WEEK 6

[strangerpeople]

WEEK 6



[Fifteen X-Passes. You've finally done it. You can now go free. However, the price has been steep. Too steep.




True, you can leave. Anyone can, now. But simply leaving may be a bad idea. After all, who knows what else Zero has up its sleeve? Who knows what's outside of the HMHS Gigantic? How will they survive? How will they eat? And those are the easy questions that need to be answered. After all, the mystery of Zero, the mystery of Zack, the mystery of who is the cause of all of this and why-those things are also seemingly impossible to answer without some preparation. There's also the new area that's opened up that may yet yield more for the survivors to mull over.


Rushing is surely a bad idea. It's time to prepare. Take the time to get ready for whatever is outside. Stock up on supplies. Write what needs to be written. Say what needs to be said. Get ready for the possibility that whatever is out there, whatever the answers are-they will not be easy, and they will not be quick.


More than that, but-where are all these cuts coming from on your body? Hm. Maybe you keep bumping into things or scratching too hard. Did everyone save Roland get super clumsy or something all of a sudden?


Well. Maybe the answers to all that are just around the corner. So. Let's get ready. The end is near.


There are 8 9 strangers currently on this ship.



Wait. Nine?]

Comments

[strangerpeople]

[Time to open up the desk and-


Lots of papers just. fall to the floor. Damn. That's a lot of papers!]

[superstylishsquid]

[He starts a bit, but then kneels down to start gathering them up.]

I think Sprocket would blow a gasket...

[godspiousjasper]

Ah!! Seems quite unorganized, honestly..

[ Of course he's going to go and pick up some of the papers too. What are even ON these? ]

[strangerpeople]

[A shitton of unpaid bills and financial statements for taxes.








Huh?]

[superstylishsquid]

So, murder, demon summoning, and tax evasion?

[strangerpeople]

[INDEED! SURELY THE MOST EEEEEVIL OF CRIMES! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!













Well, no, actually, these papers don't involve tax evasion, but they do involve something that might catch Alastor's eye. Maybe. A little.]

[superstylishsquid]

[If it's evil enough for Al Capone.

But what is it that seems significant to Alastor?]

[strangerpeople]

[The fact many of these are for a business.








Specifically, a business named Devil May Cry.]

[superstylishsquid]

These are...Dante's? Devil May Cry is the name of his devil hunting operation.

[godspiousjasper]

Hm?? But why would papers for HIS business be in here, though?

[superstylishsquid]

I...don't know. He was in one of the other games, but we saw that he's dead. I can only think of a couple people who would even have access to this stuff, without being able to go through him...

[A thought seems to occur, but he shakes his head.]

And she wouldn't.

[godspiousjasper]

You're absolutely sure that the people Dante closely associates with aren't at all likely to betray him?

[ Not trying to accuse but just make sure he understands everything. ]

[superstylishsquid]

She was originally a servant of Mundus, meant to lure him to his death. Him forgiving her once was such a big deal that...I can't imagine her breaking his trust again.

But take a look at this. [He holds the check stubs out to Roland.] Dante changed his name to Tony Redgrave when he was younger, and his main information contact is a guy named James Morrison. Not entirely sure who that third one is, but...this is all in Dante's handwriting.

[godspiousjasper]

Ah? That... doesn't make sense. This is all for his business... these checks all being in his handwriting?

[ He puts a hand to his chin in thought, then points towards some of the writing for what the checks were for. ]

Survivor Support? Rebuild Expenses? Did he have a lot of money to afford all these?

[superstylishsquid]

No...he had a lot of income, but he made such a mess on his jobs that he hardly ever saw any of it. He couldn't even keep the water on consistently. That's what all these overdue bills are about.

[Digging back through the papers, looking for anything else that isn't just more unpaid bills.]

[strangerpeople]

[ What about this birth certificate? Most of the information, such as the parents' names, are redacted. But the first name and birthdate is clear:

菖蒲/Ayame, July 8th. ]

[superstylishsquid]

A...birth certificate, for Aoi's niece?

[godspiousjasper]

Why would that be here??

[strangerpeople]

[ There's more. Keep looking? ]

[godspiousjasper]

[ Absolutely! What else can be found here? ]

[strangerpeople]

[Yup.


Look closer at the details?]

[superstylishsquid]

[Sure, why not? Let's see how long it's been since Dante paid his water bill this time.

...And maybe some other, more relevant details like dates and such, he guesses.]

[strangerpeople]

[Well, who knows, honestly. There are plenty of "you need to pay this bill" notices, but that's not all there is.


No, there are also check stubs in the statements, detailing large payments to a large variety of people, signed by three people: T. Redgrave, J. Morrison, and M. Arkham. The CC for said checks are...well.

"Funeral exp.", "Suriivor suppoert", and "Rebuild exp.".

These checks, most especially, are all in a certain someone's writing.]

[superstylishsquid]

[Would that 'someone' happen to be Dante?]

[strangerpeople]

[Yes.]