FINAL INVESTIGATION

[strangerpeople]

FINAL INVESTIGATION

[Well, your time, your anger, your losses have led up to this.

It's time to go, and that blue card will give access to the floors above. In particular, there is the floor Barbara mentioned before the throne room, which seems to be a good idea to check out beforehand.

Indeed, it's much like the previous floors the Strangers had lived in, only smaller.]



[There is another elevator in the area, but that is inaccessible. Even using Marie's card doesn't seem to work on it. Hm. No matter. Marie's card works on all of these rooms, so it's fine, right?

In any case, if there's answers to be found about just whose in charge - and what in the world is going on - this is the last chance of finding them. You've all gotten this far, and as your teams descend on the rooms, you can feel the end is near. Hopefully, that end is not that of the universe - or of Ivy.

Good hunting, Titled.]

Comments

[losergod]

I'm glad to hear that. Knowing you're not at fault for something is good.

How do you feel?

[illusionarymelody]

Yes, the fault lies with Duke Cayenne failing to uphold the terms of his agreement with me. He's not unlike Marie to be honest.

Thank you. I feel fine. It doesn't seem like anything too important had been taken.

[backuphero]

[He is so, so relieved by how easily Vita's taken this in stride. Everyone else seemed so shaken, and yet she isn't - she even laughed. The one thing that she'd worried over wasn't her fault....]

I'm so glad you're okay. It was... I didn't have an easy time of it. Most of us didn't. But that's not important, not now - you're a pilot, too?

[She's like Rita Hayworth crossed with Jackie Cochran! God, how did a sad sack like him end up with a lady like this?!]

[illusionarymelody]

There's a lot of things I can do that I didn't get a chance to tell you about. I'm a witch of the Hexen Clan and a high ranking member of a secret society. My duty involved guiding an Awakener, which was Crow, in his role being what amounts to being a pilot to a far more advanced version of what we arrived in. Since I had actual experience, I ended up as our pilot.

[backuphero]

A witch? Why didn't you say so, huh?

[He's just latching on to the bits of this he can really understand - and unlike what she may have expected, he's smiling as he asks that, gently, a little bit near to wry.]

Man, and you both sing, too, Charlotte's going to - well, I hope she'll like you, at least. You've got a lot in common.

[And there, he pauses.]

I mean, you... you do want to come with me, right?

[illusionarymelody]

I didn't have a chance to say it in so many words after telling you I can use magic. And then we ended up kissing and never got back to that.

[She smiles. It's something that she thought about every day and is so glad she's now able to actually tell him.]

I have a few things I'll need to do at home first, but yes I'll come with you. I'd decided once I found out we were alive that if you forgave me for what I tried to do that I'd not give up on what we could have.

[backuphero]

[It's like learning to cry again just set the floodgates open, really. There's a tightness in his throat, and a prickling at his eyelids' edges. Vita can probably tell he's at the edge of tears, and somehow he can't find it in himself to care that it's so blatant.]

I - I'd wait years if I had to. Do what you have to, just... God, I want to get to know you. I want to know everything there is to know about you, I want to know how you like your coffee when we're not stuck somewhere it only comes in "burnt" and "with sugar and something that maybe was cream once", I want... I want to have something with you. Even if I don't know - even if we can't see what that something'll be, I'm just so glad....

[illusionarymelody]

[She definitely can tell, and honestly she feels the same way because she learned how to feel again as well.]

It won't be years. [It definitely can't considering the state of her world, but she's not going to mention that and worry him.] Even just a few weeks was unbearable. This time, I'll leave a way for us to talk with you. One magic I can do is project an image of myself across a great distance. Why not see if I can go between worlds? Assuming I regain my magic once we leave.

[And then she is going to come closer to him and give him a quick and gentle kiss.]