tushanshu | RADIO | AUDIO | some idle curiosity

Right, and you had to save the day again. It's what you're best at, isn't it?

[Surprisingly, it's all said without a hint of sarcasm or bitterness. Whatever bitterness he still harbors concerning Darquesse, concerning Skulduggery's apparent indifference toward the punishment levied at Erskine and Skulduggery's refusal to end it, it's not the same as this.

Skulduggery does have a pretty good track record of saving the world.

This is a conversation Ravel can't have right here, though. Not standing in the middle of the lobby. He's going to need to sit if they're actually going to do more than trade snippets of sarcasm. He wanders back toward the common room without waiting to see if Skulduggery is trailing after him or not. Finds an armchair and sinks down into it, elbows resting on his knees and his forehead cradled in his hands.]

[For a moment, Skulduggery considers not following at all. The message is self-explanatory. Erskine got the confirmation he was probably seeking. There's nothing left to do.

Except that if confirmation was all Erskine had been seeking, he wouldn't have asked to talk to Skulduggery in person.

Did Skulduggery care?

Unfortunately, and quite unexpectedly, yes. He did.

So he trails after Erskine, and sits down near him, and doesn't say anything for a few moments. Then he clears his throat before he can change his mind.]

Actually, what I seem to be best at is killing people.

[Not quite the sort of skill you put on a resume outside of war time. Or, in Skulduggery's case, even during war time.]

[Erskine lifts his face from his hands at that, eyeing Skulduggery with an eyebrow arched. This is... unusually candid, for them. It's been happening more and more, over the past few months, but it hasn't stopped being a surprise quite yet.]

Well then, we've still got one thing in common, haven't we?

[He sighs and rubs a hand over his face, finally coming to rest with his chin in his hand.]

I mean- well, the letter means to turn it off, doesn't it? The sacrifice to turn off the Accelerator? I remember hearing someone talk about it outside my cell.

[His eyes close briefly, jaw clenching, willing away the momentary phantom pain that always comes from thinking about it.]

I think I remember it, anyway. Most of it's a blur.

[Once upon a time, hearing that Erskine was even vaguely conscious of the pain he'd been put through would have brought with it a certain amount of grim satisfaction. Maybe it's because of Skulduggery's recent resurrection, or maybe it's because Dublin is now so far removed that he's stopped caring. But whatever it is, he's... well, he's stopped caring.]

That's right. A soul willingly given, according to the Engineer. I wasn't sure I still had a soul left to give, but the only others there at the time were you and Valkyrie, and you made it very clear you weren't willing. We had minutes left, or I might have tried convincing you.

Convincing me. To save the world. What a bloody joke. There was a time every one of us would have leapt at the chance.

[He should have. Saving the world had been his whole goal in all of this, hadn't it? Saving the world from stupid mortals who were just going to squander it, bleed it dry without the slightest cognizance of what they were doing. Making it better, so no one would ever have to hide what they were.

But that was before Darquesse. Before the world had quite clearly pointed out to him that nothing he'd ever done had been good enough. That no one wanted his help--no, not only that, but that he needed to be punished for trying to help. He'd anticipated a certain amount of that, of course. Hadn't even been sure he would live past the successful end of the coup. But what he'd got had been too much. Too much.

He shakes his head, choking back the urge to ask when everything went to shit for them. It's obvious.]

Clearly at some point I start regretting that decision.

Yes, there was.

[Which is about all Skulduggery will say on the subject. Everything he wanted to say at the time, he's said here in Keeliai. There's no point in rehashing old grievances. Ghastly and Anton are dead, and Skulduggery followed suit soon after. If it wasn't for Keeliai's intervention, he wouldn't be aware enough to care about anything Erskine did.

Instead, he nods.] I still haven't worked out what the letters are or where they come from, but that would be the logical conclusion. You'll probably find out soon enough.

[And if he takes the advice of the letter, he'll be dead soon enough. Of course, judging by what Skulduggery's told them about the immediate future, Erskine has at least a few more days of torture left to look forward to before the Accelerator. It only reaffirms his desire to stay in Keeliai. If he has any say in the matter he's never going back.]

And your letter?

All I have are theories, and not a single one makes sense. Yours suggests you wrote it after going back. Mine would suggest the same thing, but I can't go back. So I either wrote it in Keeliai, or a completely different version of me wrote it and it was lost in transit.

[Honestly, Skulduggery's starting to think the letters are a fluke. There aren't any hidden patterns he's been able to find. If it happens again, he'll see about finding a way into the Dreaming, but for now?

For now, if he were Erskine, he'd take the advice.]

[In Keeliai. Is that actually possible? Would that mean that... Hopeless...?

But of course it's addressed to Skulduggery, not Erskine. Because it would be ridiculous of him to hope. He's already had more of a second chance than he deserves, here in Keeliai. He certainly doesn't deserve to hope for more.

Erskine runs a hand through his hair and then threads the fingers of his hands together, rests his chin on his hands again.]

So I'll be going back to take your place... or take my place back, as the case may be, and you'll have something to do with Hopeless. I suppose that sounds about right. [There's a pause.] Say hello, for me. If you see him.

[And then he's standing suddenly, because he can't handle this conversation anymore.]

Was that it, then? Anything else?

No. Nothing else.

[And then something - obligation, guilt, vindication, or perhaps something else entirely - changes Skulduggery's mind.]

Well, except for one thing. Did Anton tell you I've been to Keeliai twice?

[Erskine has just moved to walk away, to escape from the conversation, when Skulduggery speaks again. He pauses.]

No. I don't think so.

The first time was just after dealing with Argeddion. Malicant was still alive. The kedan were still downtrodden. After we went below the shell and defeated Malicant, we each had the chance to return home. I took mine.

[There were a few people here in Keeliai who hadn't been happy with him for that. Anton. Gene. Solomon and Raine.]

When I stepped into the Accelerator, it was Hopeless who stopped me from vanishing. I'm still not sure how, but... [He pauses, then continues, a touch wryly.] He told me I wasn't done. I didn't understand what he meant, but predictably, I didn't have the chance to ask.

[The unspoken 'he might have meant you' is loud in the ensuing silence.]

[He's stopped to listen, but he's facing away from Skulduggery while the skeleton talks. That's probably for the best. He's not really sure what sort of expression crosses his face when Skulduggery mentions having spoken to Hopeless, but it's a fair bet it isn't anything he'd want Skulduggery to see.

It's tempting to ask if he's really sure it was Hopeless he was speaking to, if he's sure it wasn't some trick of the mind, some kind of hallucination. Erskine isn't sure why he doesn't, really. Maybe it doesn't actually matter. Maybe it's still too much to hope. Stepping into the Accelerator when he returns would be the end of him. Unlike Skulduggery, Erskine doesn't have anything left to do. There's nothing left for him. Seeing Hopeless at the end of it would be more than he deserves.]

Cryptic. Seems par for the course.

[The letters. A conversation between dead men. It can't ever just be easy.]

RADIO | AUDIO | some idle curiosity

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