"So, I see I'm still alive."
Lysandre looked up sharply, shocked to have been discovered in his remote hideaway. His surprised look quickly turned into a glare as he recognised his unwanted visitor. Harmonia.
The man in question stopped a fair distance from his chair smirked down at him, though it lacked the malice Lysandre remembered. "I suppose the same applies to the majority of the popularity, though, so it's not that unique a claim."
"If you've come here to rub my failure in my face, I'd only like to remind you that I'm perfectly capable of breaking your spine," Lysandre threatened, in no mood to tolerate the continued existence of mankind at large. Ghetsis himself had failed not once, but twice to achieve a far less selfless goal than world peace – Lysandre couldn't believe his nerve.
"I believe you," Ghetsis replied, smiling uncharacteristically serenely even as Lysandre scowled, "but I'm not here to gloat. It'd be rather hypocritical, don't you think?"
"Why are you here, then?" Lysandre growled – if Ghetsis began overtly pitying him, he'd hurt him.
"I just wanted to see how you're faring, is all," Ghetsis said lightly, appearing to be in a remarkably good humour for a man who had lost everything(including his mind, last time Lysandre had bothered to look into it). "As I'm sure you're now well aware, failing to realise your ambitions due to a freak, unforeseen variable is most irritating."
"…It's not like you to understate things so egregiously," Lysandre snorted, directing his glare elsewhere at last. He was starting to suspect Ghetsis had come here to try and make him feel better – a laughably inadequate idea given what had happened, but the man had to get points for effort.
"Well, what can I say? Giving up on all my ambitions seems to have changed me," Ghetsis chuckled, twirling a soft green lock around his index finger girlishly. Lysandre arched an eyebrow at this – Ghetsis' behaviour had changed so radically since last they met. The contrast was jarring, to say the least, but not unwelcome.
"You gave up just like that, hm?" Lysandre questioned, just about managing not to glare at the other man. Unfortunately, Ghetsis was still dangerously good at improving his mood.
"One tends to give up on everything after the second improbable failure," Ghetsis said, visible scarlet eye bright with mischief. Lysandre furrowed his brow – Ghetsis certainly seemed to be recalling his own lowest moments with an unusual quantity of glee.
"Then why are you here?" Lysandre asked, perplexed.
"You've already asked that question," Ghetsis pointed out playfully, settling down gingerly on the edge of Lysandre's desk, "but I suppose you're more asking why I'm still alive, beyond your failure to kill me."
"…You could say that," Lysandre muttered, the reference to his failure causing a fainter flare of anger this time. Ghetsis smiled at him, before humming to himself, carefully planning the wording of whatever was about to come out of his mouth – Lysandre had given up trying to predict it. It seemed his people skills had waned with his fondness for humanity, strangely.
"…This world is full of morons, wouldn't you agree? Utter imbeciles who drain the world's resources and contribute nothing to society from birth until death," Ghetsis said, and Lysandre could only nod in agreement, wondering where Ghetsis could possibly be going with this. "Well, it took him three decades, but a lovely fellow showed me that as long as you find at least one non-imbecile to spend your days with, it's possible to cope with the idiocy of the majority."
"…'Cope', huh? You have no desire to save them from themselves, to improve this sad state of affairs?" Lysandre asked, not satisfied with Ghetsis' answer. He'd tried coping before, and it hadn't worked.
"If you've tried to help, and your attempts have been met with scorn and rejection, I believe you're entitled to sit back and try and derive some enjoyment from watching the world burn as a result. After all, it's not your problem once you're dead!" Ghetsis said cheerfully, and Lysandre had to smile faintly. He was relieved to see that Ghetsis was still so charmingly sadistic. "Give it some thought, at least."
"…I'll think about it," Lysandre responded, surprising himself with his disappointment when Ghetsis rose to leave. He was almost tempted to show his guest out, but Ghetsis had (somehow)gotten here by himself and as such Lysandre was confident Ghetsis could find his own way out.
"That's good to hear," Ghetsis said, leaning down as quick as a flash to peck Lysandre on the cheek(after a brief moment of hesitation) before he left, smiling like he used to. "Expect me back sometime in the foreseeable future. I fancy myself a non-imbecile, don't you know," Ghetsis said vaguely as he vacated the building, but Lysandre understood.