Damien:
Damiens eyes opened and he merely stared at the wall feeling somewhat cold despite the blanket wrapped up around him. He knew Vere wasn’t there, he could feel it. Just as much as he could feel his anger growing with each passing second. Flinging the blankets off he slid out of bed and emptied his pockets of the belongings he had acquired over the past week or so. He placed the photo of his mother under his pillow and the compass on the table beside his bed before quickly getting dressed and running his fingers through his hair. There was a chance Vere had simply went exploring, he told himself, maybe for food or toilet. Picking up the nearly empty bottle from the bedside table, he finished it off before slamming it down and lighting his morning cigarette. He pushed open the window and leaned on the frame while he smoked, hoping it would calm his nerves. But, with each hit it only became more apparent that his cigarettes weren’t doing the trick today. He flipped the cigarette out the window and stormed down to Kuja’s room before slamming the door open. “What the fuck have you done with him?” he demanded, glaring at Kuja from the doorway, his amethyst orbs dark.

Kuja:
Kuja had gone straight to bed after he got back and hadn’t slept much by the time Damien burst into his room, giving him a slight start, eyes opening. He hadn’t really thought about Damien’s reaction and it made him turn and sit up a little, perhaps mostly out of curiosity as he looked at his seething son. A little smile played as he replied. “He’s gone fishing.”

( Damien & Kuja )

Related:
-Pre The Room Play: Drucilla & Vere
-Pre The Room Play: Damien & Kuja
-The Room Play Part I
-Distraction (René & Kuja)
-The Room Play Part II
-Goodbye to the Room

Vere:
Vere was astounded at Damien’s dramatic outburst and taken back as he shoved Dru out the door, chuckling as he insulted her. “Well, you should of played with the candle more” he kept laughing. Truthfully, though, Vere felt bad for Drucilla. She obviously had her own issues, just like everybody else in the castle. He also felt guilt, because just like everybody else in the castle, he seemed to give everyone ELSE a hard time. It was a vicious circle as everyone tore at each other as Kuja schemed and turned each other against one another. Vere was sure it was Kuja himself who felt the most pain, though. “So, Damien. I’m very sorry.” He moved over to the other and outstretched his hand, before skipping the formality and hugging the other, nuzzling his head into Damien’s shoulder in a moment of pure weakness, Vere sighed heavily, not sure what to do. He remained there for as long as he could speaking from that position “Kuja will come get us out of here, eventually. I’m sure we’ll be made to embarrass ourselves further, though.” Vere held on comfortably to Damien, giving room for the other to speak.

Damien:
He heard the sound of the lock being turned into something of Drucilla’s magic’s will, but didn’t much care at this point. Rolling his eyes at her words, he was only thankful he would have a minute, at least, of peace. He lifted his head at Vere’s words before being pulled into the others embrace. Instantly he moved to return the embrace, wrapping his arms around Vere, laying his head on his friends. “I’m the one who’s sorry, Vere,” he whispered, letting one travel up to stroke his hair, “Nothing that happens in this castle is your fault.” He closed his eyes momentarily, thoughts running through his head. Funny how things turned out, what with all that the two had put each other through the past day… days… weeks? And yet here he was, the fault of it all, and Vere was apologizing to him. He pulled Vere as close to him as he possibly could before softly kissing his neck. “Whatever Kuja does, don’t let it get to you, if you can help it. Don’t let him win,” he replied, his lips still against Vere’s skin.

( Drucilla, Damien, Vere )

Related:
-Pre The Room Play: Drucilla & Vere
-Pre The Room Play: Damien & Kuja
-The Room Play Part I
-Distraction (René & Kuja)
-The Room Play Part II
-Goodbye to the Room

Damien:
With the help of the compass siren had given him, he managed to find Vere’s hiding spot. Or… at least the general area. He stood in front of the empty wall and frowned. “There’s nothing here!” he shouted down at the round piece of metal in his hands. Moving from side to side, he followed the arrow with his eyes as it never stopped pointing at the same place on the wall. “Whatever!” he shouted, frustrated as he threw the compass against the wall. He took the final pull off the bottle of brandy in his hand before tossing it as well. For awhile, he simply paced back and forth in Vere’s room, every so often trailing his fingers over the wall to see if there were any hidden switches. He found none, but, this had to be the place. The projection he had seen was an exact replica of his friends room. There was only one thing to do and that was destroy the room until he found any clues. He began with the dresser, pulling out each drawer and examining it before tossing it across the room and moving to the next. After that he moved on to the book case, pulling out each book individually and shaking it upside down to see if anything would fall out. After a bit, he pulled a book that didn’t seem like a book at all besides its appearance. His eyes widened as the wall turned into some sort of portal, rippling as if it were water, a pool on the wall. Climbing down from the bookshelf he was hanging on, he slowly moved to stand in front of it. He could see them, but he couldn’t hear them. His hand moved to reach out before stopping right as it would touch. “It can’t be that easy,” he whispered, dragging a chair over and placing in front of the portal. He sat in the chair and watched the pair, mostly bickering over things. His thoughts weren’t with the two, though, they were with his father. Why would the man wish to imprison them in the first place? And for what? To lay in his bed and giggle about it? He must be truly lonely. It made him feel bad for him. Bad that he couldn’t help him, that nobody could, at least not until Kuja would allow it.

With the help of the compass siren had given him, he managed to find Vere’s hiding spot. Or… at least the general area. He stood in front of the empty wall and frowned. “There’s nothing here!” he shouted down at the round piece of metal in his hands. Moving from side to side, he followed the arrow with his eyes as it never stopped pointing at the same place on the wall. “Whatever!” he shouted, frustrated as he threw the compass against the wall. He took the final pull off the bottle of brandy in his hand before tossing it as well. For awhile, he simply paced back and forth in Vere’s room, every so often trailing his fingers over the wall to see if there were any hidden switches. He found none, but, this had to be the place. The projection he had seen was an exact replica of his friends room.
There was only one thing to do and that was destroy the room until he found any clues. He began with the dresser, pulling out each drawer and examining it before tossing it across the room and moving to the next. After that he moved on to the book case, pulling out each book individually and shaking it upside down to see if anything would fall out. After a bit of destroying the room, his fingers happened upon a book that seemed.. fixed somehow. He smiled as he realized it must be the switch to let the other out, but… they did seem to be having a good time. He missed his friend, but realized from past experience with him, Vere would simply abandon him in the end. Maybe.. it was best to leave them where they were. It wasn’t clear, even to himself, if what he felt was his true feelings or something produced by the alcohol, but either way, his mind was quickly made up. Climbing down from the bookshelf, he found his way back to Kuja’s room. Whether he wanted him to be or not, Kuja had always been there in the end. And so it was him that Damien had decided to latch on to, if only for the time being. He decided it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try. Without knocking, he entered his fathers room and fell back onto the couch again, his eyes wondering to his fathers, “What do you do… when you are lonely?”

( Damien & Kuja )

Kuja:
Kuja was lying on his bed, his chin upon his fists as he lay on his stomach, his feet in the air behind him, absently rubbing together as his eyes looked to the wall where a projection of certain events was being played out. For most he held a huge grin and other times he would burst into laughter. “Are you suggesting we have a naked wrestling match to death or rather near death?” Drucilla narrowed her eyes at Vere and Kuja laughed again. “I don’t see bodies piled up or hidden, only people drawn to a depraved sadist.” Kuja hollered back to Vere’s projection, “Always so obsessed with death!” Kuja laughed. “The only way we are going to have the upper hand here is to do something exactly the opposite of his expectations, something he’d never think of…” Drucilla trailed off and Kuja smirked. “But you don’t even know what it is I expect of you, dearest Drucilla…” He giggled and kicked his feet together.

Damien:
How long was he going to have to wait? Damien was beginning to wonder if Kuja was just messing with him when he made his deal. It had been how many days now? And still no word from him? It also bothered him that he hadn't seen that girl in a few days. He thought he'd at least catch her snooping in one of the rooms again, but no. Not that he cared, he just wondered what was up. He was tired of waiting for Kuja to come to him and so decided to go to him instead. After grabbing a bottle of brandy from the kitchen as a peace offering, he climbed the stairs to his fathers room and knocked on the door. No answer came and he frowned, pressing his ear to the door only to be met with the sound of laughter. He pushed open the door and stood there in the doorway, staring at Kuja with a confused look on his face before his eyes would travel to the projection. "Are you having a good time?" he asked, closing the door behind him and moving to sit on the couch. He set the bottle of brandy down on the table in front of him before motioning towards it. "Would you like a drink to accompany your festivities?" he asked, his eyes still glued to the projection.

( Damien & Kuja )

Vere:
As his eyes slowly opened, Vere remembered where he was and sighed. He looked around groggily, rubbing his eyes before seeing Drucilla in one of the other corners of the room. “Good morning, Lady Death” he said sarcastically. “What shall we do today, sit around in our tomb perhaps?” Vere stretched a little and stood, deciding to let go of his bitterness. “So, we may as well work out how we’re going to get out of here, or at least, how we’re going to get on in here. Maybe you should start by telling me a little about yourself?”

Drucilla:
Speaking from the ensuite, Drucilla popped her head out of the doorway in the direction of the slumbering male " I think it'd be evening by now Vere.... and why would you want to know more about myself? You've already decided that I am Kuja's whore." she reappeared, folding her arms across her chest, her outfit still the same except the corset still remained on the ground where she left it, with sleeves rolled up, the doctor martens boots also next to the corset in her corner, ankles crossed as she leaned against the doorframe, hair tied back in a simple ponytail, very different from the usual neat and polished Drucilla that the residents of the castle were used to seeing.*

( Drucilla & Vere )

Drucilla:
Moving onto the next room after her encounter with Damien, Drucilla did not seem to be shaken up by being caught snooping around by the son of Kuja, just treated it as what it was, an distraction, her white eyes flickering over several items until she stared at a bookshelf, noticing a book was out of order, not so clear to anyone else but she has the uncanny knack of detecting if something was odd. Swiftly moving to the shelves, she reached up to the book in question, but within seconds of such an action, it revealed the book was not so willing to simply just come away. Growling softly in frustration, she looked around before she reached with both hands, giving the book a furious tug, the book finally giving a bit, and a clicking sound filled the room from behind her. Turning around sharply, she spoke before her eyes fell on the changing wall " Did Kuja just leave a cam......" she broke off, taking swift steps towards the passage way, grabbing a spare book on her way, and placing the spare book against the entrance way as to block the door from closing properly once she entered, she made her way into the next room, a frown playing on her features.*

Vere:
Vere wasn’t sure if he was hearing someone coming or imagining it as he sat with his back to the wall, manacled by the magical leather straps. It had seemed like days that he sat, hearing noises and sounds in a nightmarish hysteria. He had no idea how he had got here or where here was, since his eyes and mouth were gagged and blinded. Vere curled up into as much of a ball as his holdings would allow him to try and protect himself from whoever was coming his way, the person he could only assume, was Kuja.

( Drucilla, Vere, Kuja )

Drucilla:
* Whistling as she placed plates on the long antique table of the dining room, Drucilla paused, checking the placemats of each person she knew lived in the castle, fiddling here and there whilst servants entered with big trays of plates covered in metal lids, placing them on the sidetable near the big table. The whistling soon stopped as she looked to the clock, frowning as she noted it was late morning, and smoothing down her black corset with red roses and ivory skulls embroidery over her black shirt, she wandered over to the covered plates, and picking up a plate, she shrugged to herself as she spoke quietly " well they'll miss out on breakfast..." before she helped herself to the contents, and getting a cup of coffee, she seated herself at the table, napkin on her lap, the only things different about the scene was that she was alone in Kuja's dining room.... and her white hair, once back length, was now a shoulder length bob.*

Kuja:
Kuja appeared at the head of the table, sitting back relaxed in his chair, an ankle over a knee with his fingers entwined loosely over his stomach. He had a rather amused expression as he smirked lightly looking at Drucilla. “This is wonderful. I doubt many can boast having a princess as their maid. And you look different. Did you change your makeup?” He teased playfully.

( Drucilla & Kuja )

Damien:
Damien had been pacing outside the door to his fathers quarters for some time now. There was no doubt that Kuja was aware of his presence but he wasn't ready to face the other yet. He hated the way he thought of his father, missed him and all that. Hated the way Kuja could all but destroy him and he would still want to go back. It was proof enough to him that it didn't take a pill to make a son love his father. But even still, he would always hate the things his father did. And after awakening to find Vere missing, he knew Kuja had something to do with it. He just didn't know how to confront him about it. With a defeated sigh he finally entered his fathers room, moving directly to the couch where he seated himself and stared at the other. For some time he said nothing, waiting to see if his father would speak first but quickly deciding that maybe he didn't want him to. "Where is he?" he asked simply, leaning forward to rest his forearms on his knees.

Kuja:
Kuja returned to the castle with mixed feelings, uncertain if he had truly gained anything, but he certainly hadn’t lost anything. He hoped bringing Drucilla back would change his perspectives, or at least distract him, but she had changed a lot and so the future was uncertain. He just couldn’t understand how Damien and Vere failed to see how much they hurt him, their pain, the pain he would always give to them, he considered nothing or simply didn’t care when compared against his own. Kuja had fallen to his bed and slept, almost soundly for as long as he could but his mind would stir once more as he became aware of his son approaching his room and pacing for so long that he grew tired of waiting and left it with wishful thinking that the boy would just turn around and leave. The last time he had seen Damien (more prominent memories), he was still the devotee, thus making it even harder for Kuja to face him. And when he thought of Damien and Vere’s little fishing trip, a hand would grip tightly upon the pillow beside him, his face scrunching up. Damien should know that Vere would be missing, but Kuja underestimated how strong their current bond was for Damien to know so soon. “The man…” Kuja replied, though not moving nor having stirred, assuming Damien would storm off after his words, “without any memories at all who aimlessly wanders the world? That even if he were to feel drawn to something, his first and second homes, all his homes, are so far away that he would die before he ever reached them? Is this the man you’re referring to?” He spoke gently almost as if he were inlove before his tone instantly dropped. “Go away, Damien. You should have known what to expect from your little adventure. And if I do not manage to fall back asleep, I’ll turn your mind to dribble.”

( Damien & Kuja )

Vere:
Vere made his way out the great oaken front door of the castle and walked his way around the great high walls. Was everything Damien had said true, or only parts of it? Vere sat on a large stone that jutted out from the wet soil. The rain had eased, but the weather was still very undecided, much like Vere. He wished he could just leave, but to do that to Damien, to do it to anyone would be unfair, beside the fact Vere had just tortured him.

He decided to think it all out, what he knew was true, and what could still be false. Yes, Kuja was his father, and yes, he was a mage. But was Damien really a murderer? Or had he had a shady background? Vere found it all hard to believe, now that he knew the truth about the other things. The conviction with which Damien had tried to plead with him during the torture, and yet Vere had continued, sure that pain would bring out the truth.

He threw a stone at the distant wall, falling short as he sighed at what he had done. The important question was the one he didn’t want to confront. The question, had Vere been here before? Was he actually friends with Damien, was he Kuja’s lover or was he courting Kuja? These things seemed absurd. He wasn’t attracted to men even remotely, even though he would admit to himself that he was drawn to the castle and to Kuja. Damien’s truths would also explain why this Lord had no servants and no community. He was a self proclaimed lord, a wizard who used his powers evilly.

Another stone made its way closer to the wall now, as Vere’s anger rose. Were the two of them playing him for a fool, perhaps? Wounds such as Damien’s wouldn’t matter if they could be quickly healed, and Vere’s cynical mind thought over the possibility that he had stumbled into some cruel, depraved trap. ‘Well’ he thought… ‘it will be a nasty surprise for them when they see how painful I can be.’ Still, the main goal was too determine if Damien wanted to escape this place and what the truth was behind it all. Surely, if it were all true, Damien would flee with him. He wasn’t sure how he would deal with Kuja, since he wasn’t quite sure how powerful the mage was.

Another thing struck Vere as odd. Why would Kuja give him maps and try to get rid of him if the depraved trap was his idea? Vere rubbed his head, confused at the situation. His life hadn’t been easy up until now and yet it seemed it would just get harder from here on in.

Standing, Vere made his way around one side of the castle after a while and found a small garden with roses. He knelt and smelt one, sitting beside the small patch of kept garden and sitting idly by to waste the time while he thought. He hoped he wouldn’t have to kill anyone here, since he liked them, for all that they may be depraved. Vere wondered how he would get out of this situation, and sat thinking over and over about all the possibilities, his rage rising, boiling over until he stood and kicked and stomped a rose, then drew his sword, which he had taken to carrying again. With a few elegant slices, he laid the roses to their final resting places, the roses Damien had said he tended too.

Surely it was a pack of lies. He didn’t love a man, Damien and him never knew each other, and this wasn’t his garden. Angry, he sat again, hating the mood he was in and the thoughts that kept running through his mind, but he knew what he had to do.

Slowly, he made his way back up through the castle to Damien’s room, to where Damien was barely conscious and sat by his bedside. He waited for six or seven hours, reading and watching and eventually, as Damien’s eyes flittered open, Vere smiled. “Is it time for us to leave, Damien? Shall I take us both away from here, from him?” “So, Damien. Are you feeling better? When you can I would like for you to tell me everything you believe you know with regards to you, Kuja and myself.”

( Damien & Vere )

Vere:
Vere clambered down the steps to the dungeon with the large old key in his hand, clinking it against each cell as he got to Damien’s. “As far as Kuja is concerned, your ‘truths’ are all lies. So the only thing to do is to try and make you better.” Vere turned the key and entered the cell, moving around the cell cautiously and picking up any stray tools that had fallen from the bag he left in the cell. He watched Damien carefully, unsure if the other had armed himself, but generally hoping he would try something, for Vere had found in his life that violence generally made people talk. “Have you come to your senses, or do you still think that we’ve known each other, and that Kuja is your father and a wizard?”

Damien:
Nothing his father had ever put him through had ever been this boring. He had sat in his cell for three days now with nothing to do, no companions to converse with, nothing but himself. And the more he sat there and thought about it, the more he hated Kuja. He hadn't moved much since the last time Vere had visted. Only rolled from one side to the other as it was beginning to make him anxious staring at the cold stone wall. Better to stare out the barred door into the other cells, he decided. He pulled himself into a sitting position as he heard the key clinking against the other cells. And though he never thought he would want for him, he found himself hoping it was his father. His eyes fell to the floor in disappointment as he heard Vere's voice, though they moved to follow him around the room as he gathered up his stray tools. Damien put his hands up in front of him to show Vere he was hiding nothing, "If I were going to grab them, I would have done so when they fell out of your bag." He let his head fall back against the wall and sighed, "He is my father. There are plenty of people you can ask if you don't believe me. And he is a mage, and you... are my friend. And of course he told you I'm lying. Why wouldn't he? He set all this up. Because I am the one in the cell, you take his word above mine?"

( Damien, Vere, Kuja )

Kuja:
Kuja decided to let Damien have more alone time in his cell for the next whole day. When he awoke he wasn’t in the mood for much other than drinking and lounging quietly and it wasn’t until later in the evening that he decided to continue with the show, Vere’s little trial and Damien’s tears. That’s what he hoped for as he made his way to the kitchen he knew Vere was making himself some food, seeing as the servant of the house was preoccupied. It was slightly odd getting himself dressed for the first time in a while, but he didn’t let his thoughts linger upon it too long. He stepped into the kitchen. “Hello, Vere. I hope you haven’t had too much trouble for the past couple of days. My servant, Damien has been discharged from my services. I guess we’ll both just have to make do.” He spoke, moderately dismayed.

Vere:
Vere smiled as the other entered the room, more out of a formality then out of actual happiness as he was preoccupied with thinking about how to get home. The maps had shown Vere’s homelands to be far from here, and he wasn’t sure about the best next step to take. Then Kuja’s words surprised him. “Discharged? I thought he was the only person you really cared for?” Vere put the food down to turn and converse with Kuja. “Not that it’s any of my business, of course, but why was he discharged? It must have been something drastic, given your tone. Did he steal? Would you like me to hunt him down, bring him back maybe?”

( Damien, Vere, Kuja )

Kuja:
Kuja wandered around the serene town for a while, he wanted to enjoy it, but in the end he payed little attention to his surroundings as his thoughts led him elsewhere in time and space. Nearly everyone around him he had manipulated their minds, stolen their memories, changed their lives for different reasons, but mainly, if not always, for himself. He questioned the morality of it, he always thought it was a splendid idea at the time, he felt no guilt but he held it regardless and was aware. He got back to the goal and made his way to the young boy Kaijou, whose curiosity and interest for more made him a little different to the others in this fabricated world, and so Kuja wandered away from the main sites and further into the rain forest. Eventually he brushed aside a large fern leaf to find the boy all alone. “Hello Kaijou” he’d say, though not as brightly as the last encounters as a small smirk crept up. “I’m sure you remember me.” He made his way closer, stepping up what rocks and whatnot needed. “Possibly only because of the delightful treats I gave you. But I’m afraid this time, my present might be a little more…” last stone before he stood before the other, looking down with amused eyes, “…bitter.”

Kaijou:
The villagers as per their mindsets granted to them by the world they'd been granted, greeted you simply, but quite humbly. Cheery smiles, but empty eyes. All but slaves within their minds and happiness to a false reality. Kuja's wanderings, finding (or perhaps lead) to Kai, as he read over a book, surrounded by the quiet peace of the forest, the serenity in itself more soothing then all the smiles and welcome spirits back home. He looked aside from the first moment the fern was disturbed, and looked curiously to the familiar stranger with eyes belonging to a youth. The implicit curiosity a stark change from the faded twinkle that disdain, dislike and displeasure had brought him after so long. He remained silent through Kuja's reintroduction, quirking his head just so and blinking* Why do you only gift me presents? What of the others? *he asks innocently* Or should I have shared them? May I share this new gift? *he smiled*

( Kaijou & Kuja )

Kuja:
He had told Damien to go away and for his servant to disappear, but it was not what he wanted as he drowned himself with the bottle. He sat in Damien’s room, Damien’s servant room and having found the boy was not there, he lay his head down on his folded arms upon the table and waited to be attended to, as if the last encounter never happened. But he knew, when Damien set foot back into the castle, to put his shopping away, that he came back with more memories, and a lot more feelings. And to think, he wasn’t the one to bring the first tears from his servant.

Damien:
By the time he had put up his supplies, he had pulled himself together and was feeling much like his old self. Well, his new old self. As he had decided before he had left, he returned to his servant room and was more than a little surprised to see Kuja sitting by the table, drinking away. Damien hadn't seen Kuja this way since everything had happened and was a little surprised to see the man in such a state. After closing the distance between them, he stood behind his master, placing his hands gently on the mans shoulders, "What troubles you, my lord?"

( Damien & Kuja )