end round - begin

[mewreview]

blank state end round



day twenty three

[After Malik Ishtar's execution, it's a few hours until you see the cat again. Long enough that you may be wondering what happened to him. Otherwise, everything is as usual for the most part. The windows are currently flickering between their ordinary view, pitch black, and the grim scenes you saw before: scenes that you now recognize as something happening at home that would almost certainly mean your death if what they're showing is true. The same can be said for the greenhouse and aquarium. If you stare too long, you'll find yourself beginning to get dizzy.]

Setting
Timeline
Cast
Private Conversations

Comments

Cat

[mewreview]

[Several hours later, you'll find the cat perched on top of his tower in the dining room, sitting straight up and completely still. Somehow he looks less catlike now; he's still in the shape of a housecat, but the dark of his fur is too dark, and his gold eyes glow too brightly for him to seem real.

Even so, his movements seem tired.]

All right. It's almost time for you to go home. There's a problem, though.

[volcanoes]

You mean besides the windows? [Iceland's eyes keep flicking to the windows in a vague sort of panic. It's so realistic now, it's frightening.]

[chiblocker]

[ Ty Lee's seconding this question...........of course there's a problem.

There's always a problem....... ]

Are you going to ask us to solve more cases?

[mewreview]

No, the windows are a big part of the problem.

[acemedium]

[Looking at him pretty attentively... something does seem off about him]

What is it?

[mewreview]

It's going to be possible to get most of you home...

[heyheyimthemonkey]

But what about those who have died...?

[Since the cat is miraculously remembering things now, Ritsu figures he'll bring it up for the umpteenth time.]

[psychup]

[Having listened blankly thus far.]

You can't be serious. You can't ask us to do this.

[whiterosefoes]

[listening to everyone else too, Harriet is still just quietly bitter over what happened. But if it's not the world ending... maybe there's still hope.

Except, nobody would really try to save her, would they. What can she even say?]

(frozen comment) Memory Unlock

[mewreview]

[Once the cat is finished speaking, he slinks off, blending into the shadows.

Your memories are now unlocked. You still can't remember the exact circumstances leading you here, though you remember enough to be aware you have a chunk of memory missing. But you remember dying, and the few seconds before your death.

On the verge of your death, you decided to pay a price to change what had happened. Exactly what transpired, what it looked like, sounded like, or anything is all very unclear. But you do remember agreeing to pay, and an awareness that this wasn't supposed to happen somehow, but all you get is a chance.]

[volcanoes]

[Iceland staggers when the memory hits him. It's not much, but it's too much--he can remember the moment the last precious few of his people died, the moment he felt himself fading--the chance to change it.

Iceland goes cold in a way he never has, not even when he was speaking to Kaoru or arguing with Malik in the graveyard. There's ice in his eyes and his expression is tight.

He has hundreds of thousands of lives on this. He'd do anything to save them. Absolutely anything.

He squeezes his fists into balls, presses the nails into his palms so hard he bleeds a little, and looks like he's looking very far off into the distance.]

[fjords]

[ Norway places a hand on his back. ]

Hey. Let's go.

[souredsweet]

[Kaoru is stunned into silence by the unlocked memories that return, staring at some spot on the ground, but...

there are still so many things missing. who had killed him? why? how had he even gotten there...? he can guess a few solid things, but they're just guesses, and he still doesn't know why he's missing memories even then and why something about the situation feels wrong. an awareness that it wasn't supposed to happen - he's not even sure about that much. in the end, he's just left feeling anxious and frightened above all, especially with the prospect of a three-day vote looming ahead, and not much less confused than he had been earlier.]

[bloomnobly]

[ after a while, she just floats next to him. she's giving her best smile, but it's obviously not a happy one....more passive-aggressive, actually. ]

Funny. Even I can't bear a thread of optimism at this point. It seems almost silly.

[acemedium]

[It's some time after the memory that Maya approaches looking... cheerful? Definitely not as depressed as everyone else]

That really knocked our socks off, didn't it?

[chiblocker]

[ It's an invasion, and Ty Lee can't remember parts of it; nothing crystallizes, and she realizes immediately why that must be: whatever happened, it involved Mai.

She does remember the benders. She blocked some. Knives whirled past her to hit others - Mai? It had to be - but there were too many. She remembers shouting, remembers being hit, remembers thinking no, if I die I can't reach -

A blank.

Mai, again.

She must have offered up the memories in desperation, because she felt that, the willingness to give up anything if only she could be well enough to get up, to move, to defend someone, help them.

And if she goes back, Mai won't be there to save, will she? Or she wouldn't be in time? Or does that change...? Ty Lee can't make heads or tails of it, not really, but she shakes her head.

For the remainder of the time before the next mingle or until something else happens, she can be found in the circus room, balancing high up on one of the ends of the tightrope. She doesn't bother approaching anyone about anything, but won't turn away anyone who does approach her. ]

[souredsweet]

[after a while, Kaoru will wander into the room with the circus equipment, too. he doesn't look all that surprised to see Ty Lee there, though he briefly considers turning to leave without saying anything...

but that would do him no good in the end, right? the more advocates, the better. the more advocates, the lower the chance that he'd need to do anything drastic to preserve his own life.

so he calls up to her instead of walking away.] Are you planning on staying here for long?

[psychup]

[What she remembers is so bizarre and disjointed anyone else would likely dismiss it as obviously fiction. But she knows better. It isn't too difficult to piece together what happened. In the end, maybe she deserves it, but that doesn't mean she can allow it to happen. Not for her own sake, but for the sake of the person she failed for so long, and for the sake of all of the people who have been so kind to her. But the cost is something she can't even fathom, and they're only in this situation because of her.

Immediately after all of this, she goes and locks herself in one of the infirmary rooms. She's intending to be alone, but if anyone does happen to come looking for her or knocks on the door, she'll answer.]

[acemedium]

[After some time, Maya will go out looking for her, eventually coming to the infirmary]

Knock knock!

[whiterosefoes]

[In an attempt to sort through her thoughts, Harriet takes a walk into the dark tunnel of the motorcycle area - it was Malik's contribution, and a respite from all of the horrible windows. She is now very glad that he didn't think to make it more interesting. The darkness is perfect.

She'll just take a seat on the bike and turn on the headlight, though she doesn't know how to drive. It's mostly so she can see if there's anyone coming. And she thinks about her memory.

It happened in the Campus... her death. She's a bit confused because of the way that place is. But maybe the thing that wasn't supposed to happen was her not reviving? It's hard to say. She's finding it hard to care, either way. She's still feeling angry, and depressed.]

[souredsweet]

[he's on his way to the greenhouse when he spots the light in the tunnel - briefly concerned, because he didn't know motorcycles had lights... but it's enough to catch his attention and he stops by the mouth of the tunnel to peer in.]

—Vaughn-san?

[even from this distance and even in the dark, it seems he's capable of picking out who exactly is sitting on that bike.

...though to be fair, it's not like it could be many people at all.]

[courthouserock]

[Klavier recoils as the memories hit him, shuddering under the sudden onslaught of pain and desperation. It takes him a few moments to recover, but after he's had time to adjust, a strange sort of calm seems to settle over him. He looks unbearably sad for a second, but it's soon replaced by a bittersweet smile and a determination in his eyes.

It looks like he's come to some sort of decision.]

[acemedium]

[Maya's initial reaction is probably less drastic than one might expect. She's shocked, dismayed, but after all that just seems... tired.]

[But she's still attentive enough to notice something going on with Klavier, so at some point he'll be accosted by a pufferfish face]

Mr. Gavin!

[souredsweet]

[he is automatically assuming that Klavier is thinking about murder because that's totally the face people make when thinking about murder.]

Klavier-san...?

[bloomnobly]

Klavier-san. [ a curious headtilt. what are you thinking, mr. rock star lawyer ] May I pick your brain?