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Marina watched as Vanille rose from her seat and began to walk around. She wondered what that was about, but remained quiet as Benjamin began to speak after her. ❝. . . time reversal, we'd need someone who was still . . . around at the time. Do you know of any of the others who remember? When we met at Ishmael, Olivia seemed to hint that she did, but . . .❞ He trailed off. That was true. Olivia had made it seem as if she knew something, but never said anything on the matter. Before she could follow suit, Vanille interjected.

❝I was there, at the meeting.❞ she began brightly, and then motioned to Theo, ❝He was hosting a meeting too, at Antilum Labs, and then when we all got together to start talking, Harley said the witch's name, and she sent us back in time after the meeting room had blown up.❞ Hm... She had said that before, had she not? Vanille walked around and was standing between the chair where Theo sat and the couch where Harley sat, ❝I'll be honest!❞ she began again, spinning around smoothly, ❝I don't think the witch sent us back in time to save Madeline Moore and Temperance Spike, and I don't think she sent us back in time to save anyone else. She did it for her own amusement. But maybe, maybe ~ there was something that happened between days twelve and forty-five that we could have changed to set the game in a completely different direction.❞ That was an interesting theory. Forty-five days. She had died on day twenty-four or twenty-five. These others had lasted twice as long as her. What had they missed in that time frame? Were they really being given the chance to figure it out? That was a significant amount of time to make up. There was no doubt Crestatia would return them to day forty-five soon. Would everyone return, or only the ones that had been alive at that point in time? ❝There's also no real indication why she chose who she did to remember the past - but maybe the people who do remember have to do with the change that might need to take place. Maybe.❞

Marina nodded slowly. Vanille had brought up some interesting points. "You make a valid argument. I too wondered something of a similar nature. After failing to complete our orb room assignments, Benjamin, Mister Plume, and I were transported to this island where we underwent a series of trials. Crestatia is looking for someone that can be like her. She wants someone worthy of winning the game that can be a player like herself. The trials seemed to be a way of testing us to see if we could think outside the box enough. Whatever Benjamin did, worked." She glanced at the boy and gave him a sad smile. "If he had not given Mister Plume the ability to return back here with the power to declare, then he would have been the winner and would have been able to bring someone back from the dead with him as well. It was noble what he did. We knew little of the game at that point in time. Mister Plume had been more involved then the both of us. It was the right thing to do, granted, I cannot say I would have done the same." She shrugged. It was the truth. Marina did not believe she could be that selfless. "One thing that was definitely confirmed, was that Crestatia and Analynne are on the same side. They are both players, after all. The only thing causing them to be rivals is that they each want their pawns to live."

She narrowed her eyes on each one of them. "I wonder which of us belong to them, or whom the other players are." Her thoughts wandered to Rhia once more. "There is also members of this game that are not players or pawns. We met someone of this nature by the name of Rhia. She called herself, The Overseer of Hearts--whatever that means."

 

. "There is also members of this game that are not players or pawns. We met someone of this nature by the name of Rhia. She called herself, The Overseer of Hearts--whatever that means."

Olivia emerged from beneath the coffee table with a yawn, holding a copy of one of Miss Sario's fashion books in her hands.

"Good, very good! My ears have been peered and tuned to this discussion for the past minutes it has been going on, and I am certain we are on a lovely track. Please pardon my presence beneath your table, Miss Sario."
Olivia ducked behind the masked girl's legs and emerged, dusting off one of her white dresses. She took her place beside dearest Ben, and had an inquisitive look on her face.

She then turned to Miss Sario.

"I have listened quite well enough to the current discussions. Would it be correct to assume that our two beautiful witch demon seamstresses would be playing a game like this?"

Olivia glanced at her nails briefly.

"That is taking a very chessic approach. Although they may be rivals, who is to say that either one of the two sopranos we burden ourselves with own any distinct ownership over groups of these players?"

Before she could get to Marina's intriguing idea of the Overseer of Hearts, she heard a loud crash come from the room up above.
What in the world?

 

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Olivia's Diary Entry | xxx​

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« Not thus, in ancient days of Caledon,​

Was thy voice mute amid the festal crowd. »​

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A-anyway ...
Olivia needed to regain her composure in an effective manner.
That sound was loud. How dare it hurt her ears so effectively. She made a point to investigate its origin after she was finished here.

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game of conjecture : : red thread to the past​

"It is a certainty that certain fellows have regained their memories in an intentional manner. This is simply because they have the power to influence, and I do believe this was already suggested." She briefly turned to Ben, and to Miss Sario. Her heart skipped a beat, and her eyes widened -- just briefly -- before she abashedly lowered them towards the coffee table. That's right. This was the past, and-- and it seemed to remind her too much of how things had been before all of this insanity ...
Ah ... stay calm, Olivia.

"As has been implied already, we can be positive that this has been done to give some of us a chance of changing the future. Do we truly understand the implications of changing the future, however?" Olivia curled a strand of her silvery hair around her finger and leaned delicately upon the side of the coffee table. "Assuming we do have the chance to change it, we must be careful that things do not get out of hand -- out of control -- perhaps, while--"
She turned to Miss Sario.

"Preventing ... as many, deaths as possible."
"... Assuming, of course, that is the goal of this ridiculous e-mail--"

Olivia was interrupted by a loud scream from above.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

 

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« Not thus, in ancient days of Caledon,​

Was thy voice mute amid the festal crowd. »​

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This was becoming too much for Olivia to handle.
That was most definitely Mr. Plume. She had played hard to get enough, hadn't she? ...
Well then. It was time to confront the past.

She turned her head away from the ceiling, and looked back at Miss Sario with a stern, emotionless gaze.
"... Please excuse my adjournment from the rest of this meeting, but I must look after my stray dog. I certainly hope you understand."

Without another word, she gently placed Miss Sario's book on the table and left the room, slinking through the empty, pristine hallways to reach the stairs.
The scream had stopped, but the echo was still concrete within her ears. Oh, no, she did not try to hide her worried gaze.

How ever could she forget the scream of someone who had lost so much?

 

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xxxxx
xxxxxIt was then that Cherno was struck with an idea, curled up in a teary, teeth-clenching ball by the bedside.

He slowly let his phone slide from his hand as he gazed back up at his jacket. He still kept it there, right? The problem was that ... that-- he didn't know where she lived. That's assuming that she even went back there. Would she go back there? Where else did she have to go, right? She would tell him these things -- or refrain to, while he struggled to discern them.

Okay ... okay. You have to be rational about this, Cherno Plume.

Cherno slowly stood up, still clad in his pajamas, as he walked with bare feet and dreary, sick eyes towards his jacket. Grabbing it by the sleeve, he draped it around his shoulders, and felt around in his pocket.

And there it was.

The familiar metal sphere. It still existed. Items had temporal displacement as well, did they? ...
Ah, this may even work for the future.

Knock knock.

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unison | red vector of negative t-values​

A light and airy, gentle knock on the door.
What?
Someone was at the--
Right.

He made a huge dilly-shaw of noise, didn't he?

...

"... Come in."

 

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Olivia's Diary Entry | xxx​

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« Not thus, in ancient days of Caledon,​

Was thy voice mute amid the festal crowd. »​

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unison : : red thread to the past​

"... Come in."

The gruff voice was hush and whispered, as if the feelings behind it were a tempest of trouble and tumultuous concern. Oh, Mr. Plume, what were you getting into now, hm? ...

You really hadn't changed, had you? Just as emotional. You never were good at hiding your emotions -- not as well as she, of course. Aha.
She placed her hand around the doorknob and turned it, slowly pushing the door inward. With a pensive silence, she looked inside the room.
And there he was.
How long had it been ... really? He seemed much taller in person than through the ILP camera screens, didn't he?
And much more ... what was it-- pained? His face was dark, as if he had gone through too much. Whatever happened to the Cherno light?
... Ah, this was his first time he would have seen her in a while, would it?

Olivia stepped in, her bare, manicured feet cold against the wooden floor. She closed the door behind her, and the dark room was lit only by the midnight blue of the starry sky, shining beams through the window.

She looked up to face Cherno.
... How many things, oh, how many things she wanted to tell him! It was unbelievable that he was alive after-- after all these years, wasn't it, Olivia?-
No.
You must stay calm.

Olivia closed her eyes, and breathed in deeply, before once again opening them and staring at Cherno with a piercing intensity.

"We meet, Mr. Roncesvalles."

"Eep!" She smiled slyly and placed a finger to her lip. "What a slip! How rude of me to get your name wrong, Mr ... Plume, if that is what you go by. You were making quite the ruckus, and I must say it was much worse than anything you did when we were tots."

 

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unison | red vector of negative t-values​

Mister ... Mister Roncesvalles?

That-- That wasn't--

--

Spoiler: Brief snippet of that terrible dream

Prescott: T-thanks for uh, well, you see, for-- for helping, R-Roncesvalles-- was your name, right?
:: It's Cherno
Prescott: C-Cherno?
Prescott: I- well, you, well-- uh, well, excuse me, b-but um--
Prescott: I haven't heard of no C-Cherno.
Prescott: Now! Nownownow, I-Inspector warned me, well-- warned me of this! Y-young-- what was her name-- Mari-something Roncesvalles would be making up names?
:: But my name is Cherno!
Prescott: M-move along now, w-we've got to catch that c-c-criminal quick- well, um, quickly, ya hear!

Roncesvalles.

It was one of the names in his dream that kept re-occuring.
Along with another one. He turned to the girl and widened his eyes. The other name. Could she be the bearer of the other name?

This was the one with the-- the voice! From the crazy lab place! She knew when they were all kids, didn't she?
She knew things about his past!

Cherno felt some anger bubble up within him, but it died down quickly.
This was no time for ridiculous fits of rage. The anger withered, and he sighed.

"Aren't you gonna tell me your name first, you crazed-up hop-symptotin' ... derivative?
It's common courtesy for a tricky lass like you to be barging up into a lad's room smacked up like that."

 

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❝He was hosting a meeting too, at Antilum Labs, and then when we all got together to start talking, Harley said the witch's name, and she sent us back in time after the meeting room had blown up..❞

Theodore shuddered. Even the thought of anything happening to Antilum on watch...his father must have wanted to kill him, if he didn't succeed in doing so.

❝I'll be honest! I don't think the witch sent us back in time to save Madeline Moore and Temperance Spike, and I don't think she sent us back in time to save anyone else. She did it for her own amusement. But maybe, maybe ~ there was something that happened between days twelve and forty-five that we could have changed to set the game in a completely different direction.❞

Wow, so the little masked girl was intelligent. Why would a ...witch -- he used that term loosely -- do anything to help them? He sighed. Hopefully no one had seriously thought that was the case.

❝There's also no real indication why she chose who she did to remember the past - but maybe the people who do remember have to do with the change that might need to take place. Maybe.❞

If that were the case then they were all screwed. They all seemed like a useless bunch of people so far...Minus Marina. Sure, it was terribly late now and this whole meeting had been totally disorganized and so far fruitless, but at least she had tried to do something involving the lot of them. The rest...Selfish, maybe? Or just stupid?

Theodore kept listening quietly as Marina started to speak. He sighed, leaning back in his seat and letting his eyes roam, gliding over the living room again.

"...We met someone of this nature by the name of Rhia. She called herself, The Overseer of Hearts--whatever that means."

Rhia?

Wait, Rhia?

Some weird albino chick started talking, but he didn't care.

"Hey, Marina, you said"--

CRASH!!

Holy god.
She started up again and then--

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Why was this happening?! Who was that?

Finally, she left to take care of dog(??) and Theodore rolled his eyes, taking a moment to erase the irritation on his face.

"Lady Marina. Rhia. What did she look like? Can you tell me?"

Sure it was selfish and maybe he was derailing the conversation, but he needed to know.

 

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Olivia's Diary Entry | xxx​

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« Not thus, in ancient days of Caledon,​

Was thy voice mute amid the festal crowd. »​

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unison : : red thread to the past​

"... Come in."

Absolutely fascinating, it was ...
To see Cherno like this. Almost three years now, had it been? She would wonder if he was still all sour and grumpy over the ... events, with the pig-nosed stinky malchik, but he seemed to not remember anything. Not a shred of their memories together ...

It was a shame. She, too, let out a whispered sigh.

"I'll inform you in due time. Quickly, tell me of your predicament before the others arrive. You relied on me quite a bit, in the past, to assist your troubles. And--" She brought forth her arm and mockingly flexed it, with a wink. "I have to say, there was a rather point-high success rate!"

She felt so hollow today.
Was it because she was meeting -- and talking -- with him, in person? How ridiculous, Olivia. Shape up, madam. Pull yourself together. She lowered her arm and gazed sternly at Cherno's face.
At first, it looked as if he would object, but the widening of his eyes read some deeper worry. Confused. Muddled. Was he trying to remember something? There was certainly a deeper worry. Would he not spit it out already? Had he changed this much -- to become so ... inclusive, introverted, defensive, where a stormy shell kept his inner workings safe from the world? Was this what everything had done to you, Cherno Roncesvalles?

Cherno met her gaze just then, causing Olivia to focus.

"I don't know who you are, but you remind me of someone."

"Oh?"

"Yeah.
Her name was Olivia Suchet."

Olivia bit her tongue behind her closed mouth, upon hearing the name Suchet. It was like blood upon her lips.

"I woke up from some sort of trip-smacking up-clack-lack ... nightmare, just more over fifteen minutes earlier.

There was a boy there named Orpheus. I don't know-- I still don't know what he is, but it's clear that he isn't something natural to me. He kept talking about you, and these two other girls.

One I can't remember the name of, as if my nightmares censored it intentionally. I just-- I don't know."

"Oh.
Tell me about this Olivia, girl."

"Don't ask me! Damn. I just kept hearing the name. I could be wrong. You're the only girl who seems to know about my past life, you dig? The name though, it just ... fits. I don't have anything else to call a girl who knows so much about my past."

"This nightmare of yours ... said nothing?"

Olivia tried to hide the sudden drop in her voice.

"He did say a few things.
She was notoriously isolating -- maybe even cruel when first met. Cold. Always would play with some other boy. Ignore ignore. And-- and he would go jump offin' with comparisons to the other girl. He would call her sweet, and caring, and someone who wouldn't hurt a fly."

Olivia's heart sunk.

"Oh.Well, well. You think I'm cold and isolating, do you? Ahahaha!
This ... Olivia, she sounds like a useless, pretentious buffoon. I hate people like her, I should say.
Have you ever read Dickens? She sounds like Estelle. Estelle was a ridiculous, bigoted character at a similar age--"

"Yeah, yeah.
I don't know. Am I right to really go up and trust my screwed up perceptions of the past like that?
... I'll assume your word on you being the other girl for now."

"You said there were two others."

Cherno's lip quivered, and his eyes shot wide open.

"... Fuck. Right, I did.
There was Olivia Suchet. There was the nameless girl, and there was the third recurring name.
... Temperance Spike."

His face briefly lost its stony stare, melding into something malleable.
Temperance ... Spike?
Spike? Of the man who had his records in the red within the ILP server? That Spike? The one who had a worse record than her?

...

"A friend's in trouble, and-- and fuck, I'm doing it again. Ugh. I need to get out of here, quickly. Sorry--"

Cherno tried moving past Olivia, but she pushed out her hand and held him back, square in his chest.

"No.
Nonsense.
... I'm coming with you. I must."

She bit her lip.

 

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"Maddy! What are you even talking about! Just wait up a second, please! This camera is really heavy and..."

No. Nope. Nope. Nope. Madeline kept walking. She wasn't going to lose her mind here. It was too much, she just wanted to go...She frowned. She didn't know where she wanted to go. There was no where to go. Maybe to Quin's...She shuddered and shook the thought from her mind. Right now she only had to focus on getting away from Thomas. And so she ignored him, until...

Click.

Click.

Click.

Her footsteps ceased.
"Finally got a picture of you to keep for myself. A whole batch of them that can be uploaded in minutes unless you…Unless you stop, and talk to me damnit."

Silence.

Finally, she locked deep green eyes with his vivid blue and took a timid step closer.

"...Thomas? Are you...okay? I don't...understand."

Tears.

Aaaaaaaaaaaagh, this was a terrible thing. A terrible life. A terrible game. She shook her head and stepped towards the wall, throwing her frail arms around the boy, squeezing him closer to her and breaking down into a heavy sobs.

"I just don't...understand anything..."

 

Thomas couldn't believe it, she actually hugged him...was he dreaming? Who knew that this run down place would allow them to meet up again, and give him a hug to let him know he was actually thought about while he could have slept forever. His smile was wide and bright till his dimples showed as he held her like she was delicate before he went a head and applied more pressure. She was alive and seemingly well. This was one of the best things about living.

His reverie and sweet moment was ruin by his mother's call. His cheeks aflame as he dug into his pocket and noting it's caller he apologetically smiled and winced at the distraught voice on the other line. He pulled back from Madeline slowly and clearly regretfully as he mouthed a 'Sorry' to her before he calmed his mother down. Once her voice wasn't drilling into his ear he told her that he met a friend here by surprise and that they needed a ride. It took a bit of guilting but she agreed to be their ferryman. Thomas began to usher M towards the door whether she wanted to or not. Once outside in the crisp evening air, he asked if she even wanted that free ride home. He wouldn't take a no, but it felt rude to not ask. His gaze was every intently staring at her face and he clearly saw the quick frown that said home was a no go. "Let me get you a motel room for a few days. Till we find you a safe place to be." That she nodded to and with that, they were off.

He payed for it all and explained bits and pieces on the way, appealing to his mother's empathetic side and winning. She even gave him a twenty to give her. "Just take it, even if you don't need it. You're set up for two days here. But you can leave at any time. Maddy, call me for anything. Anything, and I will answer or appear like a genie. I'll be back tomorrow morning..." He took a deep breath and enveloped her in a warm embrace, he didn't know what else to do, but all other actions seemed to be too close. Or not close enough. But this close hug seemed just right.

He cleared his throat and listened to what she had to say before taking off his jacket and giving it to her. He then adjusted his camera nervously, tucked a strand of hair behind her right ear and hurried home. When he arrived home he tuned everyone out and feigned weakness and exhaustion, when they heard about how tired he was, they kept quiet about the strange blond he spent random money on. But for now, they simply let him sleep, which he did, as soon as his head hit the pillow.

 

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This motel was disgusting.

But he hugged her...

Madeline looked around the room for a moment before deciding not to think about it anymore. She wrapped her arms around herself and stepped to the bed, getting situated and curling up into a ball.

He hugged her back.

She would have to go home soon. She knew that.

But she had a feeling that there would be something there she didn't want to see...
Maybe Thomas would go with her?
Gently, she twisted into the blankets and smiled to herself, drifting off into sleep.

This really was a terrible thing.

 

Theodore asked about Rhia and marina cocked a brow in surprise. She pursed her lips. Why did he care? Marina opened smiled softly at him and began to describe Rhia from her memory. "Does that... mean something to you? Rhia was rather... unhelpful." She fell back in the seat and sighed, rubbing her forehead. "You do not have to call me Lady Marina, by the way. It is just something i say."

 

There had been quite a plethora of valuable information being given at this . . . meeting, but considering the situation, Kallisti didn't know how much of it she could use, and how much of it was . . . legitimate.

The boy named Theodore seemed particularly interested in Marina's mention of an entity named . . . Rhia, but she couldn't understand why. If Rhia was like Analynne and Crestatia . . . Well, Marina seemed to make it clear that she wasn't.

After hearing what Marina had to say on the matter, she quietly left the room and returned to her guest bedroom, slipping into sleep for the night.

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Kallisti had left the room and Harley saw no reason to stay either. It was kind of weird, all these people in one room, and no crazy disaster had happened. He was surprised. And wary.

The longer something didn't happen, the sooner something would, and more people would die for it. He wondered what interested Theo so much on Rhia, but didn't question it. Vanille, it seemed, was not all childish as she looked, and she would be a definite asset to Harley in the future. She was a slippery one, but he could handle her.

He said goodnight to Marina and the others, and then left the room to sleep.

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Vanille was glad that she had been paid attention to, because she definitely wanted to help. Even though she wanted to discuss more, it was getting late, and Harley and Quin had already left the room. That other girl, Olivia . . . and that yelling, how weird!

Tiredly, but happily, Vanille said good night to the others and mentioned that they should continue the meeting tomorrow, and then ran off to her shared room with Harley to already find him sleeping.

She giggled and hopped into bed herself, falling asleep not to long after.

 

"I..."

she had described her perfectly. Minus the...pointed ears and horns. Theodore frowned, but then thanked Marina genuinely and stood.

"I'm sorry. I have to...I'll...I." Agh. "I'll elaborate tomorrow morning. In private. I'm sorry but I have to excuse myself."

Theodore nodded towards the room in general and went up to his room, getting into bed and actually hoping to dream.

 

Before Ben could say anything to Olivia, a vaguely familiar voice's shout caused the girl to leave the room. He turned his head to Theodore when he reacted the mentioning of Rhia. What did he know about the demon girl? Ben was about to speak up, but the he realized how late it had already become. He silently dipped his head to the group and went off to his guest room.

 

Temperance sat on the kitchen floor in a pool of blood. Her body ached, her head throbbed, and her green eyes stared vacantly at the lifeless body. Her brown towel hung loosely over her stained crimson. He deserved it. It was his fault. She had to. There was no stopping it. Her hands shook violently and the knife rattled against the linoleum as she held it in her hand. Her knuckles were white from clutching it so hard. Her eyes drooped shut as she rested her head against the cupboard. A sharp pain ran through her waist and she winced in pain. Temperance's body slid to the floor as she fell asleep from exhaustion beside her father's corpse.

 

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xxxxxThe cold, night air. It felt -- refreshing? Crisp. It had been forever since Cherno had experienced this pure feeling -- standing on an open field, with only the wind and the mountains and the stars as his company. Oh, and some strange loose-headed girl. What a mood-killer. The mountain wind flowed through his hair, and he looked up towards the stars in the night sky, with the silver-haired girl grasping onto the sleeve of his coat. The stars, they seemed so cold and uncaring tonight. Was he overreacting? Probably. But the last time he let Temperance out of his conscious sight ...

He turned back to the weirdo girl with a dazed look.
Her face seemed like it was badly hiding a bout of stress and anger.

"... Yeah, okay, what's up with you. You look like you're constipated."

"You're still a big fool as you ever were, Cherno!
I can't-- I-- I just can't believe it.
Do you expect me to believe a story as wild as that?"

The girl puffed her cheeks and venomously looked up at the stars, crossing her arms. The mountain wind glided along her silvery strands of hair, giving her the impression of a ghost, or a moor spirit.

"Really! Really! I thought you would be more creative! How terrible of me to assume!"
"Aha! You! Winning big on the stock market, aaah--" She held out her arms for emphasis. "Okay! Of course! But commissioning some sort of monstrous state-of-the-art airship that can withstand all sorts of catastrophic effects-- what am I, twelve? Do you expect me to believe your little story? This is reality, not some sort of ... ri--ridiculous fancy airship pilot internet role play!"

Cherno groaned.

"Do you ever shut up?"

"Well then!" The girl turned away from Cherno. "Rude as before, rude as always. Some things really never do change. Insolence! Futile! And here I thought you never tired of my beaaaautiful soprano voice, hrm?" She turned back to face him with another cunning smile. What was this girl's problem? "I can even sing you a lullaby. Guaranteed to make you fall asleep from my angelic polyhymnia! Kukuku. Just ask that pitiable malchik boy.--"

"Look! This is the third fucking time you've mentioned how I haven't changed! I get the god damn point! You really are insufferable -- I have no idea how that crazy syringe guy can put up with you! Or anyone else! Ugh. Maybe you really are Olivia."

... Was she?

For a moment, the girl was silent, looking at Cherno with blank eyes. What was she thinking? Agh ... she certainly was a challenge to read.
"We should be getting a move on already. If you're telling the truth, show me this little airship of yours with mine own eyes. I don't see it yet, Mr. Plume."

Right, right. Hold your horses. Cherno walked further through the enormous field. The sea of dew-grass splayed and rolled around as the winds ruffled it, and it only took a few moments before he was able to find a nice, flat spot to place the sphere. He took it out of its pocket, rubbing his thumb against the cold metal, and dropped it on the ground.

Cherno quickly ran back to the girl's side, and waited.
Just a minute--

...

Bang.

The sphere exploded into fire, and then a rapidly-expanding cloud of smoke. A blackness that grew larger and larger, almost like a demon, before it seemed to take up much of the field itself. Cherno and the girl were just in the right position to not be caught in the immense cloud, but the winds soon dissipated the thickness, and what was left was Cherno's airship.

The Orpheus. Good as new.
Hopefully he could focus on this working as much as possible.
He turned to the girl--
Oh.

She looked frozen. In shock? In horror? What was that expression? Why was she so hard to read?
Cherno waved a hand in front of her, and she only blinked in amazement.

"You're alive, dandy-pandy," He said, closing his eyes. "Okay. This thing works on a relocation-dislocation system. We're gonna have to teleport there."

"I-- what--"

"Repeat after me. These are the-- the magic words to enter the ship ..."

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"You said that you knew where she could be?"

"I said that I knew where her father could be. Step up, Mr. Plume."

"Damn, woman! Stop fretting with the details already!"

"Righty, righty, I've had-- I've had enough of your insolence for one night."

Although Cherno's expression, as he sat at the controls of the ship, was a disgruntled mess, his heart felt lighter. Just a bit. The worry and despair continued to tie it down, but the small beads of hope lifting it up like a balloon struggled to move forward. It was refreshing, even with this girl. Oh, how tired he was. How late was it? He wanted to sleep. Just sleep, so badly. He could barely reply to the excitable girl anymore, either. He broke his gaze away from the wide windows in front of him, casting a view into a beautiful, star-struck night sky, and moved it towards the girl's face.

It seemed calm and collected. Cherno was surprised. Despite her previous bewilderment, she seemed perfectly at ease here. What was she? She seemed almost as intent as he was on this journey. What was she thinking, really?

She turned her eyes his way, and their eyes met.

"Oh!" The girl exclaimed, holding up a hand to her small mouth, her cheeks red with sly, playful delight. "Staring at my face secretly, hm? Shouldn't you be looking out the window, Mr. Plume? Or do you truly think my face is just as beautiful at the stars? Ohoho. ~"

"What? I-"

"My, my ... Mr. Plume, Mr. Plume! Such a tiger. I never knew the passionate fires burned within your heart. You should give malchik some lessons some time. And ask him to stare at my face as much as you do, maybe?. Ahahaha!"

Her light laugh bore a tinge of mild acidity. Cherno groaned again, and turned his head back to the window. For the duration of the trip, he tried not to look back at the strange girl again.

Her very appearance had tugged at something at the back of her mind. Could it be that he was-- he was simply trying to remember something? It was clear enough she had wander-daddled into his current life as a symbol of his past, just like how he was stuck in this time-travel repeat shenanigan. Cherno gripped the steering bars more tightly. Would he ever find out who she actually was? How much had she been lying to him?

... Though, he had to admit. For all of her faults, she made for strangely familiar company. Maybe not pleasant at first, but all of her quips were something to get used to, weren't they?

"There."

"Huh? What? There, what? You're pointing at a dark sky."

"There, Mr. Plume." The girl pointed at the window, and tapped one of the screens on the granite slab table she had been leaning on. One of the maps, right? Or was it one of the sensors? Ack, he couldn't remember right now. "Mr. Spike's home is generally below us. There are a few clearings that you can land this monster, so perhaps we should choose one that isn't so noticeable."

"I'm well aware of that, thanks, co-pilot."

"So distasteful!" The girl made a big show out of pretending to spit. "Of this ship? Well, I never! Do some of these people know that you have their vitality signals hooked up on screens? Out of the many changes you have gone through, Mr. Plume, I was never aware you would become a stalker."

Cherno furrowed his eyebrows and glanced back violently at the crazy stupid girl. She stuck his tongue out at him.

"I'll fold, Mr. Plume. I've bothered you enough for one night." She sighed, and turned away from him, resting her elbow on the granite counter, and her chin upon her hand as she dreamily stared at the stars behind the windows.

"But I have a request."

Cherno relaxed his tense muscles, and also turned away.
"... What. What is it."

"Do you recall when I asked you if I could sing you a lullaby?
I was not fibbing.
... Perhaps, even, it may help you remember."

x x x

 

​

The day went by and nothing really occurred for the silver haired teen. A day of absolutely nothing was not good, but he had no choice but to sleep.

​

What Casey heard made him realize just how little he knew about this game. The fact that he knew so little was unnerving and he feared that sooner or later he would die. There was nothing he could add to this conversation. Silently Casey headed upstairs and fell fast asleep.