Astronomika - Shooting Down Falling Stars (IC)

[Spinach]

Colt Davin
Location: Spade Queen Country Club - Garage
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 10.09.1994
Weather: Overcast

Colt Davin stood in front of the garage’s ajar door. Inside, nothing moved, the lights were off, and he heard no signs of activity. That didn’t mean that it was empty, the door was only cracked open, after all. He could see very little. So he planted his palm on the door and pushed it open.

“Figures he’d be missing.” Colt impassively stated the reality that had met his expectations. “… He was prudent about keeping up some kinda jerk with a heart of gold façade for Liana. For some reason, he cares about what she thinks of him. So either he assumed he’d been found out and got out of here before having to deal with that…”

The boy’s eyes traced the tracks outside the garage.

“Or he just wants anyone who goes after him to come into the woods, where he can take them out on his terms.”

Colt turned back to the open door. Taking a step inside, he turned his head to speak to the German girl.

“Vier, you’re repeating this week too, right?” He hadn’t asked to accompany her. They hadn’t spoken on the way here. He got the impression she didn’t care what he did, so long as he didn’t get in her way. “We should go after him, but we need a plan first.”

Colt flipped the light-switch, and his eyes widened for a moment as he took in the sight of the garage. In any other situation, he’d peruse it like a child in a candy shop. Anyone with a garage such as this would never need to visit a mechanic again. It was so pristine and well taken care of that Colt could almost believe it was unused.

But atop the workbench Colt saw the wear and tear of proper, diligent use. The pristine condition Dodge Charger sleeping silently in the garage was testament to that. Beside it was another vehicle, draped in a protective sheet. Colt felt an itch in his finger, the desire to pull the sheet away and see what was underneath.

He glanced back to the bench. Also atop the workbench was a notebook. Beside the bench was a desk, and underneath the desk, Colt saw a heavy-duty safe.

“You’re armed, so I assume those brain-touching powers of yours aren’t the best in a fight. If you don’t know, Hawthorn is a marksman, but he’s a monster up close too.” Colt walked along the wall, passing a mounted hook with a triplet of keys. Two of which must likely belong to the parked cars, but the third clearly did not. After all, he recognized the shape of that leather strap. It was the same as the one on his own keys. “…”

He hesitated for a bit at the sight.

Where was the bike? What’s under the sheet?

“Hawthorn wants me dead, but he doesn’t consider me a threat. If he’s out there waiting to take out anyone who comes after him, he’ll go for you first.” Colt turned around, in one hand holding the Cobbler’s Special, clear as day for Vier to see. In the other, its empty magazine. “If you’re carrying any .45, we can take advantage of that. I’m not some superpowered Terminator who can stand alongside you Turnside guys in a fight, but I can shoot.”

Colt walked over to the workbench and sat the gun along with its empty magazine down on it.

“Of course, that all relies on you having spares, trusting me enough to give them to me, and Hawthorn ignoring me to go for you.” Colt got down, looking at the safe under the desk. As expected of an already-opened safe, there wasn’t much in it. A lock of hair, a sealed box, a satellite phone and a shard of black metal. “Well, if he decides to take me out first, that’s just the way the cookie crumbles. Hopefully if that happens, I wake up in my bed on Wednesday morning with a bad headache, and you get to cover and give him a decent fight.”

Colt pulled out the items from the safe, especially the two which caught his attention the most, the black metal and the sealed box, setting them all out atop the desk.

“Just so you know, if he’s high up with a rifle, those bullets he’s using have some sort of ability. When fired together, as a set, you can’t move forward, you can’t retreat, and you can’t dodge to the side. Worse still, I think he’s deadlier up close.”

Recounting what little he knew, or understood, of what Hawthorn was capable of, Colt began looking over the items from the safe.

[Bloble]

Prushka?
Location: St. Diane Cemetery
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 10.09.1994 (SAT)
Weather: Overcast

"Uuuuuu... why are you saying all that smart stuff all of a sudden..."

Leave it to Ahti. He always manages to find a way to mess with me somehow. This is almost as bad as the wasabi incident. But now his excuses have evolved too! Give him another few days and he'll be justifying why it's okay to steal cookies right out of the jar!

He is right though. The coffin needed to be opened. Whether there was something in it, living or dead, I needed to see it with my own two eyes.

"Maybe... you've got a point..."

"...... Heh."

"No, you definitely went too far!" My fists thump uselessly on his back as he stands, arms folded, facing away. "I'm not gonna forgive you, Scrooge! Not until you help me get all this dirt back in its place as punishment!"

"S-still, isn't that a good thing? That he... whoever it is... isn't there? Unless, of course, you wanted to d-do something with their bones, though... why would you be celebrating in that case...?"

"... W-wait. You don't suppose the vultures and other birds got to him, even underground...?"

The thumping stops.

"Birds, underground? D-don't be silly, birds don't dig holes, right?"

The appearance of a certain big bird whose head is currently staring at an empty grave begs the contrary.

"No, he was never here in the first place, see? No traces or anything. That means he wasn't buried, which means, well... I'm not making much sense, huh?"

Alpa probably has no clue why we're even here. Even Ahti doesn't have the whole picture. Might as well explain, then. They got dragged along without protest, so they at least deserve to know.

"Basically, I've been looking for my little brother in Road's End! Well, I say little but we're the same age. Except he might be a bit older now for some reason. We haven't seen each other in a while. It's complicated. Basically, he's overdue for a hug." Not that time travel ever isn't complicated. "I found out recently he was here seven years ago, calling himself 'Nevada', but... well, when I asked Briggs, he said Nevada had died. And was buried here. Seeing as there's a grave, at least some people must believe it."

I lean against the side of the grave, arms folded. May time never keep us apart.

"I needed to see it myself. You're right, Ahti." Even if I had known there were bones in the coffin, I would've opened it. This dig wasn't just a matter of making sure. "...if he turned out to be in there, I needed to inherit the feelings he left behind. As his sister." Memoire will remember, even if the dead do not. "And I needed to make sure no one had taken anything."

Hwan's words come back to me. He had detected an Odic Signature, but those are not exactly intrinsically linked to the person. Rather...

"Someone's been running around using my brother's powers, so I had to make sure - whether it was him doing it, or someone using his Odic Stem."

It's good that we mostly ruled out the second possibility. Because if we hadn't...

"...next step is to find whoever left this bullet behind."

Judging by the make and model, it must be from a rifle. Perhaps a hunting rifle. If it's from outside of town it'll be difficult to track, but if it was sold to or by a local, there's a chance. Small town like this, there must be a gun store. Of course if the purchase was seven years ago it might be tough to track, but in that case... there's always the scent of the person who left it.

"Ah, I hope it wasn't too weird, Alpa! I'd like to say most of the stuff we've been doing isn't this morbid, but... well, it kinda is."

[Kuroyuki]

“Vier”
Location: Spade Queen Country Club - Garage
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 10.09.1994
Weather: Overcast

At the sound of footsteps, I looked up at the source before quickly disregarding the source as I continued slowly tracking where the stealthy vampire went. Colt Davin wasn’t a threat or at least he didn’t appear to be one at this point in time.

“Figures he’d be missing… He was prudent about keeping up some kinda jerk with a heart of gold façade for Liana. For some reason, he cares about what she thinks of him. So either he assumed he’d been found out and got out of here before having to deal with that… Or he just wants anyone who goes after him to come into the woods, where he can take them out on his terms.”

I let Colt Davin monologue his thoughts on Hawthorn. I didn’t respond because so far it hasn’t revealed anything noteworthy. So far it only described what I knew of him with nothing for me to even play devil’s advocate.

“Vier, you’re repeating this week too, right? We should go after him, but we need a plan first.”

If it wasn’t for Lucille mentioning her conversation with Colt Davin, I would’ve been surprised about him also being involved in the loop. Colt Davin was pretty normal from what I knew of him. His mental resistance was normal. His arrival time… average for our age group. No hints to any Turnside factions. He seemed like the typical civilian thrust into the Turnside and struggling to grab any flotsam to keep themselves afloat.

“Yes, I’m repeating it too. As for a plan, go ahead shoot.”

Instead all I did was respond to him normally and kept looking for traces of Hawthorn’s tracks.

“You’re armed, so I assume those brain-touching powers of yours aren’t the best in a fight. If you don’t know, Hawthorn is a marksman, but he’s a monster up close too.”

Colt was making assumptions on what he knew of my abilities. I considered not telling him about my abilities and letting his mistaken assumptions continue. But if he’s insistent on following me into combat, then I should do the bare minimum in correcting his assumptions.

“It depends on what you mean by best in a fight. In a direct power comparison, you would be correct. My ability to harm people directly with it is lacking. However, not many people can handle a fight if they forget how to aim or how to throw a punch.”

“Hawthorn wants me dead, but he doesn’t consider me a threat. If he’s out there waiting to take out anyone who comes after him, he’ll go for you first. If you’re carrying any .45, we can take advantage of that. I’m not some superpowered Terminator who can stand alongside you Turnside guys in a fight, but I can shoot.”

I looked at Colt Davin as he pulled out a pistol. Well-maintained. Lightweight. Improved sights and ergonomic grip. Caliber: .45ACP. Easily hideable… The fact that I didn’t see the pistol’s print on him was slightly unnerving. I doubt he could’ve pulled it off, but all it took was one bullet to the head.

“Logical. You’re a standard civie. An armed one, but still just a civilian. No protection. No specialized equipment.” I sigh slightly while pulling out two of my spare magazines. “I can spare two magazines for you to use. It probably won’t affect him too much due to his vampiric nature, but enough lead will kill anything.”

“Well, if he decides to take me out first, that’s just the way the cookie crumbles. Hopefully if that happens, I wake up in my bed on Wednesday morning with a bad headache, and you get to cover and give him a decent fight.”

I wasn’t going to bring up that point, but if Colt Davin was already aware of Hawthorn ambushing him first instead.

“It’s what I would do too. Eliminate the weakest combatants first especially if you’re capable of quiet ambushes. However, it also raises the odds of him being freely engaged by me without repercussions because the forest turns a straightforward engagement more into a cat and mouse game.” I considered not mentioning my personal plan but I decided against it. “Odds are that will be how the cookie crumbles, because I don’t plan on being visible while tracking him down. So you’ll be the only easily visible target to him. However, if he does ignore you…”

I pull out a slightly different and fully-filled magazine from my plate carrier. The only visible difference between that one and the others was the subtle OD green masking tape on the bottom of the magazine well. I placed it down next to the two normal magazines I laid out for Colt to use.

“Use this. Handloaded and specially made .45 ACP HEIAP. Even if it won’t be as effective against Turnside threats like him, it’ll knock him off his feet.”

Normally, I wouldn’t give such a dangerous bullet to another person, but I was taking a calculated risk using him both as bait and as a potential damage source.

“Just so you know, if he’s high up with a rifle, those bullets he’s using have some sort of ability. When fired together, as a set, you can’t move forward, you can’t retreat, and you can’t dodge to the side. Worse still, I think he’s deadlier up close.”

“I saw someone impacted with that last night. Can he use those bullets in rapid succession? The only thing I can imagine to disrupt that technique would be to shoot down the bullets before they form their deadly triangle.”

I was getting closer to finding Hawthorn's path... Whether he doubled back or was setting up his ambush in the forest was a different question at this time.

[Mormarth]

Elaine Winters
Location: Pinefall High Main Building – Cafeteria
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 10.09.1994 (SAT)
Weather: Overcast

"That Hsan guy? Uh, lookin for some girl with a scar on her face, I had a brief run in with someone of that description the other night when Keany and I were scoping out the Ramshack the other night, so I pointed him in that direction."

While being intentionally vague so as to give Vier Wolff the benefit of the doubt.

"Said she was a nasty piece of a work, killer kind, pissed off someone real good, so he was here to sniff her out, from what I could gather. Weird guy, not entirely unfriendly, but had a certain kind of 'out-there' that was just enough to be aggravating.

I looked over at John Dove levelly.

"And I think Oceandrop vanishing is really important, actually," I said, wryly, "Given his surprisingly direct and open conversation to me about the nature of our little..."

I made an encompassing gesture.

"Roach motel we're stuck in, the nature of the guy behind this, that it's happened before, his status as someone with limited ability to interfere, only on the overlook where the rain stopped for a single moment, could he look at me directly and speak outside of his 'role'. Something to do with the Klellam people, how they had a map where they wrote out what they could see, all of time happening at once, like a picture. Fourth-dimensional stuff, non-linear. He said he'd found a bit of it when he was younger, let him find this petroglyph cave place, it let him know everything he had to know to get to yesterday, but in exchange he gave up where it was. Plus, he had some kind of glyph on his face, supposedly it's what let him be 'outside', it looked kinda like, uh..."

I fished through my pockets and retrieved a dark pen, then snatched a convenient napkin and drew out the relatively simple glyph.

Doodle

"Looked like this, 'cept it was yellow, the circles were up on his forehead, the line went down his nose, then spread out those legs on either side of the nostrils," I held up the picture, "Looks a bit like a man, but I can't say native symbology is exactly my forte, not on this side of the country, so I'll save my guesswork."

I folded my arms, "He called where we were then, or, maybe all of us now, a line between what was real and a dream. That we needed to find this Dream Map thing, and then he said..."

I don't quite know what my face looked like, but I felt troubled, anxious speaking this stuff aloud, to so many people.

Wasn't sure who to trust, even now.

"That except for the spot next to Leuzinger, the bus was supposed to be full."

She tilted her head for moment, thinking.

"Oh, right, and I talked to a ghost later, name of Joshua, shacked up in the old lighthouse, crotchety old bastard, but he was solid to work with, told me about a monster with blue hair and red eyes that build the lighthouse in the first place, and that he took care of her with Coyote's knife that he supposedly got from the Chevron House, where spirits linger. Said that she'd always been hanging around there, since they brought the white stone down from St. Helen's last eruption in the 1800s, had the whole town round her finger, called it Lady's View back then, think he said. 'She who Watches', she called herself."

"Then the knife ended up taking him out too, or possibly the Coyote himself. Real prick, apparently."

Man, lotta stuff happened yesterday, didn't it?

"I also asked him about that little thing written on the Unknown Pioneer, 'the house of amber light', he said it used to be up top of the lighthouse a long time ago, made by a guy named Mitchell."

I tapped my chin, "Couple of visitors sniffing around the lighthouse too, a redhead girl who gives him food even if he can't eat it, little Subaru here, a tiger-striped lady with a tail was hiding out there, got scared off by a bunch of kids a few nights ago, and some sour-faced lady who smelled like too much perfume, bitching about her boss."

I nodded.

"Think that's about it for more details, might help y'all out with this living thoughtform chick," I drawled, then gave a bit more input, "How to get rid of a living idea, huh? Well, you can try to counteract with one with more 'oomph' so to speak, the closest things to living ideas that those on this side of the fence regularly engaging with being, essentially what most people would call gods, perhaps. I wouldn't recommend that one, even if I might know a few ways. Hm, possibly a powerful enough ritual drawing on the essential arche of an individual might be enough to destabilize her, ground her, maybe. Then you just hit her til she dies."

Her eyes glinted, "Everything dies if you hit it hard enough, after all."

Then she settled, "Though, of course, this type of thought is esoteric enough that it's a bit out of my wheelhouse. Gimme a bit and I'll get back to you."

I shifted back a bit to Hwan, "You were sayin' something about a Judas Priest?"

[Spinach]

Colt Davin
Location: Spade Queen Country Club - Garage
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 10.09.1994
Weather: Overcast

Colt looked up from the small collection of oddities he had taken from the safe.

“Can he use those bullets in rapid succession? The only thing I can imagine to disrupt that technique would be to shoot down the bullets before they form their deadly triangle.”

“I doubt it. He has to create the bullets from scratch using his ability. First, he reproduces these mythical arrows, called Gusisnautar.” The image of Hawthorn holding his palm upright, three arrow-heads ripped right out of an old fable hovering above his hand, returned to Colt’s mind. “Then he has to reshape them into bullets. It seems to take time and concentration.”

The boy reached over and picked up the magazine marked with the masking tape.

“Custom-made, huh? Been to Thulewerk in town, or are these your own handiwork?”

Colt set the magazine down, then turned back to the safe’s contents.

First, he picked up the black metal shard. There really was nothing more he could glean from it that wasn’t already obvious. He’d hoped that looking at it in better lighting might reveal any sort of markings indicating its origins, but there was no such thing.

Colt swapped the black metal in his hand for the sealed box. Turning it over a few times, he found a latch to open it.

“Ew… what the Christ?”

Colt leaned away from the contents of the box, brows furrowing in disgust. A tattoo of a wolf’s head, inked into a chunk of dried human skin, roughly the size of his own hand, stared back at him from within the box. Grafted onto it was a claw with an unnaturally dark color, as if something had blackened it.

“Jesus… the hell’s this and why’s the guy keep it in a safe?” Colt pushed the box away, putting some more distance between himself and the dried skin. Finding that not enough, he reached out, and shut the lid of the box. “Gross.”

Shaking his head as if to shake off the disgust, he picked up the satellite phone.

“Gonna hold onto this.” He turned to Vier as he pocketed the satellite phone, which did not fit well into his pocket at all. “Who knows, maybe we’ll need it after we go trekking into the woods chasing Mister Mosquito.”

After that, Colt loaded the Cobbler’s Special with the HEIAP magazine Vier had set down for him.

“I was hoping to find something useful here. Maybe a clue about all this nonsense… I feel like I did, but not the kind I want to take with me.” Colt glanced at the door, then at the mysterious, covered car. “I’m ready when you are. I don’t think there’s anything else we can go over now.”

Then, he walked over to the car, reaching for the sheet draped over it. He took hold of the sheet, grabbing it tightly.

“Sorry, Pinkerton, I gotta see what you’re keepin’ in here before I go.”

And with an apology, he pulled the sheet off.

[Frantic Author]

Alexstrasza Lockhart
Location: Pinefall High Main Building - Science Classroom
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 10.09.1994 (SAT)
Weather: Overcast

"Hm, I see," I said as Souma spoke, tapping the side of my cheek with one finger. "I would assume that a predator would be annoyed that another predator stalked his hunting ground, but I suppose some predators have a different viewpoint then others, yes? And it is only natural to be flustered, as it were, by strange men prodding into my romantic life, is it not? That is what the 'ordinary schoolgirl' known as Alexstrasza Lockhart would do, yes?"

I am me, so I make the decisions that define who I am. Dearest Potemkin, is this how we react in these situations? Or is it a different way?

I cannot tell for the life of me, sometimes.

I listened to the rest of Souma's words, tilting my head further to the side as he spoke.

"I feel we would simply have a difference of opinion and leave it at that," I said, turning my attention to the telescope. "But the list of suspects with technique - the list of suspects with power - is, to be honest, a tad too long to name in full, is it not?"

I frowned, clicking my tongue.

"The list of suspects - the two or more of the Church's finest members, the madman after my head, the werewolf, the two mages, the predator standing before me, my ancestor who appears at my window, or any number of myriad bizarre antiquities that are operating in this town that supposedly exists out of my precious mirrored world," I spoke with wide eyes and an inquisitive glance at Souma. "Or perhaps it is the creature that lives in the woods, or perhaps the thing that you spoke of, or any other number of impossible things that exist in this supposedly normal town. I am afraid the answer to your question is yes - quite a number of them."

I stared at the point where the telescope was split, blinking curiously at it as I looked it over. A strange and most baffling occurrence, yet truly intriguing.

"I suspect that the world betwixt runs too deeply in this town to be unwoven so easily, a thing entwined into its very core that cannot so easily be removed. The suspects I have named are only the ones that I know of, but how many people is it that I have not spoken to? Whose secrets have not yet been spoken to me? Abnormality is simply regularity in Road's End, as it appears to my own eyes. Does it appear different to yours?"

[Kuroyuki]

“Vier”
Location: Spade Queen Country Club - Garage
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 10.09.1994
Weather: Overcast

“I doubt it. He has to create the bullets from scratch using his ability. First, he reproduces these mythical arrows, called Gusisnautar. Then he has to reshape them into bullets. It seems to take time and concentration.”

“So hopefully, he can’t prepare multiple of them or it’s only something he can do as an alpha strike…”

If he could prepare multiple of them or make less potent but quicker to make versions, we would be in trouble. It might be possible to take one or two of those attacks, however I wouldn’t want to test that. It would be the equivalent of taking six minor Arc Relic attacks and that would easily place me on the defensive if I’m not dead at the end.

“Custom-made, huh? Been to Thulewerk in town, or are these your own handiwork?”

“Personal handiwork. Originally, I would’ve handed you a full magazine of that. But I don’t have the resources or the time to make more. Also am I wrong to assume that this Thulewerk is a gunsmithery? I wasn't aware that they existed. If I had the funds, it might be worth it...”

It was bizarre seeing my two HEIAP magazines degrade down to one-third of a magazine. However in exchange, the bullet quality was significantly higher. Quality vs quantity was probably “my” thought process. Yet here I was, giving Colt Davin this priceless magazine to try and capitalize on what little I know about Hawthorn.

“Ew… what the Christ? Jesus… the hell’s this and why’s the guy keep it in a safe? Gross.”

I quit studying the interior of the garage to look at Colt Davin’s object of disgust. The object in question was dried skin with an unnaturally black claw drawn on it. If it wasn’t for the fact that I was suspicious of some of the town’s people combined with the silver bullets located with it. I could reasonably assume that there were werewolves or similar creatures in the area.

“The owner might be a werewolf and maybe he thought cutting off the piece might prevent infection.”

“I was hoping to find something useful here. Maybe a clue about all this nonsense… I feel like I did, but not the kind I want to take with me. I’m ready when you are. I don’t think there’s anything else we can go over now.”

After one last check, I nodded my head and looked towards Colt Davin. Hawthorn was really careful, but I think I’m finally on his tracks.

“I’m ready. It looks like he’s taking a careful loop towards the town for what reason… That’s a good question.”

I watched Colt Davin go to pull off the covers of the hidden vehicle from earlier. I wasn't too concerned about using it since it seemed to be a restoration project instead of a serviceable vehicle at the moment.

“Don’t take too long, I’ll be going ahead.”

With that said, I went outside to try and stealthily catch up to Hawthorn. The last thing I wanted was to be ambushed with those special bullets of his.

[Mellon]

Anna Vandemeel
Location: Pinefall High Main Building – Cafeteria
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 10.09.1994 (SAT)
Weather: Overcast

By this point, we might as well stop thinking. Deduction only makes sense when working within a constrained set of rules. If anything is possible when it comes to that being, then it is pointless to try to figure anything out. Furthermore, if she is a living eidos, how do we create another one ‘solid’ enough to match her?

“There are ways to manifest ideas into reality. While it is exceptionally rare in the Turnside, there are those who can tap into their arche, their meaning, and bring forth aperion in order to manifest a Truth.”

“Setting aside the rarity, however, compatibility between these competing Truths will also play a role. If she exists as a constant, then her existence is most likely driven by her “idea”. Most objective concepts are not in direct competition with each other. Something embodying eternity couldn’t probably be killed by something embodying light.”

“Even if the concepts themselves are equivalent objective concepts, they do not directly contradict one another. If her existence is some type of chronological concept made manifest, then even wiping her out with an Arche might not be enough.”

Hell, if it’s something like “perpetuity” or “recurrence” then physical destruction might be completely irrelevant.

“Though it would depend. If her physical existence here is enough to “insert” herself both backwards and forwards in time, then disrupting that might cause that tie to unwind itself? In this case, taking her out, disrupting her corpus, may cause her to permanently unravel as a manifestation in reality, no?”

“Then again, it might be that the constant needs only be engraved once.” The surface of her red jacket seemed to almost shimmer as Anna shrugged her shoulders. “Kind of a “the cat’s out of the bag” kind of a situation.

“Elaine has…curtly made her points already; uncomfortable as it is, does anybody have anything else to add to her narration of the events?”

“Not much to say on my end, I’m afraid. I was in my room for the entire night, so I didn’t have any particular chances to get involved in anything.”

“I do have something to say though on something you said earlier, Dove. This is not to cast shade or anything, but… you are unfamiliar with this type of death."

“Seeing death, being surrounded by death, even indirectly causing it… All of it is different to cutting someone’s throat with your own two hands and with your own will behind it.”

“This time, it wouldn’t be some artifact that causes death outside of your own control but…” A brief, heavy, silence filled the table for a moment. “You do not know how much that will weigh on you until you actually do it.”

The mind was a peculiar thing. If there was a way to excuse your actions, no matter how vague, people would take it like a thirsting man to their last sip. That’s why a random contractor who messed up with the concrete mixture and caused the deaths of a hundred people in a building collapse would still be able to find an excuse to exonerate themselves. It was the same reason why the high and mighty looked at battles and war on abstracted chessboards. A king could order thousands to their deaths and still balk when made to hold the sword themselves.

Its why every hunter she ever met would respect every kill they make, while the common people here can look at a chicken thigh and feel nothing. Death only had meaning in the context of life. It was the contrast that truly hurt. The sight of that which you know and which is alive... dying.

It was the process itself and not the outcome that stained the souls of men.

“Having said that…” Anna let out a small chuckle at the melancholy boy and a glint of satisfaction could be seen flickering in those ruby depths. “You at least have an inkling of a will now. Whether or not you’ll be able to follow through on that conviction still remains to be seen, but…”

“It’s more than I could say yesterday, at least. So be it. At the very least, I can acknowledge that drive to act.” An amused snort filled the room as the raven-haired girl submerged underneath the table to rummage around in her bag before emerging a moment later. “If you seek to protect, to fight, to live, John Dove, then allow me to at least help you in that endeavor in my small way.”

The northern girl cracked a small smile at those words.

“It’s the least I could do for my part in this, I suppose.”

A small wooden box was placed on the table and pushed towards the blue-haired boy.

“Here. A small gift from a surly and capricious witch.”

[Katie]

Lucille Faraday
Location: Avery's Diner
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 10.09.1994 (SAT)
Weather: Overcast

The school had been renovated for a different class of students? If so, why go to such extensive lengths? The campus still seemed quite excessive for a small town, even then.

"You found her old yearbook, her collection of miniatures there and some other stuff there, right?"

“Yeah,” Lucille says, musing on the matter. “There was a lot of stuff stashed away there… But doesn’t that bring the question that if Jake wanted to hide things, no reason for him to choose these forbidden sections for the Test of Courage, right? Or did he just assume we were somehow too incompetent to find anything?”

Maybe it was a silent plea for help? If so… she’s sorry she couldn’t see it in the first place. But she can rectify that now, of course. No time like the present to play the radiant knight.

"Oh, and, uh, one more thing? Your brother, that sword fragment he had, that shard of Gram. The way he described it, it sounded like he was able to track it down by some old town legend after your inherited Ascalon. Any idea where he might have found that thing? Or where he might have hidden it?" asked Elise, "The way he said it made it sound like you'd catch the reference anyway."

"I've been meaning to ask Kean if he remembers anything while he was possessed and where Michael might have hidden that thing, although I feel bad asking him to dredge up memories of his experience. Still, if we have to go through all of this again, I wouldn't mind stealing that thing out from under Michael before he has a chance to use it again."

“He’d been communicating with Subaru since the night we arrived, right? Isn’t it just as likely Michael has had Gram from the moment we stepped foot in Pinefall, merely waiting for the opportunity? Though… if that’s the case, was it Subaru’s presence that spurred his plan into action, or did someone tip him off? So much of that accursed machination relied on… us. And I find it difficult to believe that, trapped in the lighthouse, he acquired enough detailed information on his lonesome…”

Lucille trails off. The more she thinks about it, the weirder it gets, doesn’t it? How many things are simply fate, and how many things are malicious influence?

[Cheetose]

Hisa Momoi
Location: Old Train Yard - ???
Phase: Unknown
Date: Unknown
Weather: Clear

In complete silence I watched as the events of the mysterious phenomenon slowly unfolded. Not that I could have done anything more than that - after all, I did not belong there. A fragment of the past that I was merely the observer of, and yet, for what it was, it felt so much more than what I could normally hope for. So different, in the sense that it achieved similar results through fundamentally different means. So inexplicable, like how magic usually was...A solution existing mostly on a "just because" basis, without any need for logic or close connection th reality.

Not that I was going to complain.

Partly because I was more absorbed by all the implications that the scene suggested, even with just the people who were present and how they called each other.

The green haired girl--- She had to be the one I saw in Inacio's room. What did that make her? His sister? In that case, the scene can't have been too old...otherwise the age difference would be too noticeable. Was she the one Inacio was meeting with in the hotel then? And if she was the captain of this group, then...was he helping her to keep an eye on us?

Involuntarily, the hand of my incorporeal form clenched into a fist as my anger boiled at the very idea.


How was one to be trusted when they were assisting with such things behind the scenes, all the while smiling and pretending to have fun with all the people that they were practically betraying?

Nevertheless, the so called Einherjar seemed to be quite the ragtag group of individuals with quite differing views, rather than some cold and professional organizartion. Even if their faces didn't feel to mean much, it was enough to take a vague guess at their personalities, with some turning out to be rather ruthless, while others almost showing some sympathy...

Of course, there was also that robot. Clearly not an android - after all, half the purpose of an android was to resemble a human. However, also not completely a machine...More like, a living person surrounded by a metal suit. But why? Was it health issues, or just a mean to reach for capabilities past the ordinary? Was it out of necessity, or was it done willingly? The presence of such a being raised so many questions, yet, most were likely to remain unanswered for now...Except, for the role she seemed to take in all this.

Vakyrie.

The one who brought those who died in battle back to Valhalla, only so that they would be known as the Einherjar there...

Quite likely the leader of the group, or at least someone who these people unite under, and who holds such authority that they unconditionally follow its orders.

Aside from that, it also became clear that the warehouse was not what they referred to as WUOTAN, even if it was some place they used for operations. It was also obvious that they weren't just ordinary people, even if just from the magical flames and the giant robotic being...Which also likely implied that the people who were chasing weren't either. A woman, suffering from some serious illness - almost certainly the syndrome that came up so many times already. Or perhaps it was just the consequence of the experiments they conducted on her...An assumption that felt just as likely, considering her hospital gown, and the things we've seen back at the hospital. Then, a man, someone who was seemingly determined to rescue the woman and unveil the secrets of this organization...

However, the fact that I was here witnessing this was the very evidence that he was ultimately unsuccessful.

Taking another slow, attentive look around the scene, it was quite evident how it was going to escalate. They were going to kill the woman and take the man to the cells, only so that he would meet his end too. But...was there more to see here, then?

[Verg Avesta]

Liana Skye/Sora Hikari
Location: Spade Queen Country Club
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 10.09.1994
Weather: Overcast

A momentary, oddly quiet smile passed by Zane's face, but soon enough it was gone as well. The redheaded boy walked up to the rose bushes and let his fingers run across the petals, surveying the results of last night's battle. Indeed, the bushes had seen better days, and it would take some time to replace what had been damaged. Yet, at the same time, Zane did not seem too annoyed. If anything, he looked almost introspective about it.

"... It's funny. No matter how you physically beat and rend plants, they often find a way to survive. They'll flourish, whether you want it or not. Even if you use a lot of force. But at the same time... they're extremely fragile. Radiation, death of the soil and its nutrients, pollution and disappearance of groundwater... it doesn't take much for large areas to become completely inhospitable to plants," the handyman spoke as he set into the pace fo Liana and Jayesh. "All effects that humanity is capable of - even now. It's a small wonder that we haven't caused more permanent destruction than we already have."

A dry chuckle escaped from his lips as he shook his head.

"Almost makes me want to applaud humans for getting as far as they have."

... This was slightly unexpected. Maybe it was the morning, or perhaps it was the events of the last night, but Zane was certainly sounding more introspective than he usually did. Sure enough, he did have that same brusque flair in him as always, but to talk about such things in an almost carefree, small-talk fashion... or perhaps he was making some sort of allegory? About something that Liana had said?

Did that even make sense?

"--- What does that have to do with anything?"

Jayesh, on the other hand, didn't seem to be in the mood for more vagueness. He shot a bit of a glare towards the other boy, who responded in kind. For a moment, Liana found herself standing between the two young men who, for some reason, were now staring each other down in a way that almost felt dangerous. Sure enough, everyone's patience was running thing, but still... and why had Zane switched gears so easily, too?

"The fact that you two should count your lucky stars plants are so resilient," Zane eventually answered, narrowing his eyes. "I didn't work my ass off with this garden only to have two martial art nuts wreck it worse than any storm. If you had done anything to the veilchenblau, I would have been waiting for you armed to the teeth with trowels."

Jayesh, upon this revelation and realization, scratched his cheek somewhat awkwardly.

"O-oh. Um. Right. Uh... sorry about that..." he mumbled, quite unable to face the fury of the gardener. "I'm trained in large, circular motions so..."

He gestured towards the swathes of battered roses around them.

"... Speaking of which. I'm not sure how much you would learn, even if I told you," Jayesh said, this time to Liana. "My method is a more functional type of aki kiti, more reminiscent of the nara in Lotus Stura than anything else. And it has been combined with the knowledge of Sushruta Samhita, which you would have to learn first. Not to mention, that kick in particular..."

With an odd chortle escaping from his lips, the young man tapped his thigh as he walked over to the onyx statue.

"--- Only works once against each opponent. If they have seen it before, the effectiveness is lowered tremendously, as their instincts adapt. If I'm to use it, it should be to ensure my escape... or as a preparation for a kill," he continued, squatting next to the dirt at the foot of the statue. "Neither which has worked out so far while I've been out here, come to think of it."

Having said that, the young man searched around in the still moist dirt for something, until he found it. With a focused look, he grabbed what looked to be a metal handle hidden underneath the soil and pulled upwards. A loud creak could be heard by both Liana and Zane - though not loud enough that it couldn't be hidden by other noises. Say, a loud rain and thunder. What was attached to that handle was a circular lid or a trap door, also made of metal. And what lay beneath it, was a rather old-looking metal ladder leading into a corridor hidden underground.

Peering down into the dimly lit darkness, Zane let out a quiet whistle.

"A werewolf bunker, huh...?" The redhead wondered aloud. "Gotta say, you guys definitely make every day interesting."

For some reason, he didn't sound exactly as awestruck as a mundane person would normally be about these things. Then again, maybe last night had desensitized him... or maybe not. Or maybe it was just his usual attitude towards everything.

Though moments after, Zane did frown at the sight.

"Wait a minute..." He muttered, rubbing his chin. "Are these parts of the old tunnel network that was repurposed as sewers later...?"

Jayesh nodded.

"I think so."

---

Elise Pelltier & Lucille Faraday
Location: Avery's Diner
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 10.09.1994 (SAT)
Weather: Overcast

"Miskatonic..."

Tasting the word with his lips while he wrote down the addresses that he knew, a frown slowly covered Samuel's face - the frown of a man who did seem to get an idea of some sort, but at the same time, couldn't find how it connected to what had been discussed so far. Or rather, he found it a separate piece of information that didn't fit into the jigsaw puzzle no matter how he tried.

"... I'm not quite sure, but if what I've heard through the grapevine is true, that university is actually real. Or, well, there is an university in Massachusetts it was based on. That man was apparently much more in the know than he let on, playing a dangerous game of imagination with the Turnside," he replied. "But at the same time... No. I've not heard Miskatonic here, or anything connected to Road's End or its mysteries. Just to make sure..."

His eyes lifted up to look at Elise.

"Are you sure the word you heard was Miskatonic? And not something else?"

... Well, in a way, there was no 100% proof of it. Travis had been annoyingly vague at the time, and he didn't say she had been wrong, he didn't exactly say that Elise had been right either. There was always a possibility that he had just been coy and instead meant something else, yet similar.

The only way to really know would be to ask from the boy himself...

"And what comes to that sword..."

Samuel coughed into his balled up fist as he slid the napkin over to Elise. The girl could see that he had written down all the addresses he had talked about before, so finding those would be easy enough so far. That only left the more mysterous members of the last class shrouded in shadows.

"... Lucille here is right. I'm quite sure my brother didn't acquire it just recently. He was far too attuned to it. A Deific Artifact, an piece of an Arcana Relic of magnificent proportions... not just a copy, a fake or a facsimile, but a real piece of mythology. That's not something you can simply grab a hold of and swing as you please. I'd imagine you, Lucille, know very well what I'm talking about. Even a piece of the real thing holds tremendous power," he said, nodding towards the fair-haired girl. "The he Michael was talking about... I can only imagine one person. Our father suspected as much, thinking that their family had brought with them heirlooms of their homeland. He never found any proof, but perhaps this is was it."

Samuel's eyes narrowed as he put his hands together on the table and intertwined his fingers, as if to stop them from clenching into fists.

"... Ulf Kincaid. The head of the Kincaid Family. The man said to carry with him the Blood of Geri. A venerable partiarch known far and wide among the many werewolf clans of Europe and USA. He and the Kincaid clan have an... unsavoury reputation at times. From what I understand, they are not a typical form of werewolf, but rather, they have almost turned it into a religion. Isaac always spoke of it with such disdain, especially the experiments performed by some of his family members," the young man explained. "Nevertheless, the Kincaid clan are descendants of the early Norse settlers who came to this land a long time ago, bringing their foreign gods and traditions with them. If a fragment of Gram was found at Road's End, I'm quite sure that they would have been keeping it under lock and key.... until Michael came along."

He paused for a moment, as if collecting his thoughts. Samuel pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes closed in concentration... and then let out a sharp sigh.

"Well. There's two other possibilities as well. But they are more or less reaches. I know that, according to Isaac, the Mitchell family used to have dealings with the Kincaids in the past. Ancient past. Those two families might indeed be among the oldest of Road's End, aside from the natives. As for the other..." Samuel's mouth turned into a troubled line. "... This is just a rumour, but apparently, Isaac's uncle more or less betrayed the family. From what I remember, he stole something precious to the Kincaid clan and left the town. All because of some dispute over... well, as Isaac put it in his own way 'over a woman'."

Samuel's humourless smile and tone of voice were a surprising good mimicry of the ashen-haired youth.

"That person was Jack Kincaid. If what he stole was the piece of Gram, it could be that he later made some sort of deal with Michael."

With another sigh, this one much more languid and lengthy, Samuel leaned back in his chair. The diner around them was as quiet as ever, and now that they were more or less finished with the massive breakfast, all they had to look forward to was running their mouths some more. And perhaps getting some coffee.

"... However. I think you have a point there, Lucille. It bothered me too. Very much so," the fluffy-haired boy continued. "My brother was... too prepared. This wasn't something he could have come up within few days. He had to have known about you all for longer than that. Intimate knowledge. His plan, as mad as it was, relied heavily on special attributes of each of us present... and the fact that we indeed were present. And especially how he planned to use that girl, Elaine, to subdue you. Did he know something we didn't?"

A slight pang of annoyance seemingly ran in the youth's eyes.

"Something about this isn't sitting right with me. It's all too... well thought out, for the amount of time he supposedly had. Almost like someone was feeding him information the whole time..."

---

John Bon Jovi, Anna Vandemeel & Elaine Winters
Location: Pinefall High Main Building – Cafeteria
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 10.09.1994 (SAT)
Weather: Overcast

With the conversation flourishing and blooming in every which direction, to the point that it was getting a bit chaotic, it was no surprise that a that point the most methodical of the group (namely Ramia and Subaru) made the decision of just gathering everyone around a single table so they could discuss these things without raising their voices. Indeed, while at this point the only other thing in the cafeteria was the empty plate that somebody had forgotten at the corner table, one could never know who was listening in. At places like this, even walls had ears. And thus, with the direction of the little shaman and the dusky-skinned mercenary, the whole menagerie of First Class's weirdos had finally gathered properly for their little pow-wow.

Which started with Ramia raising her eyebrows at the knife that Anna had presented to John.

"Have to say, Red... you sure know your way around the tools. That's not bad, not bad at all. You planning on making your thesis on magical crafting?" She asked with a lopsided grin, before turning towards the rest of the group. "That being said, while the ideas thrown around are good - like fighting a truth with the truth - I get the feeling that this Moonchild business is... how'd you say it, somewhat of an 'extra' on top of all the other nonsense we face? She might be a good source of information, but if she's a raving lunatic, not much we can do about it unless we really pool our resources. And more importantly than that..."

Her face grew more serious.

"We have more pressing problems than that right now, don't we?"

Subaru, in turn, nodded.

"I agree. And I think the information Ela-- Um, Miss Winters presented is the most pertinent thing for now. Namely, what the headmaster told her... and how we should interpret it," the shrine maiden said. "First of, this 'Dream Map' sounds like a direct hint, so perhaps we should attempt to find that. Regarding that, do we know of anyone local who knows about native artifacts or lore? That would be our first stop regarding it, unless someone knows where this supposed 'Petroglyph Cave' is. Second, this monster who used to rule this town in the 1800's... do we know anything about it? With those attributes, it does not sound like a coincidence. They are rather... prevalent in this town, are they not? And for her to be opposed by local spirits - nay, deities... she must have been truly something dangerous. An alien entity encroaching on their domain. No deity I know would take action unless that was the case. So, if she was so dangerous, perhaps something about her remains... such as the lighthouse. Indeed, the scar in the world that gathers souls of the dead to that spot... if I had to take a guess, it would be that very dagger, or perhaps the act of killing her, which caused such a rift. Though this is my own conjecture, of course. But it would fit. So, in the end, what was this creature...? She Who Watches...?"

Surprisingly, it was Hwan who let out a snort as he leaned back in his chair, balancing it on two of the back legs while sipping his coffee.

"You know, am I gonna be the only one who's gonna state the bleeding obvious? Blue hair? Red eyes?" The white-haired boy asked and lifted his eyebrow. "No way in hell that's coincidence. In fact, I think we're way past anything being a coincidence in this town. Which would mean a certain little classmate of ours is probably up to her bushy eyebrows in this. Isn't it high time we tied her up to a chair in some creepy basement and drill her for some truths?"

Subaru's glare was enough to make Tonkori whimper, and even Hwan seemed a bit taken aback.

"--- Even if suspicious, I strongly disagree with using physical harm upon Miss King. 'Innocent until proven otherwise' is the law of this land, no? I would like to think that she deserves the same courtesy as everyone in this room," the girl replied coolly, before turning towards the rest of the group - and more specifically Elaine. "More importantly... that light you mentioned. 'Amber Light'? Do we know anything about this Mitchell family? And if it was supposed to be at the top of the lighthouse, then... would that not make it the lamp of the lighthouse? And the top portion a 'room of amber light'? Though, what is the context for it? You said something about the statue of the unknown pioneer, no? Oh, and before I forget..."

She hesitated for a moment, biting her lips, before leaning in a little closer and speaking with a more hushed voice.

"That... thing headmaster also apparently said. That the bus was supposed to be full. That... sounds important, does it not? The bus was decidedly not full when we arrived, but if we count the three additional students we have now," she nodded towards Zhou, who flashed a peace-sign back. "Would that not make it more so? And if he saw it important enough to talk about, does that then mean it is somehow pivotal that we find the rest of these missing students? That without the class being complete, we will be stuck here? In this corridor with a locked door?"

Her shoulders sagging from so many unanswered questions, the girl with the messy hair slumped down on her seat.

"And what on earth does the way he disappeared mean...?"

Strangely, out of all people, it was Kean who cleared his throat regarding that.

"Actually, I was about to mention... that revenant of a priest mentioned something during my possession that might be connected," the Irish boy spoke up, fruitlessly trying to keep his silver bangs from covering his eyes. "It's all a bit of a fever dream so I don't remember much, but the way he spoke of Road's End, and what he ranted at his lonesome, or to that Joshua ghost while chaining him up with thaumaturgy... it was weird. He kept talking about 'variables' and how 'the set-up must be perfect'. And not regarding his plan, but rather, it sounded like he was talking about the whole town. Like he was waiting for every piece to be in place so he could do what he wanted. He also mentioned something called elision and that 'the causality is finally right'. That he can't let this chance slip by his fingers. Almost like he had been banking on some rare scenario such as what we experienced last night. And that got me thinking..."

Kean frowned at his breakfast, and instead sipped on his coffee.

"... What if, and this is just a what if... what if Mr. Oceandrop requires some specific circumstances to 'exist'? As in, things must be in a certain way for him to be around? But only in his function as our headmaster," the android boy suggested. "And when those prerequisites don't match anymore, when something here happens that breaks them, he fades away - but not before having a moment to act on his own, a moment of rare freedom for him?"

A silence followed that surreal theory laid out on the table.

---

Alexstrasza Lockhart
Location: Pinefall High Main Building - Science Classroom
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 10.09.1994 (SAT)
Weather: Overcast

Souma smiled silently, letting a moment of silence stretch instead of immediately answering Alexstrasza's question. He took a look at the broken telescope once more and let his finger run across the edge of where it had been cut in half, testing the sharpness of the cut just carefully enough not to cause himself to bleed. Then he lifted his finger and stared at its tip, that amber eye fixated on the pale skin.

".......... We can rule out claws. We can rule out anything larger than a normal longsword. A blade of awkward function or form would not do either. No, this was done with, most likely, a single-edged blade of some sort. Relatively short and agile and quick and strong enough to cut through cleanly. See here?" He pointed towards the edge once more. "If you put pressure on your finger as you drag it across the gash, your skin would be broken. That's how clean of a cut we are talking about. I don't like to....... toot my own horn, so to speak, but it would take considerable focus for even me to achieve something like this."

With that, the kimono-clad boy took a moment to sit on the table next to the broken object, and affix his stare to the blonde girl.

"We can also rule out many of the suspects you brought up by another fact you mentioned. Namely, how strongly this 'Turnside' of yours appears in this school. Any danger of this sort, if it was new or unique, would be spotted by someone. I have no doubts about that. Hence........ whoever did this cannot be an outsider. It must be someone who we would see and think nothing of if we saw them at the campus. And lastly..." Souma's eyes glanced towards the door. "... It must be someone with an access to the school buildings, even at the dead of night. That already cuts down the amount of possibilities we have, does it not?"

It certainly did, though whether that made things any easier was another question entirely. People who used blades like that and who could access the school without raising suspicions... well, aside from the obvious choice who sat there, smiling smugly at Alexstrasza herself, there were a few that she knew of. And possibly more that she didn't know. Unfortunately, it really did look like this would require actual thinking - deductive reasoning outside of the usual construction of magical formulae that the girl was used to. Of course, there was always a possibility her book might have something useful for this situation, but...

---!

Wait.

What was that smell?

That sudden smell of... ozone? Wafting in the air? A smell most peculiarly familiar, the faint smell of... mana?

As if by instinct, Alexstrasza's eyes snapped towards the slightly ajar door, just in time to catch someone walking past the room - a dark shadow silently moving through the corridor as if trying not to arouse suspicions or be heard by anyone. And yet, more than that, what caught the girl's eyes was what was following the shadow... what stalked it, silently skittering across the floor as if tailing the intruder.

--- A wispy, eerily white, ethereal spider?

---

Colt Davin & Vier Wolff
Location: Spade Queen Country Club - Garage
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 10.09.1994
Weather: Overcast

Thoughts were still swimming in Colt's head as he finally caught up with Vier. Thoughts of what he had witnessed underneath the looming protective veil, the large shadow that had taken up most of the space of the already big garage. The armored plating, the massive tires, the bulletproof glass... it had been a titan in its own right, a titan hidden in the shadows, a titan that rarely graced places like Road's End with its presence. And while, as Vier had pointed out, it had been a restoration project of sorts, that project was clearly more or less finished. Some signs of damage were still present, but aside from switching out some of the plating and other things, it was damn near perfect.

That sort of sight would have made the breath of any high school boy get caught in their throats.

After all...

--- What the hell was a jet black Mamba APC doing in Jack Pinkerton's garage?

Still, he couldn't let that thought occupy his mind too much. There were still other things to be done. Namely, tracking down Hawthorne. Something Vier was currently doing, leaving him only to follow.

Of course, as Vier had noticed, tracking down that gunslinger in black wasn't exactly the easiest thing to do. He was definitely aware of being tailed, or then he had expected something like this. Most likely the latter. The man was moving like a soldier or a ranger, covering their tracks the best they could while keeping an even pace and obfuscating their destination the best they could. They were definitely headed towards the town, from the south side, but where in there, that was the real question?

... Where was Hawthorne going and what was he planning to do next?

What had he achieved at the country club if this had been his true intention? Why go through all the trouble of last night's events? Or had he simply reacted to what Nora had been attempting? Taken action to 'correct' the variable-gone-crazy that was Nora Norumbega, and taken his leave before his own lies - namely that about Jack Pinkerton and his hideout - became public? But why hide it? Why keep the location of Jack hidden from the others from the start? All it caused was that everyone spread out, trying to look for him or more clues and...

Hmm...

... Had the black folder been his target all along?

--- But what was in there that was so important that he'd co-opt Nora's scheme and make such a risky move himself?

It was hard to tell.

Especially since, as the wind changed directions, something entered the noses of both Vier and Colt at the same time. Something that caused their thoughts to come to a screeching halt.

Iron in the air.

In other words...

Fresh blood?

And not too far away from where they were, deep in the forest? Possibly just couple of dozen meters to the north-east.

---

Prushka?
Location: St. Diane Cemetery
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 10.09.1994 (SAT)
Weather: Overcast

The big owl costume shook its head awkwardly.

"O-oh, no, um, that's alright. I'm quite used to death... t-that wasn't awkward at all. If anything, being awkward about it is the t-thing that makes me feel awkward... if that makes any sense," Alpa replied, flapping her wing-like arms a bit. "B-but, I see... so you were chasing after your brother then. Indeed, then it is a good thing that he wasn't here, in the ground. T-though, um... doesn't that just raise way more questions?"

Ahti, who had closed the lid of the coffin after Prushka pocketed the bullet, grunted. At the same time he was using the shovel to start getting the dirt back into the whole. It seemed that even though he had grumbled about Prushka's "unreasonable" demands, he was still going ahead to do it. Half because she hadn't been wrong, and half probably because letting Prushka do it would have taken forever. So, instead, he took the physical labour for himself.

"You're damn right it does," the one-eyed boy replied. "I mean, if it had been some sicko using his Odic Stem, that would have made things a bit more clear. But now? Now there's a whole new question..."

His ice blue eye turned to look at Prushka.

"Like, where the hell is your brother then, Imp? Why is he running around using his powers and hiding from you? If you still haven't ran into him despite all your searching, then that can only mean one thing... he's avoiding you," the cat-like boy spoke. "And I'm willing to make a bet that he's avoiding you for a reason. For some reason he can't or won't face you. And I can only think of a couple answers to that... either he's too ashamed or too afraid. That whatever's he's up to, you'd try to stop him."

Ahti paused for a moment, frowning.

"... Well, there's a third possibility too, but I doubt your brother would be such an evil bastard. I mean if he's related to you, he's probably absolutely annoying, but not a bad guy," the boy continued with a smirk. "The type you have to grab by the neck like a kitten, since they're always getting into trouble."

The reason as to why Nevada, Snow, Sneg, was avoiding her, huh...?

There were few possibilities, yes. Maybe it was really like Ahti said, or perhaps he simply didn't want to be found - not before his own search was complete. That search for his genetic father.

Hmm... wait.

Genetic father?

Speaking of which, if this hypothetical person in Road's End was Snow's genetic father, wouldn't that also make him Prushka's...?

"--- Oh. A-actually, um... maybe I could help?"

Alpa's sudden voice cut Prushka's thoughts.

"W-with the bullet, I mean. It might be possible to find a location here, um, in the town to trace it, but, well..." The owl costume awkwardly scratched the back of its massive head. "... I do know a tracking spell that requires a map and an item that used to belong to the person you're searching for. I-if you think that might be of any help..."

Huh.

---

Hisa Momoi
Location: Old Train Yard - ???
Phase: Unknown
Date: Unknown
Weather: Clear

"... Well? Who's up for the task?"

The voice of the blue-haired youg man cut the air like a knife, focusing the four hunters to the present. They all glanced at each other, studied the expressions reflected to their eyes, and seemed to silently divide the tasks ahead of them between each other. Finally, the green-haired girl stepped forward. In the light of the fire that was slowly growing weaker, Hisa got the confirmation she needed. That face... she definitely had to be related to Inacio. The softness of her features and the shape of her nose was definitely similar. They could have, and most likely were, siblings - or at least close relatives of some sort.

"--- I'll take care of the defect. Yozora, prepare the warehouse cell, as ordered," she commanded, and the blue-haired youth nodded. "Peregrine, cuff the intruder and deliver him to the warehouse. Once you and Yozora have made sure he's secure and has no access to his weapon, I want you to return to your original mission."

The hooded and masked figure nodded, though his eyes narrowed a bit as he looked at the green-haired woman.

"Keeping an eye on the Thule people?" He asked with a muffled voice. "Are you sure, Jacinta?"

She nodded in return.

"They're planning something... but we don't know what yet. They would not have otherwise infiltrated this town. It might be a case of the right hand not knowing what the left does, but... I doubt it. Maybe it's a splinter cell, or perhaps they lied to us about keeping out. Nevertheless, we need to know the truth," she replied. "As for you, Griffith... hmm..."

The redhead of the group let out a derisive snort and spat on the ground.

"Fuck off, I've got my own problems to deal with. There's also that guy who managed to escape at the same time as this granny, right? I'm going after him," he grunted, cracking his knuckles. "And I'll do it by myself - no need for you losers to tag along."

The blue-haired youth, Yozora apparently, chuckled without any hint of humour.

"Are you sure you're not just using it as an excuse to look for your sister again?"

--- That seemed to be the wrong choice of words.

After all, the moment those words had fallen out of Yozora's mouth, flames erupted from around Griffith's feeth and he whirled around, practically pushing against the other guy in an effort to get up to his face as close as possible.

"--- The fuck you say, you piece of shit...!? Should I rip out that wagging tongue of yours and---"

However, he didn't get far.

At that very moment, a massive mechanica foot struck the dirt - decisively and demandingly, ending the altercation before it had even managed to start.

"Silence. You all have your orders, captains. Proceed as planned. I will not tolerate infighting," Valkyrie spoke with that metallic voice of hers, devoid of emotion or sympathy. "Pinefall's class has already started their first week. We need to act fast. And be discreet. Nothing is allowed to stand in their way, or disrupt their lives. And if more intruders like these appear..."

The mechanical breathing hissed in the night.

"Cull them. Learn what you can and dispose of them."

The mechanical coffin then turned around, the woman inside moving as slowly and methodically as the piece of equipment itself. A smell of gasoline filled the air as the booster rockets tied to the contraption seemed to start warming up. Was it going to take flight? Most likely. Meaning that it wasn't simply an exoskeleton of sorts, it was either a flight-suit or a full-on powered armor. An extremely bothersome thing, to be sure.

"We will capture That Being for certain, this time."

And with that, the roar of the booster rockets filled the air, momentarily almost deafening Hisa. As she watched the exoskeleton-clad Valkyrie start ascending to the skies at a rapid rate, she could feel the vision start fading. It was almost as if that had acted as the closing remarks of what she could learn here, and the sight of the slowly fading fire, the warehouse in the distance, the flying mechanical warrior and the four captains... they were all going to disappear soon. Realizing that, her eyes snapped quickly to those that had been left behind, to catch whatever she could of them.

The redhead, Griffith, was in the process of clearing the flames - clearly they were his doing.

The blonde and the blue-haired captains, Peregrine and Yozora, were carrying the now-unconscious intruder, wondering how long he would last and if the access code of the warehouse was still "1994".

The green-haired captain, Jacinta, kneeled besides the slowly deteriorating body of the one whose last moments had been recorded. She brought out some sort of bladed weapon from seemingly thin air and raised it up in the air. At the same time, Hisa could see an unexpected expression on the girl's face... that of guilt and shame, lit up by the fires.

And even in the aftermath of the roaring engines, she could hear what she whispered to the escapee.

"I'm sorry. This is all our fault."

Then, she brought her weapon down with a focused slash.

".............. Hisa....... Hisa....... Hisa?"'

What greeted her was the soft rustling of autumn leaves in the wind, overcast skies and the sounds of a peaceful forest definitely not on fire around her.

As Hisa's eyes fluttered open and her gaze started focusing once more, she realized that she was still right where she had began, kneeling besides the dirt mound while touching the bones that she had uncovered. The light streaming through the clouds hadn't changed, and her body didn't even like it had been in that position for too long, so clearly only a moment of time had passed. As she moved her eyes to the left, she could see To-Totesh sitting there, curiously gazing at her. And further beyond that...

Ah, Mercedes, Leena and Ashley Xavier. So they had finally come out of the old train station.

And that only left.

"... Hey there, sleepyhead. You okay?"

The source of the slightly amused voice from besides her, and the warm hand on her shoulder.

Yes, Pyry was there, right next to her, looking down at her curiously.

"Were you trying to get a read from the bones? Did it work out?"

Luckily, she seemed to have only been gone for a matter of seconds, considering none of the people around her didn't even seem worried.

... Still, it was somewhat weird to be back, considering how realistic the vision had been.

[Ayakashi]

Vivienne Bianchi
Location: Owl's Nest - Dining Area
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 10.09.1994 (SAT)
Weather: Overcast


Kincaid...

It is indeed a name she was familiar with -- though she had not personally investigated that trail, said name had come up before when Alex had asked her a myriad of 'questions', as to verify how much she truly knew about this town''s Mysteries; or was it rather to show how much Alex already knew compared to one who had merely grasped at straws? Who knows? The most important thing that mattered was that Alex was now significantly more cooperative than before.

Still, coming back to the discussion she was having with Rachel...

"You think that... town politics are a bit too nasty? Or perhaps you just... don't like politics in general?"

Now that she was thinking about it... was there even a mayor in Road's End? Some sort of municipality? She knew that there was a sheriff but what other forms of governmental ties did the town have? This may be a little bit of a strange question to ask, but well, Vivienne was 'new' to the place after all, so it'd make sense for her to inquire.

"Speaking of politics and.... government... is there a mayor here? Or is the only representative of government... the sheriff? I do not... remember seeing a municipality of any sorts."

It would make sense if this was run by the trio of power that Rachel had mentioned.

[Airen]

Liana Skye/Sora Hikari
Location: Spade Queen Country Club
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 10.09.1994
Weather: Overcast

"A werewolf bunker, huh...?" The redhead wondered aloud. "Gotta say, you guys definitely make every day interesting."

Liana chuckles.

"For a given value of interesting, yes. It's much like that so-called Chinese curse, the one about hoping you live in interesting times? Interesting times are also a way of saying troublesome times, a yin and yang of sorts." The chuckle turns to a sigh, "And humanity? Depending on who you ask, they've already almost destroyed the world a few times... Some people just... Find a way to change the course, I guess..."

"Turn back the metaphorical clock."

She moves forward beneath the cloud-ridden skies, watching with crossed arms as Jayesh opens the path forward for the group. A lot of things had been said up to now, from vague threats to annoyingly vague introspection, to vague threats given because of the annoyingly vague introspection, but the young woman had simply responded to it all initially with little more than a raised eyebrow, prepping herself to just go ahead and knock both boys down if something stupid had been about to happen, and well...

Thankfully.

It hadn't come to that.

Still-!

"Like last night for instance, it was quite interesting in that curse-like sense. I saw all sorts of things no one else did, like Jayesh coming out of this very hole in the ground, a certain someone coming out of the woods, even the moment in which Aleen got attacked when she was left alone... Honestly, just thinking about all of it gives me a bit of a headache."

Voice surprisingly light in spite of everything, the young woman ultimately just shakes her head a bit.

"Although Zane, you're really being no fun for a human. There's usually more oohing and aahing at the many colorful mysteries of the Turnside... You look at supernatural battles and mana explosions and werewolf bunkers and just shrug your shoulders, no fun at all~"

Probably because you're not actually normal.

"Still wanna talk to you about that whole knowing my last name without me telling it to you thing though, don't think I forgot about it. Was gonna bring it up over breakfast, but well it's probably cold by now and... We're about to descend into a section of... Old Tunnels, you guys are saying?"

The frown deepens, intelligent eyes shimmering with thoughts as they peer into the depths of the darkness.

"No wonder Road's End has so many intrusion issues, if you guys have a tunnel network under your town... It's practically begging for the unsavory sort to use it to get around unseen... Not just Turnside either, even mundane crooks would love something like this..."

She pauses for a moment, one hand reaching out to grasp the ladder before...

"So what should I be expecting to find down here exactly?"

Her attention turns to Jayesh.

"Was he restrained with something? How bad were his injuries?"

[Mormarth]

Elaine Winters
Location: Pinefall High Main Building – Cafeteria
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 10.09.1994 (SAT)
Weather: Overcast

I nodded slowly in response to Kean's words, frowning gently, "That's what I've begun presuming as well, Mr. Oceandrop, the principal, is a character that can only exist so long as certain conditions are in play, the gentleman playing the part may have more knowledge, but so long as he is 'playing the part', he's unable to act, or communicate any of this knowledge."

I folded my arms, "So, taking this into account, he was utilizing the detention, specifically for an isolating circumstance with individuals he could be reasonably certain were not a fake, or hostile to the other students, and particularly at the Overlook, which, due to its connections with the native people may have allowed some more lee-way or wiggle room for him to communicate as much as he could, while his 'role' was collapsing as the weekend began. He called it, hm, how was it..."

I tilted my head back and forth, "ʔáwə sɬə́məxʷ spə́ɬx̣ən, or The Bluff No Rain Can Reach, now, what exactly that means, I'm not sure. But it's Important, somehow."

My expression darkened, my fingers clenching in tension, "This is right around the point where things begin to fall apart, after all, and any illusion of an 'ordinary school life' is dispelled, for varying reasons. But, ultimately, this is my own thoughts."

I closed my eyes for a moment, "It's a bit of a broad sweep, I don't have any more of a specific idea what the conditions would be beyond that, if indeed that is what it is."

I opened one eye and looked at Subaru, "And if we are to find these missing students, let's go with this, there's two to each seat, two seats on either side, and 18 rows of seats. Therefore, the passengers of the bus should number 36, discounting Miss Leuzinger, who's intended to sit alone, this leaves us with 35 students. When we arrived, there were 29 students on that bus."

I leaned back in my seat, staring at the ceiling musingly, "If we are to take the Coastrise siblings into account, this brings us to 32 students, so there are three more, yes?"

I frowned, "I seem to recall something about one odd student not staying in the dorms, so that should bring us to 33, so there's two more."

If we are to focus on a wide-view, one of those students should be Xylia.

Or Elizaveta.

So there's one spot left.

Who are they, where are they? Very curious.

"Well, if we wanted to get names, to at least attach something to these empty spots to have a point of investigation," I mused, we'd likely need access to the student roll, so that's a point of interest, likely secured somewhere, but, well," I shrugged, "That's not that big of a deal to someone sufficiently determined."

I shifted gears, "Another point of interest could be the native gentleman in town, Tommy Horse, he may know something about it, or could point us in a direction of interest, or possibly there could be a link in the Owl's Nest, or even here in our own library, not the most likely, but they are options to consider."

I slid my eyes over towards Hwan, "Yeah, I don't really wanna go all Guantanamo Bay on a girl because she might be a hundreds-year old god-beast, it's going to have to be at least a 'probably', Trash-bin, sorry."

"And as for the Mitchell's..." I scratched at my head, "Well, I know they still live here around the town, anyone have dealings with 'em? Could always just ask for a street address and go knock on their door like the Witness's, 'Afternoon, Sir/Ma'am, do you have a moment to talk about this Blue-Haired God-Queen Monster Thing?'."

I paused, "Could use some workshopping, I admit."

[Bloble]

Prushka?
Location: St. Diane Cemetery
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 10.09.1994 (SAT)
Weather: Overcast

"Hold on now, you're not doing it alone!" I grab a fistful of dirt and throw it down the hole. "You do half, I do half. That's fairest, right?"

Ahti can't do all the work. He's been helping out too much already. But a little is fine. If everyone helps, it'll get done faster, and no one will be tired out by the end.

"If Snow thinks he can hide, he must've really been around humans too long."

Earth flies into his empty grave.

"There's no escaping the Puppy once she's on your trail."

One after the other, I hurl clods of dirt into the hole, filling it up as if I could race Ahti there. Or maybe it's not him I'm racing. Maybe this entire time, Snow's been running away from me.

"Genes, conspiracies, delusions, none of those matters. He's just tricked himself into thinking they do. So every lie he's covered himself with, every awful thing he's done, every bad dream that's kept him up at night, I'll shatter all those illusions. Then I'm gonna give my little brother a proper scolding, just like you said. There's no way he's a bad guy, so he must've gotten roped into something dumb. It's my job to straighten that out."

I don't care. I don't care at all who my genetic father is. The only reason I'll even think about it is because he cares. If finding the gene donor for our Alphabet Soup gets me closer to finding Snow, I'll look for him. But that's all.

We've got better avenues to try first, anyhow.

I climb out of the slowly filling hole, my muscles aching from the work, and turn our spectator.

"A... tracking spell?"

I didn't think about that at all. That a magical solution might be employed here. It feels almost like cheating... but then, isn't magic cheating in the first place?

"...yes, please! Alpa, you're our only hope!"

I reach out grab the owl suit's arms, and see my own grin reflected in those empty doll eyes. Alpa, even in that outfit, your cuteness has only increased! It's fine if there's a suit between us, right?

When my hand withdraws, the bullet is left in the owl suit's palm. Wrapped around it, the tattered brochure we got upon arrival here. "Here ya go! Is this map good enough? If not, there might be one in the guidebook."

This is our next best bet. A bullet with no name on it.

"Whoever left that here, they've got to know something!"

[Cheetose]

Hisa Momoi
Location: Old Train Yard - ???
Phase: Unknown
Date: Unknown
Weather: Clear

As the vision faded away in a flash, I was brought back to reality. I blinked once, twice, then many more times until I finally properly came back to my senses, and managed to register everything going on around me - including Pyry, and the words he spoke. Turning my head up towards him, I stared wordlessly as I slowly lifed my hand to rub my temple.

"Yeah...it sort of did."

No longer occupied with paying close attention to the events of the past, my mind was finally starting to comprehend how, and what exactly happened...Without much success, of course.

"They are the bones of a woman. She was rescued from the hospital...but some sickness, maybe from the experiments, made her body slowly deteoriate and disintegrate...which is why only the bones seemed to remain."

My gaze turned back to the bone still resting in my hand. There was no point to holding into it any longer - and thus, I gently placed it back to where we found it in the ground. She definitely deserved a proper burial. Something more than just a pile of dirt in the middle of the forest, buried along with a bunch of animal bones, almost like as if it all was someone's trash that they swept under the rug just so that they would not have to deal with it. But then...we didn't have time for that, nor there was anything else we could do for her now.

"She was caught by the Einherjar while escaping. A bunch of faces that I couldn't really recognize...Except for one. A green haired girl that Inacio has been meeting with, and was sheltering in the dorms. They were also led by some...thing in a robotic suit, called Valkyrie. But...that's about as far as I got with that."

It wasn't much, but it was something at least.

"It would also appear that WUOTAN and the warehouse are two different places. However, the warehouse supposedly has some cells - that's where they brought the man that was trying to rescue the sick woman. And more importantly...it happened this week, probably just a day or two ago. So the man might still be alive."

[Verg Avesta]

Vivienne Bianchi
Location: Owl's Nest - Dining Area
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 10.09.1994 (SAT)
Weather: Overcast

"Mayor... well, only in unofficial terms, perhaps."

Rachel sighed and smiled somewhat bitterly at the thought.

"Back in the day, the Halloways were the elected leaders among the general populace to give them a single voice," she explained, nursing her cup of coffee. "And back then, it might have worked. McLampets were the source of income with their booming logging industry, Kincaids were the old landowners who were among the first settlers of the area, and then us... but now it's nothing more than a farce."

The redhead made a vague gesture, somewhere between an annoyed shrug and a dismissive wave of her hands. It truly seemed that when it came to the "politics" of Road's End, she didn't think much of anyone who was involved... even if it was her own family.

"Just a bunch of vultures circling around the already deceased carcass of what's left of the McLampet fortune. Nothing more, nothing less. I mean, you've already seen this town, haven't you? It's dying. Slowly but surely, it's dying," Rachel continued, glancing outside into the wilderness beyond, and the town on the other side. "That's why there's no one stupid enough left to try and arrange any sort of governing unit anymore. Everyone simply thinks it's someone else's problem and they move on. Mm, I guess that's the big thing, isn't it...?"

For some reason, Rachel seemed almost wistful as she repeated what she had said.

"Everyone thinks it's always someone else's problem..."

It sounded like she was speaking from experience. And indeed, it was not hard to see why. Just one look at Road's End was enough to tell anyone that the town didn't have too much fight left in it. Another decade or two, and it would practically be a ghost town. One generation and there'd be no one left - only animals to scavenge and pick what little remained clean. For a place that had such a varied and colourful history, it was an ironic fate to be had... but then again, it definitely seemed like McLampets had been the lifeblood of the town. A land or people are nothing without wealth to flow through it, after all.

"And speaking of vultures..."

Rachel's words drew Vivienne back from her thoughts. She saw that a glare of sorts had appeared on the redhead's face, and when she followed her gaze, she saw that she had turned it towards one man in particular. A new arrival that had made his way through the lobby and was now approaching the ashen-haired man from before, who seemed just as displeased by his arrival as Rachel did.

Just one look was enough to tell even Vivienne that he wasn't a pleasant man to deal with.

"Whenn the cat's away, the mice will play... or however it went," Rachel quietly commented, angrily slurping on her drink. "With the McLampets more or less gone, the military has put in a lot of effort of getting back into the town. Used to be that Howard McLampet's anger with them was enough to keep these hounds at bay, but nowadays..."

She grinded her teeth.

"I think they've been trying to worm their way into the good graces of my blockhead uncle, what with him being an old airforce guy and all," the redhead muttered. "Not that that's gonna work."

---

Liana Skye/Sora Hikari
Location: Spade Queen Country Club - Bunker
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 10.09.1994
Weather: Overcast

"He has his usual restraints."

Jayesh curtly said that as he began descending down the ladder, taking the forward spot descending into the darkness.

"Anti-Curse chains made out of blessed silver. Nothing too fancy, but it gets the job done. As for his injuries, well..." the youth paused for a moment while hanging from the rungs, glancing at his own chest. "... He should have already regenerated. I tried to avoid doing more than was necessary. Besides, well..."

--- He was a werewolf. What more needed to be said?

These creatures were as famous as vampires when it came to Turnside, and fame was power. When one transformed, they would became a powerhouse of a beast with physical abilities that were hard to match. A singular fighter could only do so much against them, and especially if Jayesh had been holding back, he must have given back far less than he received. So at the very least, it sounded like Jack was alright.

Once Jayesh was down, Liana followed, and lastly came Zane. By the time those two made it down below, Jayesh had already flicked on the lights of the metal corridor, revealing a pathway that continued deeper and further below, a set of metal stairs that started a little aways from where they were and descended in a lazy, wide spiral pattern towards the depths. Zane, as if remembering the girl's earlier question, smiled a humourless smile and knocked the wall with his knuckle, softly.

"World War Two, maybe. These things go everywhere, even after they were repurposed. Road's End was a big military port, after all... well, was before the McLampets took over. From what I hear, you can get all the way over to the beach if you follow these right... and then there's the rumoured big tunnel that leads straight out of Road's End, to parts unknown," the redhead explained as the trio started descending down the stairs. "If I remember correctly, there was some talk about how some other, now-sealed tunnel led to a hidden military outpost and a research center outside of Road's End as well..."

Jayesh snorted at the thought, but also nodded.

"That's the rumour, yes. Same as how these thing eventually connect to the lava-carved tunnels that riddle the area around Blue Tail Peak and White Pine Mountain. If you were to believe all the old rumours, especially the ones Jack likes to spout, you could get absolutely everywhere at Road's End through these tunnels," he replied, a slight smirk on his lips. "And indeed, some places not at Road's End at all. Physically or spiritually."

That made Zane raise an eyebrow.

"And can you?"

Jayesh's answer came with a dark smile.

"Who even knows?"

And speaking of answers... Zane had quietly side-stepped the questions Liana kept prodding him with, using the other topics shield himself.

He wasn't going to give straight answers there, wasn't he? Or any answers at all, for that matter.

---

Prushka?
Location: St. Diane Cemetery
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 10.09.1994 (SAT)
Weather: Overcast

"O-oh, um, yes! This should be enough!"

Looking rather flustered at the sudden physical contact (even if it was through the owl suit), it took a moment for Alpa to recover. When she did, however, she seemed just as excited as Prushka about the prospect of finding the mysterious person who had left the bullet. Perhaps the idea of being repay the people who had helped her so much already was just something she had been looking forward to. Thus, after a bit of awkward position of the bullet and the map on the moist ground, Alpa started rummaging through the folds of her owl costume.

"I should go with yarrow stalks this time, instead of simply coins - we want proper answers after all..." Alpa muttered as she produced some sort of long, wrapped bundle from within her costume. "O-oh, um, right. This might take a moment. In using the cosmological concepts and symbolisms of the I Ching, I've also been able to learn the ways its cleromancy. However, the yarrow-stalk method takes a bit longer, a-and, um, reading it properly will take some time as well so, uhm..."

In other words, it wouldn't be ready for a while. And more importantly, Alpa seemed to be the type of person who would get nervous if she had to work under the watchful eyes of somebody else. Perhaps it was best to give her some peace and quiet, and perhaps return to help out Ahti---

"Hey, Imp!"

Speaking of which...

Looking over to where the grave was quickly and neatly being filled, Prushka found - to her surprise - Ahti standing there without moving, his ice blue eye focused on somewhere distant and his ears perked up quite magnificently. Then, with a careful gesture, he motioned her closer. Once she was within the distance where they could talk more quiet, he knelt down besides her with a serious look on his face.

"... I think someone's coming. I can smell a human approaching this place. Old cologne. Probably a man," he informed her quietly. "If that bundle of nerves there is doing her thing, can you go distract whoever it is? I'll fill up this grave in the meantime as fast as I can and grab her with me afterwards - move us over to the forest side. I mean, we could make a run for it now too, but..."

He glanced at the half-filled grave he was standing in.

"Leaving things like this just invites trouble."

---

Hisa Momoi
Location: Old Train Yard
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 10.09.1994 (SAT)
Weather: Overcast

Pyry, and indeed the rest of the group, took the explanation with varying reactions. Ashley seemed to be his usual deluded self, but both Gradient and Mercedes became rather serious upon hearing what Hisa had to say. To-Totesh rubbed her chin for a moment, before starting to type away at her laptop - possibly to commit it all to memory, just in case. Leena, on the other hand, seemed rather nervous at the thought, and at the sight of the bones.

And as for Pyry...

"WUOTAN, Valkyrie and Einherjar... well, there's definitely symbolism there. Enough to make an educated guess about how they're connected to each other," the boy said while helping Hisa back up to her feet. "Odin, with his valkyries - the choosers of the slain - who take them to Valhalla to prepare for Ragnarök. Einherjar, those who fight alone, who hone their skills as the soldiers of all-father, all for that final battle... Hm. In other words, a female warrior in service of this WUOTAN who chose these Einherjar to fight for the same WUOTAN's sake, huh? Guess we're starting to have some names and faces for our enemies, huh? That is, if they are enemies..."

Mercedes, upon hearing this, let out a snort and walked over to the dirt mound herself. She knelt besides the bones that Hisa had gently placed back and stared at them, looking like she was both angry and sad at their sorry state. Even without reading her mind, the scarred girl could easily see that her own thoughts echoed in the mind of the actress. She too found the state they had been left unacceptable, but knew they had no time now for a proper burial.

"They are. Like, anyone willing to just dispose bodies like they were compost or whatevah is no friend of mine," Mercedes replied, harsh look in her eyes as she stood up once more. "Whatever's led to her sorry state is tied to whatever they're doing... and like, even I can recognize things being shady as all hell when I see it. Like, no person deserves a fate like this - much less from experimentation. That being said..."

She turned around, hands on her hips, and looked at Hisa.

"Maybe you could explain, like, in more detail what you saw while we walk, Nancy Drew? I mean..." A lopsided grin of sorts appeared on her face, as if she was already prepared for what came next. "If you mention that some guy's imprisoned in that warehouse or whatevah, and that he might be alive, I take it we're off to see if we can get the poor sod out of there, no? Not just because the enemy of my enemy's my friend and all that jazz, but because, like, it's not like you could leave anyone to rot like that, huh?"

The way she said it, it didn't seem that Mercedes disagreed. If anything, it almost sounded like she appreciated it - appreciated the fact that while she herself might have been callous enough not to risk it, she saw Hisa as someone willing to take the chance. After all, while they did not know if the guy was still alive and if he even was a possible ally or just another enemy... sometimes risks like that paid off.

"Mm, I agree. Information is crucial," To-Totesh said and jumped up from where she was sitting, putting her laptop in her bag. "The more we learn, the more we know. And knowing is half the battle, right?"

For some reason Pyry and Gradient chuckled at that, and playfully flashed quick salutes to each other.

"Oh, also. Hisa. I found that inn we were talking about," the native girl continued, looking a bit proud about herself. "It was on the map, after all! Just like I foresaw. To-Totesh is smart, after all! Though, it isn't exactly at Road's End."

A slightly troubled look followed.

"It's about two miles outside of it, following the main road."

Pyry, upon hearing this, frowned in thought. At the same time, the group started towards the warehouses in the distance, settling into an unified pace.

"Outside of Road's End... so I guess it must be something we passed when we first arrived here," he said, looking at Hisa. "That being said, I don't think I saw any inns. Then again, it wasn't like I was paying too much attention."

[Airen]

Liana Skye/Sora Hikari
Location: Spade Queen Country Club - Bunker
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 10.09.1994
Weather: Overcast

"Hah... Selective hearing part two, guess last night really didn't end with the sunrise..."

It's not too surprising, he had done the same thing to her last night. It was pretty annoying of course, having someone so clearly throw hints and tests at you and then back off, expecting you to then drop it for some arbitrary reason and yet Liana's voice remains pleasant -but quiet- all the same...

Even if it's a bit more of a struggle today.

Considering everything going on right now, her patience for things she'd normally have no problems with was waning somewhat...

"Well you're not running away from me yet, so I guess there couldn't have been anything too unflattering in any hypothetical files or stories someone might have told you about me."

She sighs and walks forward with a shrug, wishing for the first time that she had something like telepathy; ESPers might have been a little off in her opinion, but an internal ESPers ability to get information out of people was something she couldn't deny... Would make operating in this town a lot easier if she didn't have to slowly coax it out of people with milk and honey. There were the ethical problems of such an approach of course, the danger of someone with a hammer seeing everything around them as a nail, but when it came to hypothetical time travelers, getting them to admit to it was more like pulling teeth...

They'll squirm and kick and struggle and it's just far too messy.

Pulling out the drill just makes it worse.

...Maybe this internal analogy is getting a bit out of hand.

"Well, we're sort of running out of time anyway... Not sure I could help fix anything by the deadline even if I started on it right now."

If he wasn't gonna answer, she'd just talk a bit around it, didn't matter one way or another if he just refused to acknowledge it outright, right?

She just wasn't gonna let him brush it off without her acknowledging that was what he was doing...

"Guess I'll focus on making sure you get home in one piece."

Still...

She made sure to keep them both in her view regardless, even as her attention turns back to Jayesh and the other topics.

"But hmm, World War Two tunnels, figured it had to be something like that... Although linking to lava carved tunnels is new... Spiritual places popping up here and there in town don't shock me either, I mean, you guys have a lighthouse in town that steals your souls when you die and a forest full of ghosts... Tunnels that lead to some bizarre other world don't strike me as particularly unlikely anymore, there might even be a map for the place hanging around somewhere in town, because someone is almost certainly using it to get around town."

Absentmindedly, she reaches out to touch the cool walls of the bunker, thinking about how a lot of all of this could have just been avoided if she had chosen to hang out with her aunt instead...

"But what are some of these rumors? Any stories you're willing to share Jay? Or is this one of those things where you bring it up to look mysterious and cool and then just sorta drop it right after? Lot of people in town have that as a bad habit."

She raises an eyebrow.

"I mean, ghost hinters have to have some decent stories about spirits and spiritual worlds, right? Seems like it'd be the sort of thing you specialize in, no?"

[Thalraxal]

Elise Pelltier
Location: Avery's Diner
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 10.09.1994 (SAT)
Weather: Overcast

"Are you sure the word you heard was Miskatonic? And not something else?"

"Hm. No. I didn't overhear it, I was given a vague clue by a friend of mine who refused to elaborate. He said that the Oceandrop Program used to be known by a different name. Something that started with 'M' and came from a little book. I guessed Miskatonic, since it was a fictional school, started with an 'M', and appeared in several of Lovecraft's novellas, which are little books. It fit the criteria, and seemed like a fitting name. Travis never said I was right though, but he also never said I was wrong. Mostly he just teased me for being a nerd for having guessed Miskatonic," admitted Elise glumly.

Travis never said I was wrong, but he was probably right about me being a nerd to have made that guess.

She felt a brief pang of guilt that she'd hardly even seen Travis this week, having only crossed paths with him briefly during the hospital heist. He seemed a lot... friendlier than he had been that time last week though? Maybe he'd had more luck finding his Moose this week and that had put him in a better mood?

Samuel coughed surreptitiously and slid the napkin back to her. Elise grinned eagerly as she read them over and started to commit them to memory. A sense of unease reminding her that this napkin might not exist as it is by the time she had a chance to visit these places. Some places, she suspected, that might still be home to their prior occupants. Others, like Tris' House of Ultimate Evil, likely not. The only students missing from list of addresses were the ever elusive ones: Nevada, Devon, Angie, and Eliyah.

Well, we know Gradient stayed at the old church ruins anyway. So that's one of those three off the list.

Elise took a moment to mull over the information Samuel shared about the Kincaid family, and his suspects on who the mysterious he Michael had referred to. Ulf, Jack, and the possibility that the blade had fallen into the hands of the Mitchell family long ago.

"Not a lot of Mitchells left... Lucille and I met Zane Mitchell earlier this week. I think it might just him and his little brother now..." said Elise sadly, "I'd heard that Robert and Paula Mitchell, their parents I presume, were murdered in 1986 by psychopath who claimed to be the next John Haigh, whatever that means. It's possible their killer might have stolen Gram from them. That hardly sounds like Michael, but that killer might've been the he he was referring to. Although I think 1986 would be a bit too late in the timeline? Maybe Robert traded the blade to Michael for some reason prior to that?"

Elise sighed as she turned her thoughts to the other family Samuel had mentioned, the Kincaids, and their strange werewolf religion.

"What about Isaiah?" asked Elise, "That werewolf friend of yours that we encountered last night and who helped us out. Was he a member of the Kincaid family too?"

"For that matter... you mentioned earlier that your family gave the Kincaids a copy of the prophecy. If we need to get in contact with them, how would we go about doing that?"

“He’d been communicating with Subaru since the night we arrived, right? Isn’t it just as likely Michael has had Gram from the moment we stepped foot in Pinefall, merely waiting for the opportunity? Though… if that’s the case, was it Subaru’s presence that spurred his plan into action, or did someone tip him off? So much of that accursed machination relied on… us. And I find it difficult to believe that, trapped in the lighthouse, he acquired enough detailed information on his lonesome…”

"... However. I think you have a point there, Lucille. It bothered me too. Very much so. My brother was... too prepared. This wasn't something he could have come up within few days. He had to have known about you all for longer than that. Intimate knowledge. His plan, as mad as it was, relied heavily on special attributes of each of us present... and the fact that we indeed were present. And especially how he planned to use that girl, Elaine, to subdue you. Did he know something we didn't?"

"Something about this isn't sitting right with me. It's all too... well thought out, for the amount of time he supposedly had. Almost like someone was feeding him information the whole time..."

"He certainly had Gram ready for his own use long before we got here, but he has to have it stashed somewhere while he's an immaterial ghost, right? It's not like he can carry that thing around with him while he doesn't have a body. If we have to do this again, I think there's a good chance we can snatch it away from him before he can get hands to hold it with again."

"That said though, yeah, he did seem to know way more about us than he should have... he wasn't trapped in the Lighthouse until Joshua held him there though, after he possessed Kean, but even if he was free to spy on us as a ghost, that's a lot of information gathering he'd have had to do, and not a lot of time. Plus, if he was spying on us... there's a fair number of people at Pinefall who can sense ghosts. I'm sure someone would have caught him skulking around and raised suspicions."

Subaru is attuned to the spirits and can sense ghosts and would be able to recognize him from their encounter at the Lighthouse. LBJ seems to be able to pick up on ghosts too. I mean, he's the one that tipped us off about Michael's presence and influence in the first place. Tristellia seems to have spent a lot of the week around Pinefall, and Samuel said she can see ghosts. Hisa said she could perceive ghosts too.

"He almost seemed to know more about us than we do..." muttered Elise, "He recognized Désolée, for one, and she's by no means a famous weapon. Plus he, ah-"

He knew about the demon.

"Ah, anyway, Michael had a lot of ducks he needed to line up to get that plan to work..."

He needed to possess Kean to get to Elaine. Then he needed to possess Elaine to get a body strong enough for him to kill me and defeat Lucille. With the demon and I out of the way, he'd then need to possess Lucille, corrupt her, and manifest as an incarnated demon in her body, in order to usurp LBJ's and my position in the prophecy and becoming the prophesied calamity, considered Elise as she recalled Michael's rant from the previous night, Although Samuel says that the prophecy might not be specifically about me, but LBJ said, as stupid as Michael's plan was, it could work...

"...and while I'm sure being trapped in Road's End gave him plenty of time to think, he couldn't have known about all us in time to make it work. There's at least two deeply personal secrets-"

Elaine being a werewolf and me being demonically possessed.

"-he'd need to know, not to mention the social connections he tried to manipulate."

Using Kean to get to Elaine, and knowing how she'd react to her friend being kidnapped, and trying to get Mercedes to hurt Lucille.

"Is someone feeding him information? That's a scary thought, given that implies that there's someone else who knows all that. The other possibility that comes to mind... could Michael be looping with us too somehow?" wondered Elise, "It feels unlikely to me, but however we're looping seems to be tied to the soul, rather than the body or the mind, so it doesn't seem like it'd be impossible for a ghost to get tied up in that as well somehow..."

[Mellon]

Anna Vandemeel
Location: Pinefall High Main Building – Cafeteria
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 10.09.1994 (SAT)
Weather: Overcast

"Have to say, Red... you sure know your way around the tools. That's not bad, not bad at all. You planning on making your thesis on magical crafting?"

“Eh, too much effort. I mean, I could do it, but the spiritual attributes of my particular heritage are a pain in the ass to restrain for long periods.” Anna gave a lazy wave of her hand even as a hint of frustration crept into her voice. “Even getting to this point was a hassle. If I let my mana just flow normally and do its thing, whatever I’m working on will just blow up in my hand.”

“But, as a witch, I should be able to make a "charm of powerful trouble" from an eye of newt and toe of a frog, eh?” A small playful grin flickered on her features for a second, even as her ruby eyes crept back towards the box that had been placed in front of John. “Though I must admit, some things take less effort to make than others. More in line with my focus, I suppose.”

Armors and shields were a pain, to say the least. Artifacts related to healing were straight out. Single-use potions and salves she could manage, as she could rely more on her aspect as a witch to override her alignment to some extent, but anything more was almost impossible. But making weapons… things that had a bent towards breaking and damaging others, whether that be physical or spiritual, was as close as an act of creation could get in harmony with her spiritual base.

Unfortunately, it was never going to be truly painless. But it was close enough.

“Do we know anything about this Mitchell family?”

“I know them. Two brothers who live in the other end of town. No parents. The younger one, Shane, is a reckless rugrat and an enthusiastic one at that.” A momentary smile crossed her face, an unusual sight for the normally rather down-to-business girl. “Not a bad kid though, all in all.“

“Might be good company for the brat over there, actually.” Anna nodded towards the young girl stuffing her face with cereal with a small smile. “There aren’t a lot of kids their age to socialize with in Road’s End, apparently.”

Well, that and they seemed to mesh with each other last time around.

“And the older brother, Zane, is an overtly contentious sort who is working on three dozen side-gigs in town to keep his brother and himself afloat. Can’t handle owing anyone anything and grinding himself to the bone to be a half-decent role model to this brother.”

And burning his own future into nothingness in the process.

That last bit she left unsaid. It wasn’t her place to share something that personal. Besides, that part had likely little to do with the topic they were covering.

“I think he’s renovating… a convertible Chevy Kurvett?" A half-remembered word that she couldn’t link with anything back then (or even now for that matter). “…or something like that from the sixties as well.”

“I know where they live, so if you guys want to go there, I can take you.”

"You said something about the statue of the unknown pioneer, no?"

“I’ve been there as well. It’s a bronze statue in the Ghostwood with an empty bulletin board next to it. Bloody creepy thing… it's built with this weird optical illusion which makes it seem like its eyes track your movement, I think. I was this close to just melting that blasted thing to slag.”

“In any case, I’m pretty sure it’s related to someone in the town. I mean the face isn’t the same, but the features are familiar to me. Something like a relative or, probably more likely, an ancestor.”

“The plaque with a poem on the bottom of it. It's old, so not anything that’s recently placed there, but still legible.”

Poem of the Pioneer

A man who came here from the woods

A shout of a silver fall

In the house of amber light

It sees us all


Break away from within that Eye

Escape from the umbra sea

The Mad whispers it again:

Stars, fall for me

And not regarding his plan, but rather, it sounded like he was talking about the whole town. Like he was waiting for every piece to be in place so he could do what he wanted. He also mentioned something called elision and that 'the causality is finally right'. That he can't let this chance slip by his fingers. Almost like he had been banking on some rare scenario such as what we experienced last night. And that got me thinking...

“Elision and correct order of causality? Hmm… merging of abstract ideas? Could it be that our current situation is somehow unique or rare in outcome compared to normal circumstances? On the other hand, elision can also refer to an omission… so something could be missing compared to normal? Which would allow this… revenant to take the place of something that would normally be there, provided the circumstances are correct?”

Some kind of spiritual position? Or a prophesized nexus point? Some type of “role” to usurp?

“Though this raises an interesting question… how would a ghost be even aware of the causalities of this time we were in?” A brief pause. “Is it also stuck in a loop like us?”