15strangers | WEEK 6

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?]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Zeroes...do you know how many of those there might be?

Not a clue. I only know there is more than one due to what Hermes found. I must assume the second one is that beast. Or the ship itself, if they are not one and the same.

...Something I found that was concerning, especially in light of what we found yesterday: the pod Nero's body is in is labeled number zero. I don't know who exactly Nero is, but I think he's either Dante's son, or his nephew.

Honestly, probably his nephew. Dante isn't exactly what I'd call smooth. Or...wasn't.

Nero says he's been dead since the beginning, so it makes me wonder if he might be connected to one of the Zeroes. Maybe he's even the person these funeral expenses are for.

Considering how much information about Dante and those associated with him we've found I have to assume as much as well.

If I'm a continuation of the trend of kidnapping and killing everyone associated with Dante, though...why me before Trish?

[...And does that mean the empty pod in the early numbers is meant for him?]

Dante doesn't even care about me, and she's one of his devil hunting partners. It doesn't make any sense that I'd be higher priority than her.

It may just be ill luck- there is little to connect the majority of us to all of this. Just you and the Kurashikis.

Maybe. But I'd wondered why they'd bring me here, when I know all kinds of things that make our investigations easier. None of you would even know about the Qliphoth if I hadn't recognized it.

For the Kurashikis, I figured it was just personal, but...

But what?

It's reckless. Are they that confident us knowing all this about the HMHS Gigantic, the Qlipoth, and demons can't cause problems?

I heard the ship's voice in the vision that I received the other day. It was the same voice we all heard at the trial.

What I saw... I think it was Nero's death.

...What? I... Was he... killed by the tree?

[ Simply a guess here but given the overall context? How else was he supposed to take it? ]

Yeah. It sent one of those thorns straight through his chest and drained his blood.

[And Gai did not like reliving that at all, thanks...]

...So when I first suspected that he didn't have blood... I was right. That could also explain one very notable thing!

[ His eyes brightened and he grinned. ]

He's the only soul stuck here on the ship while all the others happened to be sent to Tartarus, likely due to that his death was directly caused BY the tree and not by human hands.

The tree absorbed his essence-- I could tell that much. So that definitely explains why he's still stuck here on the ship.

... which means the same is probably true for Aoi as well.

That's entirely possible, which means we need to try and stop the tree from directly causing more deaths here.

[ Which means in the end, getting to the bottom of the game and find a way to get everyone out of Tartarus. ]

Aoi made it to Tartarus. He sent a letter via Charon already.

That's a relief. I'm glad he's okay, at least.

[ Since.. given how the ship had essentially tortured him until he died? He had been quite concerned to say the least. ]

Yeah. I got the letter yesterday, he was worried about Hubert.

We've already written back, by the way. Figured we'd save postage and just have Hubert add to what I was already going to send.

With good reason, given everything that had gone on.

[ He just nodded, his sunny smile back in place once more. ]

Smart idea! It's really nice to be able to communicate with them through Charon like this, and I find I like him much more now than I initially did.

Could still use some perfume, but he really does seem okay, as long as you don't try to steal from him.

Even if he does have some real headaches in that briefcase of his.

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godspiousjasper - 2023-07-18 23:34 (UTC) - Expand

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If my theory is correct, the tree's heart is beneath the theater. We're going to need to find a way to get down there without getting attacked.

[His own power may protect him, but beyond that? He really isn't sure.]

That sounds like a good place to start.

[ He paused, then remembering what Gai's power was and he brightened in mere seconds. ]

I know it isn't much but if you'd like? I can try to help you figure out your Devil Arm powers a bit more, Gai. Your power's evolution might be extremely useful going forwards.

Alastor offered me the same thing... I may just take both of you up on that.

[As much as he's uncomfortable with the idea of having been forcibly given a power yet again, it looks like he won't be able to avoid using it forever. And if it's going to come in handy for this, then he wants to make sure he has it as mastered as he possibly can.]

Too bad my flute doesn't work, but I'm sure this place did that on purpose.

Wonderful! Just let me know when you'd like to do so and i'll help you anytime you'd like.

[ It probably helped that he himself figured his out fully, though granted it was also just in his nature to want to help others no matter what. ]

Your flute? What can it normally do??

It can create a shield around me and anyone around me that protects those inside from anything outside the shield. If there's some sort of way we can get that working again, it would definitely come in handy.

godspiousjasper - 2023-07-19 01:33 (UTC) - Expand