Vincent sighed miserably, watching the rain pouring down on the city park. At least the storm meant he had the place to himself. Ever since being woken from centuries of enchanted sleep, the punishment for his crimes of necromancy oh so long ago, the elements didn't bother him too much, the cold barely able to get to him. He supposed that some parts of him had just stayed dead. Even so, a skeleton trailed behind him, holding an umbrella over his head while he flipped through the spellbook in his hands, every so often ripping out a page and throwing it to the wind, the aged pages crumpled into little balls as they were flung into puddles and grass. "Useless... uninspired... undignified..." He muttered as he continued to tear the book apart. This one was once his prized possession. It had been given to him by the very man who would come to betray him, all those years ago.

Then, an aura of searing heat coming up behind him. "Sunspot." He greeted coldly, not bothering to look back at the hero.

"Necromancer. Might I ask what you're doing out here?"

"Out for a stroll. No evildoing today, if that's what you're worried about."

"Of course, of course..." He muttered. "Mind if I walk with you?"

"Be my guest." He drawled. They walked in silence for a while, Vincent tearing out pages as he went before the hero spoke up again.

"What are you doing with that book? Some kind of ritual?"

"No, I just hate it. It still has... some use. But mostly it's just a cluster of unwanted memories and useless spells."

"Oh. I see. Why do you hate it?"

"That is a long story, sunshine, and I don't particularly feel like telling it at the moment."

"Oh. Okay." Sunspot sounded a little sad at that.

"...someone I once loved very dearly gave it to me. It was naught but a trick, though. He betrayed me, using this very tome to bind me to his curse." He hissed, closing the book with a snap and holding it up for him to see.

"I'm... I'm sorry, Necromancer."

He sighed. "Vincent. My name is Vincent. None of that Necromancer stuff today."

"Thomas."

"What?" Vincent asked, now finally stopping to look at him. He looked awful. His mask was scuffed and torn and his costume covered in scorch marks.

"That's my name. It's Thomas. You told me your name, so..."

"Here is where we differ, Sunspot. You have a secret identity, a life to protect. I am no one. If I were you, that would be the last time you give your name to an enemy."

"Okay..." He mumbled dejectedly.

"So what happened to you?" Vincent started, changing the subject. "You look rough."

"Oh, just the usual. Fighting villains, defeating villains. I guess I just wasn't all in it today."

"Why not? I would be sorely disappointed if you were to die at anyone's hand but mine, you know." He replied, half jokingly.

"It just gets tiring. Way deep in your bones, you know? Like not knowing if it's worth it to continue."

"Continue with what?"

"I don't know. Life, I guess."

"That's awfully depressing, sunshine."

"I know. I know..." He sighed deeply, eyes downcast.

"I was dead for 500 years, you see. Sometimes I wish I could go back to that, because there's nothing for me here. But then I think of you."

"Me?" He asked in surprise. If Vincent was seeing things correctly, it even looked like beneath his mask his cheeks were a little pink.

"If I were to go back to my eternal sleep, the only person who would miss me is you. I live for you, Thomas. I live for this rivalry we have, I live for being your nemesis. I don't expect you to feel the same, just that if you took a look around I'm sure you'd find something you would live for. If not for yourself then keep going for those that depend on you. If you can do that, then you will find your own reasons for continuing on in your own time." He stopped in his tracks then, looking down at the book. "If you can live for something then you'll realize someday that there is everything to live for."

"That's... rather wise of you, Vincent."

He shrugged, staring at the book for one moment longer before tossing it over his shoulder and not looking back. "Come under the umbrella, sunshine. You're positively drenched."