F̎̋̀͝I͋ͦ̿ͦ̇̈́N̷̏́̊̽̔̍͒A̶ͧ̂͒̍L̛ͧ̃͜ ̶̛̐̀́ͪ̈́̐ͤT̒͘͠R̨͐͊̀̕ĬA̢͊̓͌͗͢Ļ̋͞

[strangerpeople]

F̶̡̯̻̠̤̻͔͋͊ͬͦͤ̊ͯ̆Ḭ͙̜̺͇̽͟ͅN̷̰̥̥̹̱̐͛̎͞A̮͋̎͛͊L̛͚̱̯͈̄ͧ̿̂̋́͡ ̵͓̜͑͊͐ͨ̎̀̚͡Ț̸̢̥̥̲̼͔̻̟̣͂R̦̭̥͇̓ͧͣ̉͠Į̮̻̪͙̺̘͈̰͉̋ͮ̆ͩ́̔̉͌Aͩ̒ͤ͏̖̼̣L̫̥̰͉ͥ̂̐͐̓͑̑̚͢

[It is time.

Though there was no timer, the time was clearly nearing its end. The darkness that encompasses this place becomes even darker as the hours dragged forward, until even the lights of the City's skyline seems to darken along with it. You can almost feel the Noise watching, an infinity set of eyes in the void beyond staring back, as everyone pulls together again to proceed down the street.

The brightest building in the sky is the dome, now. There's no barrier preventing you from going beyond the Central Building now. There's no need for it-the City is completely empty, its streets devoid of life, as everyone inevitably finds their feet bringing them to the dome.







There's no turning back now. Whatever you have, that is what you will bring on this final journey. Not just in items, but in mind, in spirit, and in soul. IT, the avatar of the Thing and orchestrator of your game, will not relent. IT knows it has bent you, but not broken you. Now IT intends to finish the job.

As you round the corner to the dome, you feel the rhythm suddenly take control of you. You feel a sucking sensation grab onto you, and try as you might you cannot fight. You are pulled in. And when you manage to clear your head and eyes, you are inside the building. It is massive, domed, and-





you are only in one corner of it. There is a small table with chairs, with everyone's name on little dot matrix displays in front of chairs. Not all of them, of course. There are 15 chairs, and where the survivors' chairs are white, the chairs of the dead are black, their dot matrixes empty and lifeless.

A glass panel separates this little set up from the rest of the building, which is concealed in red fog. Despite this, a worryingly slack-jawed Link and Hiyori are sitting in chairs on a raised step just behind the glass, their suits still impeccable and their irises swirling more intensely than before. They do not react when everyone comes in; they do not respond if someone tries to greet them. Next to Hiyori is a briefcase and a boombox, which even through the glass it is quite clear the static, pulsing rhythm coming from it is very, very loud. Kyuubey sits in its own chair, meanwhile, its eyes watching and its expression unchanging; a fourth chair sits empty next to them.

There is no visible sign of IT. But IT is there, just beyond the glass, just waiting to unleash ITs full might. It's almost mocking the Strangers, as if to say go ahead, draw your conclusions. You won't win. You can't escape.

Fifteen Strangers, from scattered multiverses. They were brought together once more to kill. Now, they must solve the final riddle. All of the knowledge and experiences they've had have led to this, and their newest evidence may help as well. The survivors have one chance to make this right and stop IT for good. Failure cannot be an option. If it is...no. Don't think about it. Just do it.


The trial for the future of all existence has now begun.]







[It's time!! The Strangers' objective here is simple, but all-important: they must pull all of the evidence you have together, unlock the answers they seek in full, and at last confront IT, the Mastermind.

This is it. There is no turning back. The blight curls ever-further from the darkness between the clusters. Can there be a cure?

Have fun, good luck, and may the right prevail.]

Comments

[carryabigstick]

Wha--

[She follows his line of sight and sees what he's after. She doesn't know if she can, but there isn't much other choice. She can't abandon Caleb.]

Alright! Do what you have to do!

[She turns to Caleb--]

Sorry, I guess you just get me.

[unwittingking]

[He's hissing in pain. It didn't get anywhere too important, but it still hurts like Hell...

But he's not giving up.]

You think of us as family because we are! You're my brother! I care about you as much as any sibling should!

And I'm not lying! You're one of the most important people here to me! Even at the beginning, I trusted you more than anyone else! And I still trust you!

[Even if his should is bleeding, he's going in for a hug. It's stupid, considering earlier, but he doesn't care. He's not letting his brother get taken away.]

[carryabigstick]

King's right Caleb. No matter what-- we trust you and we're going to stick by you the way you have for us. You've done so much for us. Now it's our turn.

[She's going to take King's hug as an opportunity to take the knife out of Caleb's hand. She's pretty strong, even for a young girl-- she has faith she can fight for it. To protect her friends.]

1/

[katzenpfote]

[Even with the added speed, Caleb was never meant to be on the front lines. He's slow, he's physically weak, and his constitution is bad. It's not hard for Estelle to snatch the knife out of his hand as he goes in to try to stab King in the neck.]

[He growls in frustration and instead just places his hands around King's neck, trying to squeeze and start freezing the other's skin just because he doesn't have much else.]

2/2

[cuteandinnocentpet]

[There's a skittering noise heard and...wait, is that a dead Kyuubey?

This seems familiar doesn't it as it scampers close by the fighting.]

Hello there! I have something important for everyone!

[carryabigstick]

[What the--?! She has a knife now you know, so don't try anything fresh uh... dead... Kyuubey...]

...what... what do you want?

[cuteandinnocentpet]

[It's harmless! Probably.]

Oh, it's just that I have messages from those on the Other Side!

[carryabigstick]

Uh... o...kay. What is it then?

MESSAGES

[cuteandinnocentpet]

[This Kyuubey is certainly different than the one who is sitting nearby. Other than being dead of course.]

Seeing as I am still dead, these need to get to you all quickly:

For Osomatsu, Franciscus says that he loves you and to remember him.

[Wow getting your own message, how sweet.]

Vita told me to say they're with you and confident you will write the best ending possible for all of them. Also that you are all her dear friends and she trusts you to fight your hardest and win! Oh, and for Arthur, she says she gives her blessing regarding your love for Emma.

[So much love.]

Jun says that if a kid can save the world, you can too!

Eliza says and I have to quote this: "Fuck grimdark endings! There's a happy ending ahead for all of you, if you do your best to reach it!"

[Kyuubeys swear, news at 11.]

Proto Man says that you've made it this far together. Together is how you'll beat this thing once and for all. And that they're rooting for you and so is everyone waiting back home. Also that 'And you'll meet again. Don't know where, don't know when.'

Lala says that they believe you can make a miracle-lun.

[Yes, it actually said that.]

And Jonathan says "Wait and hope." And that they believe in you.

[So much positivity coming out from this little dead rat. Or rather playing Messenger for positive people.]

That's all of them! Hopefully they're still watching too!

[carryabigstick]

All of you...

[Estelle holds her hand to her heart and smiles. That's everything she needed to hear right now.]

Thanks. For bringing those messages to us. They're really important.

[relieable]

[can a scythe blush? maybe]

I-I knew that already!

[mumbling]

And I was thinking about him. And everyone...

[mermaidkin]

[MORE??? QUESTION MARKS???

Hiyori just holds up the piece of paper he has yet to relinquish this ENTIRE time, it's getting seriously crumpled between his fingers.]

I take it that means wait for another one of your actually good letters!!

[relieable]

[he's a scythe but he's paying attention anyway]

[cuteandinnocentpet]

[Oh look, a special one!]

[cuteandinnocentpet]

[Living Kyuubey, meanwhile, tilts its head from where it's been sitting this entire time.]

Goodness, isn't this an inefficient waste of matter, though?

[carryabigstick]

Oh would you just be quiet and let us listen to the dang message?

[unwittingking]

[He is literally being strangled and frozen by his brother, and he prefers it over hearing you.]

[cuteandinnocentpet]

Isn't this it too?

[katzenpfote]

[He drops King and kicks him back, turning to glare at Kyuubey.]

[The messages make him wince in... almost pain? He's not sure what's going on, only that he doesn't like what he's hearing, that he wants to forget those words even happened. He covers part of his face with his arm.]

[unwittingking]

[He's struggling to breath and there's frost and probably ice around his neck-but like Hell is he giving up now!]

It's-it's true. It's true...and you know it, Caleb. They care...we care...everyone cares. And I swear...to everything I can...I'm not leaving you here.

You're my brother...and I love you...and I'm never...going to stop caring.

[His voice is raspier, and he keeps needing to stop to breath a bit more, but he means every word that he says. He's putting his heart there entirely, because it's the truth.]

[katzenpfote]

[He's breathing hard, crouched in a low defensive posture with a blue flame in his hand.]

I̵'̵m̵ ̸a̷ ̷m̶o̷n̷s̴t̴e̷r̶.̸ ̴N̴o̵ ̶f̵a̴m̷i̶l̴y̷.̶ ̶N̷o̶ ̴f̸r̴i̵e̷n̸d̴s̷.̷ ̶I̸ ̴w̴i̷l̷l̸ ̴j̸u̵s̵t̸ ̶h̸u̷r̴t̵ ̷t̴h̷e̵m̸.̵

[unwittingking]

You're not...a monster.

You made...mistakes, but who...the Hell…doesn't?

Look at me, Caleb. Think about...the shit I've done. If you can...accept me, then why...why can't I accept you?!

You're family is us. And everyone from the train. And the Nein-the Nein were your family before I knew you!

You have family. I promise.

[carryabigstick]

No, Caleb-- you have to listen. These are everyone's wishes. For us... for you. These are our friends. Your friends.

People we still need to save together.

Come on... I know you can do this. I believe in you!

[katzenpfote]

[He just looks up at her, expression lost.]

.̸.̸.̵ ̵W̸h̵y̷?̴

[carryabigstick]

Do I need a reason to want to believe in someone? You've never given me a reason not to trust you. You've been honest and supportive of everyone, gone out of your way to protect us and help us prepare for the worst. You've looked out for us in so many ways, just being yourself.

Sure you may have a dark past but-- your future right now is bright.

Caleb... you're a good guy. And I'm glad I met you. So-- come back to us. Back where you belong.