BETRAYAL AT THE HOUSE ON THE GAME TOWER - END

[idolpro]

Who: Traitors and Survivors, Exael
Where: The Game Tower, and leaving it
When: Day 25, morning-- it appears that game lasted the bulk of day 24 into the night.

[ Abruptly, the nightmare ends.

You, in the rooms you kept restarting in, awoke. Before you can even panic, before even despair, the elevator doors were open in front of you to take you downstairs again. It could be a trap, sure, but your head is quiet— those fucking ghosts are gone. You also appear to be wet like someone dumped, perhaps, a bucket of holy water on you while you were asleep. All your wounds are gone, and you have been left bereft of any physical damage from your ordeal.

Unless you choose to take some with you. Nothing prevents you from taking any of your spoils downstairs with you, if you wish it, though all revolvers will have no ammo.

On the screens as you descend back to the lobby, Exael is clapping on screen, broadcast showing her in the mansion's entrance hall. "And so close the gates to this forbidden garden, and so closes this chapter of our story! Just as—" her hologram flickers as she doesn't seem to notice, chattering still to the cameras, "so too will—" fzzt, fzzt. Static, flickering, and then back into focus, "So give them all a hand! Everyone, you've done well! You stand before us still, ready to present us all with more marvels after having survived such grisly wonders with—" "—in the balance!"

As she speaks, she doesn't notice a figure approaching behind her. He's in a slick suit with both hands in his pockets, and you've seen him before— his portrait is in the foyer. His shoes are utterly silent as he walks across the marble floor, till he's right at her back.

"Audience and actors alike, we've been blessed with—" Her hologram doesn't flicker this time, but she stops speaking. Her eyebrows furrow as she tries to figure out what's amiss, and only belatedly begins to slowly look over her shoulder.

"Exael," he says with a friendly hand on her solidifying hologram shoulder, the effect spreading beneath his touch, "We need to have a chat about your requisitions paperwork."

She tilts her head, eyes wide with a finger tapping against her cheek as she thinks, "I didn't do any!"

"Yes," he agrees, smiling with all his teeth. "I know."

The broadcast cuts. The doors open to let you leave. ]

Comments

[fiberoptic]

[Wire very calmly walks out, silent - with only his shaking hands betraying how stricken he was inside. Surveying the chaos, just...

just looking for his kids.]

[bluemoonlight]

[your quiet son is in a bit of shock, and might also be crying a little.]

[fiberoptic]

[GOING TO YOU, QUIET SON. As gently as he can, puts a hand on his shoulder to rouse him from the shock. There's no point in asking if he's okay, so...]

...Abi. We should go back to dorm.

[bluemoonlight]

[He does come out of his daze a bit and focus on Wire.]

Wire....? I’m sorry...

[which, is not actually a response to the suggestion to go back to the dorm. He’s actually sort of focused on the last time he saw Wire, which was during the Mexican standoff that he caused. And he just blames himself so much, he’s so sorry.]

[fiberoptic]

Don't worry about that right now. Come on.

[He doesn't blame Abi, it was the last thing on his mind. But rationally he knew convincing him of that wouldn't be so easy.

With a little urging, he tries to direct Abi to take a step toward the dorms. Just start slow and work your way up to walking.]

[bluemoonlight]

[Ok, well, Abi is willing to follow Dad's direction. Even if he has done bad things he would still like to be a good boy, so he does what Wire asks him to do, heading toward the dorm.]

[fiberoptic]

[He's gonna walk you back to the dorm holding your hand the whole way. If it feels a bit odd, considering that Abi's more than old enough and already Nathan's height, well... fuck it. To Nathan, he felt just as much his kid as any of the rest.

A kid. He really was just a kid.]

[bluemoonlight]

[He's just glad that Wire doesn't seem angry at him, honestly. And this is nice and comforting so he's not going to object. He heads toward the dorm quietly.

Though he does speak eventually.]

Have you seen Spidey?

[Like he has, himself, seen Hurricane, Mori and Hiryuu, but he knows Spidey was there and he has no idea what happened to him.]

[dragonheartedgirl]

[ Your red-headed problem child can be found probably close to Abi, Raijuu, and some other man he probably barely recognizes from Taisho. She's in a FUCKING WEDDING DRESS, of all things, and the front of it is just. awash of blood so like, guess what happened at least one more time?

she's crying a lot but at least she's not alone? ]

[fiberoptic]

[Even if there's already a big hurt/comfort pile of dragons, the moment Nathan sees Hiryuu, it's

he has to be there. He has to be there to make sure she's real and alive and to remember what it felt like to hold her in his arms while she was still warm and breathing.

Without hesitation he's hugging her. Maybe even a little too tightly, but. He's sorry. He's sorry.]

[dragonheartedgirl]

[ but are you a hundred years mirror sorry? Because that's about how long she's had to dwell on how the things she's done have hurt him, and how much she missed him, and all the things she wished she had done differently. All the things she would do differently if she only got out of that mirror.

She feels Nathan's shadow over her moments before she feels his arms themselves around her, and although she's not really extricating herself from the pile of people she's been holding onto, she does at least let go with one arm so that she can bring him in, force him into the warm and teary pile up hug. ]

Nathan. Nathan, I'm so sorry.

[fiberoptic]

[Nothing else mattered, not the arguments, not their differences or the missteps in communication. Just that she was here and alive and he had do be better. He had to be better so something like this never happened to them again.

Softly, his voice was a whisper against her hair as he held her close.]

No, I'm sorry.

You're safe now. You're going to be okay.

[dragonheartedgirl]

[ She buries her head against his shoulder. ]

You too. You're also going to be fine.

[ And she--is going to endeavor to be a better, kinder, more understanding daughter. ]

[fiberoptic]

[It was a hell of a way to mend relations.]

I... [He swallowed hard.] I will.

Things are going to be better. We'll be better.

[dragonheartedgirl]

[ Well, they say that the only way to keep a forest healthy is to occasionally clear it with a good ol' fire, ]

I know.

[crossmyheartandhope]

[He probably hasn't gotten very far yet.]

[He looks really dazed, and most of his clothes are covered in dried blood. He's missing one of his gloves.]

[fiberoptic]

[He didn't even see Hurricane in the house and somehow that makes him feel worse, but. Swallow that feeling. Shove it away because there are things that need doing right now.

Nathan carefully holds him by the shoulders to try and get his attention.]

Hey. Hurricane... we should go.

[crossmyheartandhope]

...go...?

[His voice is barely there, hoarse like he hasn't been using it - or like he's been screaming.]

[His eyes track down toward the point of contact, and he stares, blankly, at Nathan's hands on his shoulders.]

[fiberoptic]

[Jesus Christ. Okay... he's going to take Hurricane by the hand, try to lead him into taking a step.]

Can you walk...?

[ferociousfuckingnerd]

[Mori is shaken, his back is soaked with blood and his clothes are torn, but at least he's not as absolutely broken as all your other kids, actively heading towards dad when he spots him.]

Nathan-san...

[fiberoptic]

[Oh thank god one of you is still lucid. Nathan quickly goes to Mori and looks him over, puts his hands firmly on his shoulders.]

Mori. Are you okay?

[Maybe there was a chance this one wasn't horribly traumatized?]

[ferociousfuckingnerd]

[He wants to curl up into a ball and cry for 100 years but he is forcing himself to cope. Only SOME tears in his eyes. When Nathan puts his hands on his shoulders he reaches up to cling to them, gripping tight and nodding.]

'M okay - I'm okay. I'm not hurt, it's o-over, I'm okay. Did you - are you?

[fiberoptic]

[The only blood on him is on the front of his shirt, though it looks less like he was wounded and more like someone bled on him.

He crouches down to Mori's level, looking him in the eye.]

I'm... fine.

Tell me what happened.

[ferociousfuckingnerd]

...I wasn't there for long...

[fiberoptic]

[That didn't matter, what happened to Mori was just as important to him.]

Your back's covered in blood... [How many backstabs would it take to do that?]