Egads! A prompt challenge attempt! // shots in the dark

[grey matter]

Or, I attempt this challenge

Promptlist/TOC:

the beginning of the end / seek and destroy / satisfied / fortune favors the brave / here's to the fools / trust / way down we go /circling the drain /redemption / we are the wild / "Look me in the eye. Say it to my face." / crawl / bones / equinox / eclipsed / thunder in their eyes / frailties / a space between / the moon is dead/ one step at a time / electric gold / breakdown / vulnerability < stone cold / fire away / one the edge of the world / as we knew it / deep / "Do it." / cyan / equilibrium / the eye of the beholder / surface / too many ticks, not enough tocks / breach / thanatophobia / turning pages / she has a wild look in her eyes/ from riches to rags / fever / a thousand, tiny little pieces / victory / "Breathe." / vertigo / never speak / cloudy with a chance of catastrophe / survival / raw / starstruck, earthbound / we depend on you / the wolves will always call you back / pine / godforsaken / "I know! I know, okay?" / mine / dead fall / no one, nowhere/ shake / glory / ephemeral / hello/goodbye / intricate / end game / shoot for the moon (even if you miss you'll probably float in space for a while). / a lifetime / what do i do? / beings / lost world / obsidian / sleepy head / gemini vibes / thy body is thy temple / amethyst / </error> / how did we get here? / if only for a moment / bring you back down / light / sanctimonious / these walls will build my casket / creeping suspicion / purity / roots like the trees / technicolor / taken /drop / a fire inside it / wash / it will come / beg / petals over their eyes / listen close / throw down your aces / cliff edge / approaching / the last of us / if i could do it again / one more time / finally

don't comment until it is done! if you have comments, just pm me, please!
or maybe i'll make a discussion thread or something if i get enough people commenting. i dunno

[grey matter]

"You're giving me... Gemini vibes," the astrologer said to the astronomer.

"What is that even supposed to mean?" the astronomer replied.

"Adaptable, outgoing, intelligent... you just give me a lot of Gemini vibes."

"...I'm afraid I'm not a Gemini."

"Then... what are you?"

"Nothing. I'm not of this world's calender."

[grey matter]

She has a wild look in her eyes again.
That means something's in store for us.
That's what this means,
this Pandemic!
Multiverse is having one of her days.
Her days where she makes all the chaos she desires.
She wants to see how we react.

She's an experimenter,
and that's neat.
Let's just hope she's following lab safety procedures.

[grey matter]

Lucas > Lazarus

Lucas: Lazarus. I remembered a word's pronunciation, but I can't remember the spelling or the meaning. You have a good vocabulary. What does... whatever this is mean?

[[unknownword.mp3]]
(It is an MP3 of Lucas's voice. The word in question is " sanctimonious.")

Lazarus: Uh... it's like... being all 'holier-than-thou' and whatnot. Like... hamminess over moral superiority.

Lucas: Huh. I have no idea why I even know the word...

Lazarus: Well, maybe it just popped into your head. Anyways...

Lazarus: uh

Lazarus: are we still doing that thing this Friday?

Lucas: Yes.

Lazarus: alright, cool!

Lucas: gtg, ttyl

[grey matter]

"You probably didn't get it from the egg, y'know."

"That's just it, Lucas! I didn't add any egg! I didn't need a binding agent or whatever if I was just gonna eat it raw!"

"...then it was the flour."

"What?"

"Flour can cause e. coli, if not baked. Next time, bake the flour."

"You sound like you're speaking from experience."

"...I am."

"Hah! That makes suffering through this a bit better."

"Stay hydrated while I'm gone. I'm going to get you some sports drink and whatnot."

---

He was asleep by the time he came back.

[grey matter]

"Hey, are you busy right now?"

"Yeah, kinda, why?"

"I need your help with something, if you could come over."

"I can't, the moon is dead."

"What do you mean, 'the moon is dead?'"

"The moon is dead."

"WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?"

"THE MOON IS DEAD!"

"WHY IS THE MOON DEAD?"

"THE MOON IS DYING!"

"IT IS A ROCK, YOU IDIOT! ROCKS CAN'T DIE!"

"THE MOON IS DEAD!"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?"

"I MEAN THAT THE MOON IS DY- OH, TOO LATE, DEFINITELY DEAD NOW THAT YOU'VE WASTED MY TIME!"

"WHAT?"

"THE MOON IS DEAD!"

"YOU'RE BEING TOO CRYPTIC!"

"SCREW YOU!"

[grey matter]

Hey.
It's me again.
The voice.
Or, one of them.
Y'know, the voices of Nowhere?
No One? Can you hear me?

...Oh. You don't go by No One anymore?
Who gave you a name?
...Oh, yeah! Cool.
So, Erebus, how are you doing with your little girlfr-

Oh. She isn't?
Oh, oh, okay.
Well, still! It's cool that you have a friend.
We're very proud of you.
...But we can still sense something coming.
But you can trust your friend,
Araa of Somewhere.

She'll be of the most help to you, what with her portals.
She'll help you defeat the False King, when he comes around.
But for now, you can take a break, Erebus.
That has a wonderful ring to it.

[grey matter]

...It's nice to be clean again.
I always come out of battle smelling horrible.
It's either blood, sweat, or both... or something else. It depends.

Does nobody ever negotiate anymore?
...Can I, The One of The Titanium Shell, even negotiate?

...
...

I...
No, I can't think of him now.

...ugh.

No, not now.
NOT NOW.

...Well, my face was already wet.
What are a few tears going to do?

...I still miss him.
As much as I hate to admit it.
But he's gone now.
He's been gone for years.

He'll stay gone.
I just need to get over it.
Or... at least shut those thoughts up.

...I'll be done.
I need sleep.

[grey matter]

"Look me in the eye. Say it to my face." Lucas tipped Lazarus's chin upward with the sword [that wasn't even his] with a cocky smirk on his face.

Lazarus could not help but take a few steps back and break into laughter. "I- I- I CAN'T TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY AT ALL! Y-YOU TRYING TO BE ALL- ALL- WHATEVER YOU'RE AIMING FOR, YOU'RE FAILING! I- It must be the lab coat, it contradicts everything about this!"

Lucas sighed and pointed the sword downward. "Fine, do you want to try?"

"I can be much more threatening AND elegant than you are. And I'm dressed for the part... so yes. Pass me the sword!"

Lucas obliged, carefully handing Lazarus the sword when he... grabbed it harshly by the blade and yelped in pain, losing all the composure he was preparing.

So this was how their practice/date was going...
A mess.

---
A bit later, Lucas was bandaging Lazarus's wounds.

"This is why I told you that we probably shouldn't do this! We can't even get the emotional impact right, AND you get hurt! This is the exact same reason why we preemptively canceled the knife fight, and did we learn our lesson? No!"

"We live dangerously, Lucas. That's the life of a villain!"

"But this was unnecessary danger..."

"But it was... somewhat fun?"

"...You have a point. Maybe we should have that knife fight..."

"No."

"Okay.

[grey matter]

"...Hey. Mantis. I just... wanted to apologize."

"Why?"

"Because every time we die, we just pop back up again somewhere else. I'm sorry I can't offer you any rest."

"Oh. Shrikewell. You know that doesn't matter to me."

"But I worry sometimes... y'know?"

"If I could do this again and again, even without it being forced... I absolutely would."

"You mean that?"

"Of course I do, Shrikewell. I love you."

"...Thanks, Mantis. I love you too."