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

[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.

[exequte]

No.

That doesn't make sense.

Because if she'd wanted her mother, then she should have brought her mother.

I'm not. Maybe a me could be, some day, but I'm not her.

[She smiles, faintly.]

Besides, if this is the result of her having been born... maybe it's better that she isn't. Not by me, anyway.

[15unknowns]

...What is done is done. Even if not by you, per se.

[A grim smile.]

I naturally would not claim you are the Akane Kurashiki who is her mother. But there is an Akane Kurashiki who is searching for her. One who cannot hold her child. Who does not know the fate that has befallen Ayame, or Aoi.

She at least should be able see her infant and brother again, when this is over.

[exequte]

But why me, then? Why this me, I mean? Because it really doesn't make sense.

[15unknowns]

She is an infant, Ms. Kurashiki. They are necessarily not known for their...astute logic.

[unpossibilities]

[....Well. He's watching this from afar. Kaito's silent. At first, anyway. Then he speaks.]

...

You're sure, babe?

[He's uneasy, honestly. This is a little life. This is...confusing, but he's trying to roll with it.]

I guess she got the wrong you...but...

[He looks at the little girl with concern.]

...I get how she feels, being lonely.

[I'm not the stepdad

I'm the dad who stepped up]

[exequte]

... No.

But if this is what a child of mine could do....

She's dangerous. It would be dangerous. I don't know if I can afford to allow that, now that I know.

1/2

[unpossibilities]

I don't think---

I mean, yeah, sure. Danger. Kids are the embodiment of danger. If y'aren't worried about your own kid, y'ain't doin' right.

Besides, uh, we're both young. We've still got time. I don't know if I could really deny a kid based on how dangerous they could be, since...

I guess as their Dad, I'd probably ground 'em for this! I'd track 'em down and give 'em a real scolding! Your ma's worried! Get back to your room and stop psychic-ing, little missy!

[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?

[pegasinister]

I knew she existed- I even saw her once. And that she is Aoi's neice, so assumedly the daughter of That Akane. Delta explained she brought us here and I suspect she may also be the source of some of our random phenomena: the purple cream, the stuffed... dogs... and the like.

[ he looks up, never pausing his rocking]

I could not tell. If the one behind this knew about... certain things and attacked Delta... she would be alone. And there is no telling what the other Zero would use her for directly.

[guilt crosses his face]

Desperate people can do horrific things even to the most helpless. I... was almost one of those. When I first woke to this timeline my first thought was to use whatever caused the SHIFT to change the war. But... now I can not. I will not be that kind of man.

[exequte]

[She regards him for a moment, then walks over a little closer.]

It's... not that simple, you know. Doing something like that. Most stories of time travel tell of the consequences of that, but if you think about it... that's only natural, right?

[pegasinister]

I know. It seems the more I learn of reality outside my world the more helpless to change it I become. Charon told me as much. Threads once cut are not meant to be re-tied.

... I'm... not sure if I will ever be able to accept it.