FINAL INVESTIGATION

[strangerpeople]

FINAL INVESTIGATION


[Fifteen X-Passes. Six weeks. Freedom at last.



But it's not the end. Of course it's not. There are questions to answer, and souls to save. And now that the group is outside, they can see where they are.

They are inside a massive cavern, illuminated in an eerie green light, standing on a stone path. On one side is the ship-or rather, a massive, ship-shaped tangle of bloody branches, the trunk-like roots snaking out and into the river its buoyed on, as well as into the ceiling of stalactites. Said river is wine dark, but it's clearly not water. No-it is blood.

And on the other side of their little pathway? A root-encrusted palace. It sits over a labyrinthine city, bathed in emerald, and all is eerily silent save for some sounds coming from within the castle. It's clear the infestation somehow started here. And it is here that answers are likely to be found.

The doors are right in front of the group-and they are already open, covered in branches. From the outside, it seems little more than a ruin. Once everyone goes in, though?




It's even worse. The tree has taken over. Whatever lives here is no longer in charge. There's no easy way to disentangle the Qilphoth from this place. But there is life here, somehow. You can see figures entangled within the roots as you explore. And-they are still, somehow, alive. More than alive. They are beings that bleed ichor instead of blood-beings of incredible divinity and power. They are gods. And they are hostage to the tree, forever and ever, trapped in induced ennui, unless something is done.


So welcome, Strangers, to the House of Hades.]







[Once you enter, the investigation shall begin.


Good luck.]



((OoC: And here are team assignments!))

Comments

[exequte]

[She just smiles, the expression amused amused, and shakes her head, pointing at Delta.]

[pegasinister]

[He blinks then mouths 'oooh'- not at all insulted by the implication that he COULDN'T be Zero]

[15unknowns]

[Delta, meanwhile, seems nonplussed at the question, simply adjusting his glasses.]

In terms of the person who ran the general logistics of this game you were subjected to? Yes.

However, I am not the one who brought you here, nor was I the ultimate mastermind.

[exequte]

Of course you aren't. Didn't you think I'd notice?

[The faint regret that colored his words, sometimes.]

Who is?

[15unknowns]

[When the pot and kettle meet.

Delta brings a hand to his chin.]

If I were to utter her name, she would unfortunately know, and there'd be little chance of anyone surviving, much less those who already have. Such is the downside to being beholden to a witch.

[exequte]

A witch?

Really?


.... gosh.

But... but what does that have to do with everyone here?

[15unknowns]

Yes. And it's because you all have something she wants. No-needs.

[exequte]

What's that?

[15unknowns]

Blood.

[exequte]

... really?

I mean, that's it?

Theres an entire river of blood right outside! There are gods and heroes dripping ichor everywhere in here. What would this witch want our blood for? Most of us are only boring old humans.

[15unknowns]

Indeed. And it's not enough. It will never be enough. The extra blood you and the others bring give it an extra little...spice that it lacked even after all that.

[exequte]

Why us, though?

[15unknowns]

......

[He slowly turns towards the window.]

Unfortunately, because of her.

[exequte]

[She turns curiously to find what he's looking at.]

EVIDENCE

[strangerpeople]

[There's a crib near the window.]

[exequte]

[Hm! She'll approach it quietly and look in.]

[strangerpeople]

[There is a baby in there. She's about a year or so old, sleeping with a white animal thing next to her. Albeit, this one's clearly been stuffed and recycled to be a plush doll.





Akane, meet Ayame.]

[exequte]

[WELL.

THAT'S. THAT'S CREEPY.

Akane is going to see if this baby even vaguely resembles her, but she is also fully taking the white thing out of the cradle because who the heck taxidermied one of these things for an infant's plush that seems so wrong.]

[strangerpeople]

[She does. She resembles Akane a lot.

The child stirs at the taking of the plush, its eyes half opening.

Those are Junpei's eyes.]

[exequte]

[Well.







She did see that photo of him, I guess.

This is kind of weird though.

Baby stirring, though, and Delta had mentioned not waking her, but Akane is not giving any baby a taxidermied corpse back to snuggle Because That's Weird even if she didn't suspect that these things might have been trying to buy her soul off of her. It doesn't matter whose baby it is, really.

Akane really doesn't have anything against this child, certainly, even if it's... deeply odd and slightly uncomfortable how involved she apparently is, when Akane herself was dragged into this for who knows what reason. Still, she'll drop the stuffed skin on the ground, stepping on it as she walks over to what might be a cape. The fabric is soft and heavy, and seems like it would be a better blankie to snuggle than whatever the heck was going on before, so after picking it up she'll return to the crib and replace the plush with a swath of red fabric.]

[strangerpeople]

baba...

[Aaaaand...back to sleep she goes. Good job, Akane.]

[exequte]

[Well, that happened.]

Why do you have a baby here? And what do you mean, because of her? What does she have to do with any of this?

[15unknowns]

Aoi suspected before his death.

[Delta has stood up by now, and is behind Akane, arms folded.]

In the timeline where she is born, Ayame Tenmyouji is a powerful ESPer-perhaps the most powerful in our little corner of reality. She is capable of SHIFTing not just information and data and minds through the morphogenetic field, but matter as well. Unfortunately-that includes herself and multiple others, related or otherwise. As she is only a baby, she also has no control over her power-only my power, and I assume the presence of her immediate family, is capable of limiting her abilities at present.

So, she is how we are all here.

[pegasinister]

[Hubert meanders over here to watch the kid while Akane questions Delta, bringing the book with him to browse, pulling something over to sit on and just kinda lazily rock the crib with one foot]

[exequte]

How much of this did you know?