Chapter Text
“…which is why me and my friends enjoy a ice cold drink of the new Galactic Dreams SoulGlad! Now available for a limited time in select locations!”
Aventurine watched as a poor group of student actors tried their absolute best to appear excited on stage. Various crew members milled around, all in similar states of boredom. Aventurine wasn’t sure why the IPC wanted him specifically to oversee a collaborative ad campaign with SoulGlad, but he wasn’t one to pass up an opportunity to work. He rubbed his shoulder, over the scar left by the Emanator’s sword of Nihility.
A loud groan ripped through the air. The director, Mr. Reca, walked in front of the camera. “Cut, cut cut! Where is the passion!? Where is the drama!? All I see are people pretending to be happy! This won’t make me or any viewer want to drink Galactic Dreams SoulGlad!” With a flourish, he returned to his directors chair. “Let’s do it again. Starting from ‘me and my friends.’”
Aventurine took a sip of the new SoulGlad. He immediately grimaced at the overly sugary fake grape taste. He didn’t particularly enjoy original flavor SoulGlad, but this obnoxious limited edition shit made him appreciate the simplicity. At least it wasn’t Mung Bean Soda.
Another take, another bout of harsh words from Penacony’s great director. Aventurine had heard rumors about Mr. Reca’s eccentric personality, but seeing on display was truly something else. A single minded determination to bring a vision to life wasn’t something he was unfamiliar with; drawing power from the Imaginary meant transforming “unreal” into “real,” so he understood, in a roundabout way. However, Mr. Reca was quickly going from a perfectionist to a bully with unrealistic expectations. This wasn’t his magnum opus, it was a shitty advertisement for shitty grape soda filmed with students. It wasn’t about the end product at all. If anything, it was the IPC scouting students to poach from under the Family’s nose.
Suddenly, he could feel eyes on him. The great director was heading his way, a gleam in his eye.
“Producer Aventurine,” Mr. Reca said. “Do you have any thoughts to share?”
Aventurine swirled the drink in his hands and smiled. “What could a plebeian such as myself have to offer a genius such as you?”
Mr. Reca’s mechanical frog creature made a strange chirping noise, and Mr. Reca nodded. “It seems my Assistant Director and I are in agreement. This production is not up to our standards. A mere fifteen second advertisement is not enough for us to properly express the fullness of our vision! Therefore, we would like to propose an alternative production.”
Aventurine raised an eyebrow. “Go on.”
Mr. Reca grabbed Aventurine’s hand tightly. “I believe you have the makings of a star. I can see it…the camera yearns for someone like you to be in front of it! My eye has yet to fail me, and it’s telling me you have quite the story to tell!”
Aventurine yanked his hand away. “A person like me doesn’t get to be in front of a camera. Besides, I’m just overseeing this production.”
“The way I see it, all the world’s a stage. Everyone has the capacity to become an actor, it’s the job of a director to take unpolished actors and mold them into a star that shines brightly on the screen. Surely an avant garde character study would bring the IPC more wealth than a SoulGlad commercial.”
Aventurine hummed thoughtfully. A feature film would cost a lot more than a fifteen second commercial meant to be ignored on IPC travel vessels. Jade had given him the reigns of this project anyway, so why not have a little fun and gamble big? “Okay, I’ll make that bet.”
“Wonderful, wonderful! I knew you would see my vision!” Mr. Reca walked over to the set. “Everyone out! Out! Off my set immediately!!” He waved his arms wildly as people began to pack their things and leave. The actors looked sad, but the crew had no strong reactions, perhaps used to this behavior from the acclaimed director.
A lone camera was pointed at the white screen of the stage, and Mr. Reca beckoned Aventurine over. Unsure how to feel, the Stoneheart walked over, putting himself within the gaze of the camera.
“There’s no need to be nervous, just act natural,” Mr. Reca said from behind the camera. “Please state your name.”
“Aventurine. Also known as ‘Aventurine of Many Stratagems,’ Senior Manager of the Strategic Investment Department of the IPC,” Aventurine said, flashing a casual smile.
“You’re still too stiff. Act more naturally, more expressively! Introduce yourself again, and look into the camera this time.”
Aventurine tried to train his eyes on the lens of the camera, but his gaze kept drifting away from it. “My name is Aventurine.”
“Louder! More assertively! Do you not know who you are? Say your name!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about! My name is Aventurine, I don’t have another name!”
“You and I both know that’s a lie. Each Stoneheart takes on the name of their assigned Cornerstone, but that implies each Stoneheart has a true name. You understand, don’t you?” Mr. Reca leaned against the camera. “The audience wants to see a genuine performance. As a director, it’s my duty to capture that performance. If you cannot be honest with the camera, you cannot act!”
“You’re the one insisting I should be in front of the camera, now you’re saying I shouldn’t be?” Aventurine crossed his arms. “Are you actually a great director or just a controlling megalomaniac?”
Mr. Reca began to laugh. “There, that’s it! That spite, that anger! Tap into those feelings, bring them forth into a brilliant performance!!”
Aventurine opened his mouth to speak again, but remembered his last experience in Penacony. He took in a deep breath, letting it out through his teeth. This was why he didn’t want to enter the Dreamscape again. It was full of weird people that found it entertaining to fuck with his head. Why couldn’t they be after his body? At least in those situations he had an advantage.
He rubbed his shoulder. It had only been a few weeks since a Doctor of Chaos gave him a clean bill of health, but it felt like Amber Eras had passed. Despite there being only a shallow physical wound, that sword cut deep into his very being. If it had not been for the Harmony’s aura protecting him, he wouldn’t be alive. He had to thank Sunday for that. Ratio as well, for playing along with his plan.
He wondered what Ratio was doing now.
“That face, that expression!” Mr. Reca cried out. “Tell me, what is it that you’re feeling. What has inspired you to show such a delicate emotion?”
Aventurine’s face went red. “Nothing in particular.”
Mr. Reca’s Assistant Director chirped.
“You’re absolutely right! I should have known. Mister Aventurine, could it be that you’ve fallen in love with someone?”
Aventurine could feel his face burn even hotter. He couldn’t even open his mouth to deny it, his jaw clenched as tightly as his fists.
“Tell me, who is it that’s taken your heart?”
“He hasn’t taken anything from me!” Aventurine blurted out, immediately covering his mouth.
Mr. Reca nodded emphatically. “I see…everything is coming into focus now. The last of your clan, you’ve managed to survive this long through cunning wit and tenacity, along with an Aeon’s blessing worth of luck.” He began to pace. “You don’t trust a single person, and that’s gotten you far. However, this person, they don’t want anything from you. They honestly, truthfully, wish for nothing but your safety.” He began to approach Aventurine. “But your poor, damaged heart couldn’t accept that. You believe humans are born with deceit in their hearts, and that belief has yet to be proven wrong, until now.”
Mr. Reca grabbed Aventurine’s face, shoving it against his own. His red eyes were wide with ecstatic glee. He began to laugh wildly.
“What are you- let me go!” Aventurine tried to push Mr. Reca off, but his body, still weak from its brush with the Nihility, didn’t have the strength to make him budge in the slightest.
“Show me the ‘story’ that lays within you. Even the glimpses you let slip past your mental barrier are enticing…I can’t stop looking at it…I need to see more! Give me more of yourself!!”
“No! No!! Get off of me!!” Aventurine could feel something within him be touched. It began to unravel, spiraling outward like a reel of film. He’d felt this sensation before, but never so forcefully. “Memokeeper…” he mumbled, using all his energy to remain focused.
“It usually takes people longer to realize. You’re sharper than you seem, Mister Aventurine.”
Mr. Reca stepped back as strips of film spilled from Aventurine’s chest. The esteemed director fell to his knees, holding the film close to his eyes to read it. Aventurine felt as if he’d been disemboweled, but there was not a single drop of blood. Only his past, in all its ugly truth, lay before him. He could only let out shaking breaths as his “self” was violated right before his eyes.
“Yes…yes yes yes!! This is it! It’s everything I hoped for!” Mr. Reca screamed. “My magnum opus! With this, my name will be immortalized, textbooks will call me an auteur- no- the auteur director!”
Aventurine let out a wheezy laugh. “The IPC will crush your film before you even start…you think you can make anything about the Second Avgin-Katican Extinction Event critical of the IPC and not be put on their Most Wanted List? You’re insane.” He spat at Mr. Reca. “You can’t my sad little story like that.”
Mr. Reca sneered at Aventurine. “You simply don’t understand art. The transgressive nature of it will propel my star even higher.”
“I’ll report you before you can.”
The lights of the stage began to flicker, revealing tens, perhaps hundreds of film reels wrapped along the walls. If this was a trap, he’d walked straight into it from the beginning.
“There’s no need to get anyone else involved. After all, this is a wager that benefits you regardless of the outcome.” Mr. Reca said, bringing out a pair of scissors. “But just in case, a little editing has to be done.”
Before Aventurine could comprehend what Mr. Reca was about to do, his consciousness seemed to sink deeper, into a sea of Memoria.
The last thing he heard was the sound of a clapper.
“Three…two…one…action!”
-Act 1 Scene 1-
“…and there we have it. You see, in a Zero-Sum Game, there is no solution where both players can win. For one to gain, the other has to lose.”
Aventurine looked back at rows of empty student seating, only a handful of students seated, and half of them not paying attention. He let out a deep sigh. Was this what Ratio dealt with on a regular basis? He turned his attention back to the chalkboard.
“Let’s frame this in terms of a game of poker. I can see my own cards, but my opponent cannot see mine. They can only react based on what they perceive my cards to be. So if I bet big, my opponent may assume I have a good hand, but they can just as easily assume I’m bluffing. The key is to act in such a way that increases your chances of winning and mitigates any potential losses. The same can be said in business.” Aventurine wrote in big letters. “Know thy enemy. You can’t react to something you don’t know about. Do your research, identify their weaknesses, formulate a plan for every possible outcome. That’s what it means to make a strategic investment.” A chime began to play on the overhead speakers. “That’s it for today’s lesson. No homework today, see you Thursday.”
Students began to shuffle out of the classroom, leaving it empty. Aventurine packed up his lesson notes and walked out into the halls of Paperfold University’s Fortune Academy. Playing professor was kind of fun, in a way, but he knew his primary goal wasn’t just to give lectures. It was…
Was…
He shrugged. If he couldn’t remember, it wasn’t important. He was basically on leave anyway, so he’d remain on standby until someone gave him new marching orders.
What was he on leave for? Oh well, another thing that probably wasn’t important. Compared to the monotony of his usual office work, this was practically a vacation.
So caught up in his thoughts, he didn’t notice someone walking towards him rapidly. It was only when their hands grabbed his shoulder did he finally look up to see Ratio’s worried expression.
His heart skipped a beat. Ratio was so close, he could feel the warmth of his hands, see the beautiful red and gold of his eyes, like exploding stars. That’s right, he remembered, he was going to be more honest about his feelings towards Ratio! He had to thank him as well, for his help with…something. He couldn’t quite recall what it was. Was he always so forgetful?
“Are you listening to me, Gambler?” Ratio shook Aventurine gently out of his daydreaming. “I said where have you been? It’s been weeks since we last spoke, I feared the worst!”
“Why? I don’t feel like I’m sick. Was I sick?” Aventurine asked, confused. “The Fortune Academy asked me to be a guest lecturer for a semester. I’m a professor now, just like you!” He puffed up his chest smugly before deflating in a comical fashion. “I have less than ten students, though.”
“That’s not what I meant! Aventurine, do you not remember what you went through?”
“Oh…that? I forgot to thank you for your help with that! I really appreciate it.” He smiled softly.
Ratio seemed thrown off by his calm demeanor. “I accept your gratitude, but are you sure everything is okay? I thought you were done with Penacony.”
“Did I say that? I guess I changed my mind. Anyway, Ratio! How would you like to go out to dinner tonight? There’s a new restaurant in Moment of Sol the students keep talking about, since you’re here, we should go together!”
“What are you trying to say?”
“I’m asking you on a date, what else could I be saying?”
Aventurine reveled in the way the ever unflappable Doctor’s face bloomed into a blushing red mess. He was sure his own cheeks were just as red. “I’ve made up my mind. After everything that’s happened, I can’t deny the way I feel about you. I like you. I can finally say it.”
Ratio opened and closed his mouth like a fish. Aventurine laughed, his heart beating hard in his chest, anxious to hear what his answer would be.
“I,” Ratio began to say, his words emphatic and measured, leaving no room for misunderstanding. “I reciprocate your feelings, however, there is something going on here, and I believe solving this issue is more important than exploring our relationship right now.”
Aventurine frowned. “I thought you’d be happier.”
“I am, in fact, I’m overjoyed that our feelings are mutual. However, and I would really appreciate your cooperation with this, something doesn’t seem right. This entire scenario, it feels off.”
“Why? Run me through your thought process.”
“You disappear for weeks, no one is able to get in contact with you, I think you’ve gone and died, then, suddenly, with a less than plausible explanation, you’re in Penacony. Am I not allowed to believe there’s something strange about all this?”
Aventurine searched his memory for anything to support Ratio’s skepticism. Penacony…he knew this wasn’t the first time he’d visited, but he couldn’t recall the previous trip. Had something happened so bad he had expressed not wanting to return? Every line on inquiry drew a blank.
Aventurine sighed, putting a hand to his head. “I don’t know. My memory is acting up…it’s not normally this bad…”
“Your memory?” Ratio’s eyes narrowed, then widened. “Aventurine, have you encountered a member of the Garden?”
“Garden?” Aventurine sounded the word out as if it were foreign to him. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“I think someone has tampered with your-”
A chime sounded over the speakers, causing Aventurine to practically jump out of his skin.
“I forgot!! I have a meeting with the other Fortune professors!” He began to run away. “I’ll text you the details of our date later! See you tonight!!”
Ratio stood in stunned silence, a deep sense of unease building within him. One thing was for certain, however; Ratio knew he had to stop this before Aventurine got hurt again, or worse…
He walked in the opposite direction, paying no heed to the red eyed man crossing his path.