TAKE ME TO THE MOON (End Game Investigation)

[whimsicalism]

[Friday arrives uneventfully. The fog is growing stronger, it's true, but nothing obvious has happened. It's probably a relief not to have Kakuya's presence or a monster breathing down your neck. That doesn't help the sense that something has changed. Not one but two areas have opened up. A large skyscraper now towers over everything in the east, it's large bulk casting shadows over the entire 'city'. In the west, a park surrounding a lake sprawls out; a solemn looking Japanese shrine sits on an island in the middle of the lake.

Two large new areas are open to you... it's a bit disorienting but you probably should spread out.]

((Welcome to the final investigation for the dead! It's entirely optional so don't feel pressured to join in. ICly, this will be happening at the same time as the living's investigation and trial. Something may happen near the end of the investigation not involving these locations so keep an eye out.))

Comments

MINGLE

[whimsicalism]

[Want to discuss who goes where ICly? Want to yellywag a bit before being dragged off? Here you go!]

[noblesnow]

[...]

There's no way we just didn't notice that building before, right?

SKYSCRAPER

[whimsicalism]

[This modern-ish building stands flashily among the rest of the buildings. It feels out of place even in the district it's in. It's an office building, with floors and floors of offices sprawling out. Yet something feels very off here. Why can you hear the song 'Jingle Bells'?

As an ooc note, only two people should explore this area.]

[britbrat]

[ Big fancy skyscraper to explore? Don't have to tell Valmont twice. When he becomes a highly successful illegitimate businessman, as he's destined to in the next twenty-five years, he's definitely going to operate out of a place like this one.

...Maybe without the Christmas music, though.

He's a little more subdued than usual as he looks around the lobby, keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary other than the musical tastes of whoever's in charge here. Maybe he's just bummed Jeanne's investigating elsewhere. ]

AREA CLEAR

[whimsicalism]

SKYSCRAPER ROOF

[whimsicalism]

[You can see the moon here. Hanging low, it's full and red. A memorial plaque is here engraved with so many names. This place feels wrong, somehow.

As an ooc note, only two people should explore this area.]

[noblesnow]

[Well, if there's one part of a skyscraper that stands out, it's the top, right?

...especially this one, apparently. Reika's not sure, but she thinks a memorial plaque might be a weird thing to find up here. Let's start by getting a closer look at that, shall we?]

AREA CLEAR

[whimsicalism]

PARK

[whimsicalism]

[In other circumstances, this area would be pleasant. Many walking paths lined with benches surround the lake. Informational plaques inform you about the area as you can see turtles walking along the path with you.

As an ooc note, only two people should explore this area.]

[canismajorcontrolfreak]

[So. The options are: tall place, very tall place, park, and place that has Jeanne exploring it.

Yeah, pretty much just one option for Dylan. He'll just be taking one of the paths, glancing at one of the turtles as he walks.]

Any chance you can talk?

[Not expecting an answer. Just wishful thinking being said aloud.]

AREA CLEAR

[whimsicalism]

SHRINE

[whimsicalism]

[There's a dock with a boat waiting. There's some oars, too, waiting in the boat. You feel something can be found in that shrine but you're not going to just swim out there. The water looks dark and forbidding, after all.

As an ooc note, only two people should explore this area.]

[romancing]

[ Koishi hops into the boat and will patiently wait for someone to come with her!! Let us explore, friends. ]

AREA CLEAR

[whimsicalism]

???

[whimsicalism]

[After some time as you ponder the things you've found, the familiar voice of Kakuya speaks up in your mind:

"You're... not needed... anymore. Leave."

What happens afterwards is quick. It's as if you black out for a brief moment as something invisible grabs you by the ruff of your neck. Before you can react, you blink and you're not where you were before. No town is around you, everyone from inside the mirror (Ao included) is standing besides you. Maybe you've been thrown under someone or bumped your head yet you seem rather unharmed. The room you're in is some kind of barracks with many beds and a dirty bathroom mirror is sitting in the middle of the room swirling with purple mist.

Yet, around you there's no purple tint. No fog rolling in. There's a door leading out. A strong scent of the sea is in the air. Wherever this is, it's not in kakuriyo.]

[noblesnow]

[...]

What???

[panglici]

Oh, fuck this right in the ear....

[Someone managed to avoid the pileup only to go sprawling and catch the back of her elbow at just the worst angle against one of those beds' frames.

She is still holding a slightly singed toy ape.]

[holyironmade]

...I regret observing that the water called me.

[She didn't have to row back but at what cost! She goes around the room looking for windows and eventually instead sees the mirror. What the heck.]

AREA...CLEAR?

[whimsicalism]

[To be continued.]

[bellabellabella]

[Edward is grabbed by the scruff and thrown down rather less elegantly than he is accustomed to, and promptly buried under several other people similarly dumped on top of him.

It actually results in an uncomfortable weight pressing down on him. Which is different, at least. He's not used to things feeling properly heavy. He carefully works to disentangle himself from anyone on top of him, and is furious by the time he finally makes it out.]

That little bitch.

[Which is really not a thing he says, but nothing else seems entirely appropriate anymore. Still, pushing himself up and looking around....

Well. This is different.]

[curdle]

[ HEY GUYS QUICK QUESTION VVHAT THE FUCK ]

[cellpreservation]

[He's just looking around with a surprised and maybe a little distressed? look. Uh... Hm.]

MEETING

[holyironmade]

[After her chat with Edward, might as well turn back to the more neutral territory of the initial barracks. She thought doing it on top of the rooftop would be more dramatic but some of us are yet more dramatic vampires. So she just picks up a plain blanket off one of the beds and spreads it out across the floor.]

We know not the hour of our deaths, but let us face it carrying the weapon of knowledge.

I will share mine and then leave you all be as you wish.

[noblesnow]

There was a plaque on the roof of the skyscraper, dedicated to the victims of the Momoi Department Store fire. [She shows her list of the names.] The name Masaru Ishimaru had been vandalized somewhat, though it was still legible. There was also a Momotaro Okayama who'd had the name Tomoko scratched in by hand nearby. Based on a drawing I found that had been left as an offering, I believe Tomoko must have been Momotaro's mother.

There was also part of what seems to have been another book by Yakumo Miroku, about someone being trapped in Kakuriyo by an evil spirit. [She hopes she doesn't have to explain the relevance.] It suggested that, by putting a mirror next to the one containing the spirit, the worlds can be connected and those trapped can be freed.

I don't know that that's relevant anymore, but there is a suitable mirror in the bathroom.

AS THE FINAL CONFRONTATION IS COMING TO A HEAD...

[whimsicalism]

[You see the mirror here begin to vibrate wildly. You feel like something big is happening. Whatever it is, someone is trapped just like you were.

Get ready.]

[cellpreservation]

[Uhhh. Checking that out.]

Guys? The mirror!