15strangers | WEE͠K ̸́4͝

W҉͘E͜͠͝E̕K̡̛͡ ̡͟4̸

[The blight is all-consuming.

Within days dozens are confirmed infected, and you and your unexpected new scientist friend find yourselves trying to work on a cure. If not a cure, a stopgap of some kind. Anything to prevent this thing from destroying everything. It's hard work. It's not going very well. Really, it feels like with every step forward, you're taking ten steps back. Discouraging is an understatement, to say the least.

A week passes, and the death toll rises. It's really starting to look bleak. You constantly second-guess yourself, and even get into a fistfight with your new ally one night. It's getting to the point where you are working on fumes.

Then, unexpectedly, you get a phone call. It's been a long night, and the sun is beginning to rise above the mountains, when it happens.

You and the scientist are not the only ones looking for a cure. In fact, there are at least a dozen others-and they think they may be close to a breakthrough.

But-and you can't believe you're hearing this, after all of the failure you'd experienced throughout this blight-they need your help.]

---

[To say that the end of last week sucked would be an understatement. To say that no one knows what this week will bring is not even in question. Yet even as you wake, you feel a cloud lift from your mind, as one of the truths you've been living with since the beginning has suddenly changed.]

[But is it possible to abide by this new truth? The Hosts, and IT beyond, seem intent on making that impossible. And the rat...well. Obviously the rat's not an ally. Let's not kid ourselves.

There's only one way to find out if more deaths can truly be prevented-and that's to keep going, and hoping that the new floor that has opened up will offer something in the way of an opportunity.

In the meantime.

There are 11 strangers left in this place.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

All right, let's just put some shit together finally.

We think the Sapiarch who was at the Depths caused the "blight", which is spreading to all the clusters. That was probably the start of everything. The movie suggested that.

Then Rachel and Charles met at the mall, and we know that happened before the base and the plane. But Rachel had something to do with the plane, and also the mansion. AND Kyuubey said it helped at the mansion, but then it also showed up to bother everyone on the train.

Now it's here in the city, and Rachel is bugging the dead.... but where does IT come into this?

Right over here... [he points in front of the part Rachel and Charles met] When it made Shoe start acting weird, like he wouldn't have before! And Rachel busted him out of the trial too, right, Karma?

So ... uh .... what are we missing? [Eric turns away from the magnet wall to face the others] It's gotta be...

The reason they're all working together! That's what we should figure out!

Edited 2020-02-21 02:29 (UTC)

Not a bad summary.

[ Grats, Eric...! ]

Too bad we don't know the answer to that question already, but it'll probably reveal itself eventually.

[ Whether by them figuring it out or stumbling onto it. ]

Well... [Eric tries to think of an argument against that, but in the end he can only hang his head.] You're probably right about that.

Then, can we at least figure out which ones are responsible for whatever we've found so far? There's gotta be a crack in this organization! It's a total clusterfuck!

[ It really was. It made even the fact that they got anything done amazing, but he wondered briefly if it was purposeful. ]

Like the grape story? Could be those annoying rats.

That does seem like something they'd do. Taunting us with all this multiversal knowledge indirectly.

[ He's quiet for a second or two, thinking about things before his eyes go a little wide. ]

I-I'm not sure, but that depends on one thing. Arthur. Do you have ANY description of Rachel that you can give me. I never got a name of the one who helped Sho escape, but I saw her.

[ This is really important, okay? ]

Yeah, actually. I saw her in the mall with Charles.

She was young, about the same age as him - uh, really young, by the way, Charles looks like he's maybe half my age tops. She's blonde, and has gold eyes....she was wearing a black hoodie at the time.

[ In that instant, Karma's entire expression grew livid and he almost let off a snarl, his aura absolutely murderous. ]

...It was HER. That Rachel? She WAS the one who helped Sho escape his punishment, and I'd guess she only did it because she still had a use for him. One which seems kind of obvious given the state of things here.

[ Ohhhh he is SO goddamn pissed right now. ]

Good to have something of a name to go with the face, now.

Just something of one though. Charles said it's not her real name.... but who gives a shit, really.

If he's here, maybe that's why Kurama kept going on about there still being noise all over the fucking place.

Exactly. It's more to go off of than I had before.

[ Yeah he's still reasonably angry about this, considering what he's heard about how much meddling Rachel has been doing since that point. ]

I've seen it too. I know exactly how infested with Noise this place is.

Yeah, so... if she kidnapped him, maybe it was to bring him in here to make the Taboo Noise.

That'd mean we could make it go away if we took care of him, right?

That's what I'm guessing is the case. Especially if he's mind controlled and compelled to obey and do whatever they want him to.

[ A VERY wry, angry smile - thankfully not aimed at Eric - curled his lips and he laughed bitterly. ]

Yeah. Take care of what's making the stupid Taboo Noise and then there won't be any more OF them. Let's just say the next time he's cornered, he isn't leaving there alive.

Your note says he was scheduled for execution so... fair enough.

[far be it from him to argue with a literal court of angels]

Thing is, it's not her real name. Charles said "Rachel" is....the girl she's possessed. Probably effectively the same, at this point, but...

The video thingies called her "The Snake".

...Either one works for me until we find out her real name. Snake is an apt description of her, all the same.

[ Sorry Arthur. He's trying to calm down a bit since this realization brought back a memory of something that still had reasonably pissed him off before. ]

If she's a possessed little girl, I wonder if there's a way to free her. From the Snake.

Is it a possession or a disguise?

..........Also a good question.

Reapers are dead, right? If there was a real Rachel, she must be long gone by now... or at least I hope so.

WEE͠K ̸́4͝

AGGRESSIVELY STRINGING UP A TIMELINE

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