "Shadow! Shadow! Turn it off! It's going to hit me!"

But, only a classic overreaction. The amber light faded into the darkness, and the shards became as real as the old slump behind the bar.

Shadow took his hand out and watched as dark crimson globs of thick liquid oozed and dripped down onto the floor with disgust. Yet, he attempted to remove the vile liquid with his other hand, but his Macbeth hand stained more and more until he started rubbing it up his arm. Although, to no help, he let loose of the grunge, and shook his head, changing his mind. "It's a protective mechanism. It's a bluff." He chose to respond to Vaati rather than ignore.

Vaati slowly raised his head—keeping his hand over his bandaged right eye—and wavered upwards to his feet. Following up to Shadow's voice, his eye perplexed. "The glass is gone? But how?"

Shadow scoffed and rolled his eyes—ignoring Vaati's stupidity—and moved towards the doorknob. "He wanted to get ahead of us..." he murmured, staring down the knob in the quiet darkness.

Red.

Shadow gritted his teeth, shaping his smirk. "He figured he would put us a few steps behind... so he lied." The smirk twisted, and his aquas revolved onto the glistening knob—the remnants of daylight—and he placed his bloodied hand onto the knob, pressing the blood onto the cool metal.

It dripped... It dropped...

Shadow's lips parted, releasing a breath, and his aquas narrowed. "I'm afraid..." He turned the knob. "he's crossed the line too many times..." The knob was pulled to its maximum, and he pushed the backdoor open, allowing the door to fall open, creaking, and unleashing that inescapable scent of death... and the darkness hollowed up, swallowing Velvet Pine's red essence whole.

The aquatic eyes... The ocean in his eyes... It dulled... seeing nothing... but it grew... It wasn't empty... It was—

"There is only one thing left to do, Vaati..." and his eyes dropped, siding over to the small glass particles on the floor. "Did you find the location, yet?"

Seek the life of redemption... Find the good above the evil... But, leave your trails of blood. Coat it with icing... Seek to disguise it... Protect yourself... But, that shadow... that death... it lingers... Live it... Pursue it... The scent... The stains... The crimson...

The crimson turns black... Their vision goes white... They expire, but the blood lives and dies... Forever will it leave its mark...

So, cut the velvet cake.

July 15th ??? PM:

"Are you sure that's necessary?"

The pliers tightened the bolts on the mechanism that attached to the wall. It was a simple mechanism with a single purpose. A makeshift trap that held a tightened wire. It kept the blonde busy as his dominant hand twisted the pliers.

Although, as the bushy-haired teenager's concern wavered over, his voice only entered the air to not be heard by the blonde. The blonde kept his intact, blue-eyed gaze as he remained strictly distracted by his hands. He worked in the silence with the view of his cracked-lensed glasses... determined and fixated on his own plans.

But, the teenager knew the silence was never a good thing. The silence engulfed the room and tightened the boy with a nervous grasp over his shoulders. He clutched his striped scarf and persisted. "V-Vio... A-Are you sur—"

"Yes, I am sure." The blonde said monotonously without peeling his eyes. "I saw him at the wedding. I am positive it was him."

The boy stuffed his hands into his scarf, fidgeting with the fabric for warmth in the cold room. "B-But..." he stuttered. "Do you really... really think he saw you? A-And... even if he did... could he find you? This place is secluded. I made sure—"

"This is mandatory." The blonde released the plier from the bolt and checked the wire, putting pressure down on it with his index. "No 'ifs'... no 'buts'... no questions." His eyes narrowed as he nodded up to observe the other traps, plastering no expression on his face that did not reassure the emerald-eyed teenager. Although, a smirk slithered onto his cheek. "As long as you know he is unstoppable. As long as you know that he always finds a way..."

"Isn't that... giving up?"

His blue eyes startled, leaping towards the emeralds... but, he settled himself and stood up from the ground. "No? I see it more as accepting."

The teenager perplexed, wrinkling his expression. "But... you're submitting to that. You're allowing yourself to mold with him. You're accepting that because you believe he is 'unstoppable' and that there's... nothing you can do."

The blonde sighed and fixed a button on his cardigan. "I have learned what he taught me. I understand it well... Without him... I would have never met Link. So, I know how he works... I know his methods..." He handed the pliers to the boy, tucking them into the boy's hand. "And it is easier... with Dark gone." His blue eyes narrowed. "That world is dying... I doubt he will return. Magic won't last there."

The boy swallowed and took the pliers from the blonde, placing them in his pocket. "But, what about those stones?"

The blonde crossed his arms, sending his gaze elsewhere. "Those stones are artificial. They produce their own magic."

A short sigh released from the emerald-eyed boy as he looked away for a moment. "When are you going to tell Link? When are you going to tell him the truth?"

The blonde's eyebrows rose as he tilted his head, capturing the stern look in his eyes as his interest sprouted. "What do you mean?" he asked—alert with concern.

The emerald eyes rolled and caught the ceiling. "Well... I..." He dropped his eyes and brought his vulnerable hands to his chest, rubbing them for comfort. "It's just... I mean... You know more about him than he knows you... Even before you two m—"

Disappointment glared on the blonde's face, quivering his lip. "Ray—"

"And my real name, too! You keep it away from him... I just don't think it's right in the long-run because... if you want him to trust you and all... keeping secrets from him isn't going to help because then it'll make you look bad...!"

Those blue eyes blazed, lighting up in silver as the cracked lenses reflected the nearby light. "It's for YOURS and MY own protection...! It doesn't matter! We have a predicament in our hands, and while this still stands... the code names remain!"

"But..." The bushy-haired boy cowered, hunching his shoulders and crossing his arms. "What about... a few months ago? Are we going to... to run away again? I don't know if..."

A rough sigh released from the blonde as he pinched the bridge of his nose, pushing his frames upwards. "R-Ray... I, I mean..." He refrained, dropping his hands to an uncomfortable, weak feeling as his eyes drew, crystalizing onto the boy's look of rejection—his dropped, wandering gaze and his quivering frown. The blonde couldn't help but feel... horrible.

His slender hands scrambled to fix his sleeves, and he took his breath, counting to three in his head. His gaze dropped, but he quickly lifted it to meet the boy's distant, emerald eyes. "Ravio...?"

The emerald eyes sheepishly rose with his hands, clutching his striped scarf. "Yes?"

The blue eyes traced the scarf, taking special note of the boy's vulnerability. The blue and black stripes... The wool scarf... It was not just a scarf... The scarf belonged to someone. The scarf was a memory. Its envelope of warmth was the boy's protection, and it was kept secured to his neck for that memory... that protection... that care... Vio understood that. He understood that well... on why it was so important... The scarf was the boy's mother's...

Vio cleared his mind, shaking his head, and fixed his gaze with Ravio. "I am doing all I can. I am going to fix this... I... We are not running away. We are not ever running away again, understand?" He paused and took a deep breath, releasing his tangled stress in his chest. "I just need to keep these measures in place until the end, and... you can help me... You do an excellent job at that!"

Not a smile peeked from Vio, but his maintained, serious expression was sharpened and awakened to a new perception—somehow it broadened. Ravio recognized that transition, though, and that's what he needed to be reassured. Vio knew something... Vio understood something. It wasn't an everyday change, but it was a realization. Ravio accepted Vio's words with a slow nod, searching for a definite expression in Vio, but Vio's periwinkle eyes kept their stance. Those eyes weren't common.

Although, the timing would soon come... The intervention would arrive that night, adjusting the claims. After the two compromised, the real "deal" would "seal"...

The time would come... but only the beginning.

An uninvited guest... yet so unexpected.

July 15th 9:18 PM:

Fill the hypodermic needle with the clear, liquid drug.

Pressurize the air. Insert. Seal.

Insert the dart, load it... lock it.

The sound would alert the four-eyed blonde...

The pistol in the drawer came to his slender hand gripped and ready.

But, the dark room uncovered in his surprise, startling him.

Through his cracked lenses, his pistol would raise, aiming at first response, but his eyes would lock—interlocking.

In front of him, two blue eyes entranced to widen with blonde hair wavering over them.

His green... His presence...

The room anguished and trembled, filling him with whelm.

Red. Red stones. Red.