[Luke responds well to touch. No one's put a hand on his back or anything like that since Guy left. It's more effective than using his name, but it's a reminder, too. His back feels tight beneath Riku's pale fingers; he is stressed and tense and taking this as hard as one can imagine.]

Riku...

[He gingerly takes off the remaining earbud, gently holding it and the iPod in his left hand.]

I can't believe we're abandoning them. After everything we fought for. Asch and I both-- we laid down everything we had when we fought the UE on that other world. We couldn't save the people there, and now we can't save the ones right in front of us.

[He crumbles a little, hiding his face in his hands.]

So many people have died because of me. I can't make things right, and I can't help them. Even if we go back and prevent all of this, I can't look them in the eye after leaving them to die.