[A: 6 C: 110] - King
(Ramos) [Alex] {Nihil} <Altiare> |Jasmine|
{Refoulement was glaring at you. It had been glaring at you ever since Mirabelle arrived. You, as is polite, looked back. You did not understand this strange communication. It was appreciated. Mirabelle was resting, leaning against Isabeau who was doing the same. You sat next to Isabeau. Refoulement clung to Mirabelle's side. Odile and Antoine talked a few feet away. You sat here. Unmoving.}
{. . .}
|Y-you, you okay?|
{You were surprised. You are here, little one?}
|Yeah, uhm’ k-kinda blurry, ‘n dizzy. Like when it rains super hard.|
{Yes. Darkness is abundant. I will try to ease off front.}
|N-nono you don’t gotta force it uhm, j-just, worried. . .|
{Worried. . . ?}
|’Bout you. . .|
{. . . I will be alright. Have more worry, for yourself. Walking, soothes over time, as if the sands take it in.}
|Like dirt with water? Or a sponge with, uhm, water?|
{. . . Yes. The flood is over, now, a stream. It will, ebb, and flow, again.}
“WHAT.” {Refoulement finally addresses you.} “ARE, YOU.”
{Nihil. Sadness. As you are. But different. We are, one at a time. You and Mirabelle, two for one. Why?}
“NON ANSWER.” {Refoulement growls quietly.} “I, STAGNATION, SELFISHNESS, REGRET. YOU?”
{Nothing. Nihilism. Nihil. Ramos’ fear of being a nobody. Alex’s fear of being forgotten. Jasmine’s fear of being ignored. Altiare's fear of being normal. Others fear, too. Others. Too far, too buried. Answer?}
“. . . UNSURE.” {It settled over Mirabelle protectively.} “I, PROTECT, ADVISE, NORMALLY DISTANT. NOW, ALIVE.”
|Maybe ‘Belle doesn't have, uhm, brain rules? Like us?|
{True. Our mind, governed by different rules. Mira’s mind, not as solid. Fluid. Abstract. More open to making up rules? If you tied more to her mind, more limited by rules. Strange?}
“. . . VERY.” {It keeps looking at you.} “. . . . . . . WHAT. WOULD YOU WANT. TO BE.”
{. . . ?}
“MIRABELLE ASKS. LONG AGO.” {Refoulement is starting to relax.} “I HAVE, NO ANSWER. YOU?”
{. . . You. . .}
{You. . . Would like to be a bug. Or, you would like to make a well, and live in it. You. . .}
|C’mon, what if you had your own body with your own hands and feet and stuff!!|
{. . . . . . . Protect.}
“. . . PROTECT?”
{Protect. Stand guard. Vigilant. A statue amongst homes. Weapon ready. Stone, unmoving, yet ready to protect. To lash out, dark on dark, to return to stone. . . . To see the world go by. . . To feel loved. Not as a person. As.. A statue. As, me.}
|Watchin’ kids grow up ‘n stuff?|
{. . .Yes.}
“. . .” {Refoulement made a sound between a grumble and a purr, and settled down properly.} “BE GENTLE, WITH, HUMANS. DELICATE. EMOTIONAL. BREAKABLE.”
{You know this. You remember. Remember Ramos, struggling against the void. Drowning, yet defiant. . . You feel, stronger, yes?}
“YES.” {It lazily stabs the sand and starts stirring it.} “DESPAIR. VERY PREVILANT. HOPE, EVEN STRONGER. DARKNESS. . .”
|There’s a lotta scared people out there. Even if they’re stuck someplace, or are just dreaming or something? But I bet they’re scared like us. . . Scared and stuck. . . You don’t like it. Shuddering. You wanna go home. . .|
{. . . . . . . . There, there. You shuffle slightly. Come. Safety, now. Here.}
|You sit down in Nihil's lap and hide your face in th’ cloak.| “‘M scared. . . .”
“. . . THE WORLD, PEOPLE. SEEKING, A SAVIOR.” {Refoulement was trying to talk more quietly.} “WISHES, FOR CHANGE. TO STOP THIS ENDLESS, DREAM.”
{. . . And that, we will do.}
>>>
{You lead the pack, vigilant. Your steps may sink into the sand, but you keep moving. Doubt. Dread. Darkness. You do not let it get to you. No. In fact, you feel calm. Calm enough to co-front with Jasmine, who is behind you, holding Mirabelle’s hand. This is good. You are all making good pace.}
“Okay, new question.” {Isabeau ponders aloud.} “Why does Nihil look different from what we fought back in Jouvente?”
{. . .}
|Uhm, that is a good question. . . Is that okay, Nihil?|
{Yes. It is. You do not know why, however.}
“Dunno.” |You reply, still trotting along.| “Nihil doesn’t know either.”
“It’s a valid question. . .” {Mirabelle thinks.} “Refoulement never really changed, a-and neither did Mal du Pays, right?”
“Yeah! Well, kinda.” {Isabeau shrugged.} “Its look in Sifs head changed to have a veil and flowers.”
“The same veil you made it?” {Odile raises an eyebrow.} “Interesting.”
“U-UH- W-well-” {He clears his throat.} “I uh, don’t remember which came first. Me making the veil or it looking like that in headspace.”
“Heh, so Schrödinger’s veil.” {Antoine chuckles.} “Well, y’said all of this is based off of perception and such, right? How things look in the head?”
“In essence, yes.” {Odile nods.} “Mal du Pays is a being of self hatred and homesickness, and was described as an inversion of Siffrin that, over time, changed to also wear a veil and flowers. With its dark cloak, it almost looks like it’s in mourning.”
“Mourning?” {Isabeau, soft tone.} “For. . .”
“Home, I imagine.”
“R-right. . .”
“. . . Whata’ bout Foul?” |You look up at Mira and the sadness over her shoulder.| “Doesn’t look very different?”
“That is the point, I imagine.” |’Dile nods.| “Since Refoulement is-”
“U-uhm!!” |Mirabelle’s interrupting, waving her free hand.| “I’d like to!! Not!! Talk about that right now!!”
“Ah, yes.” {Odile clears her throat.} “I apologize, I do not want to expose your personal. . .”
“Things?”
“Yes, things.”
“T-thank you madame.” |Mira slouches over a bit.| “S-sorry I just! I didn’t mean to interrupt and stop you it’s just I’m already going through a lot and--”
“Hey!!” |You reach up and bonk Mira.| “Stop ‘at!! You’re being silly!!”
“Listen to the deer, Mira.” |Isa’s grinning. You’re a deer! :D!| “They know what’s up.”
“R-right! Right. I’m s-” |She stops herself and tries again.| “Thank you, Jasmine. Hehe.”
“Hehehe!!” |:D!!!!|
{Odile cleared her throat.} “I would like to continue our discussion. We still don’t know why Nihil looks like this.”
“. . . Well.” {Isabeau takes a patient breath.} “Ramos. . . They said that, the reason they did all that was because they wanted to be strong. Or uh, they. . . Wanted to be like me, kinda.”
“Didn’t y’all fight Ramos for a bit?” {Antoine finally speaks up from his place solidly in the middle of your marching order.} “Looking like the bad guy and all?”
“Y-yeah, it shocked me pretty bad.”
“Hm, maybe that’s it.” {They punch Isa in the shoulder.} “Maybe they were scared of bein’ the bad guy of your story.”
|. . .|
{. . . This. Is true.}
“Huh?” {Mira and the others looked up at you.} “Did, you realize something?”
{Yes. Ramos had fear, fear of becoming nothing. Then they met Percival, made deal. With the change, Fear changed. Fear, fear of being seen as a villain. Using craft to look good. Afraid of being found out. Of being persecuted. Fear of losing friends. . .}
“. . . Crab.” {Isabeau grumbled.} “And then I talked to Ramos, and that just fed that fear more. But then Sif came out looking the way he did, and combined with what Perci was doing. . .”
{A sadness, changed. I was different, for a time. I am different now. In time, as Ramos changes, I may, again.}
“. . .”
“. . .”
“. . .”
“. . .”
“. . . I wanna go home.” |You tug on Mira’s arm.|
“. . . We’ll get there, Jasmine.” |She pats your head.| “Promise.”
>>>
“Sweet Change in a candyshop, what th’ crab happened here?!”
{Antoine’s exclamations were well deserved. After hours of walking, you had finally reached the edge of the desert. An ocean spreads itself before you. To the left, to the right, it stretched, endless. Ahead of you, about a kilometer away, a dais sat at the edge of the water. There was someone sitting alone on it. A dock stretched out from the dais.}
{Between you and the dais, lay a sadness. A dead sadness. Larger than any of the leviathans you had seen before. It was cleft in twain. You could still see tears, blood, leaking from it. A fresh kill. Something had come through here. Like a storm. A squall.}
“What kind of strength could have. . .” {Odile started, but-} (Boniface, what did you do?)
“. . . Whatever it was, let’s get going before it comes back.” {Isabeau started off towards-} (Gotta find Bonnie.)
{. . .}
{Scatterbrain. You join Isabeau and swiftly head towards the dais.}
(Hello? Hello??)
{?!?}
{Oh. Ramos. You are back.}
(Woahg- w-what? What just, w-wwhy am I suddenly here what happened?!?)
{Nothing. Whims of the mind. That alone is reason.}
(R-right. You transition from sliding on the sands to jogging alongside Isabeau.) “Hey Izza!”
“!!!” (Isabeau spun around and scooped you up into a hug.) “BUDDY! You doin’ okay??”
“B-better- ack!!”
“Sorry! Sorry!” (He puts you down.) “I-I’ve just been so worried, y’know? Since, Nihil took front right after, a-after the bridge so I thought maybe something was wrong, or. . .”
“I’m fine, Isa.” (You sigh, softly) “Nihil’s just, frontstuck. I think.”
“Do you ever wait for anyone or anything?” {Odile curses as she stumbles from the sand dune.} “Have you considered this could be another trap? Or that sadnesses could consider this corpse something like a whalefall!?”
“U-uh.” {Isa sinks down into his coat.} “I mean, yesn’t? I-if it is a whalefall then sadness would be everywhere! So waiting would just give sadness more time to find it and crowd up the place.”
“And if it’s a trap?”
“Uh, we can take em?” {Fighter puffed out his chest.} “C’mon, if it was a trap, we’d be attacked already!”
(You wait for the dramatic timing for a surprise attack to pass.)
{No trap. You grab Isabeau's hand and continue towards the dais.}
“Ah-?!”
“Ha!”
“Hehe, cute.” (Mira moves up next to you as you walk.) “Y'know? Nihil reminds me of Mal in some ways.”
“Huh?” (You tilt your head.) “What’dya mean?”
{No.}
“I mean it just grabs Isa and drags him off!!” {She giggles, then gasps.} “Maybe Isabeau’s a sadness tamer!”
{. . .}
“Heh, you might be right.” (You lean close to Mira.) “I’ve caught it hanging around close to Isa when in front.”
“No way!!” (She squealed back.) “That’s so cute. . .”
“New issue guys!” {Isabeau called to the rest of the party. You had both made it to the edge of the dais.} “Something’s blocking the way!”
“What?” {Odile squinted, and walked towards you a bit faster}
“I don’t see anything.” {Mirabelle furrowed her brow.} “Oh is it, invisible?”
{You nod. Then punch towards the dais. Your hand strikes against an invisible wall.}
“OW-!” (You flinch and clench your hand.) “Hey!!”
“Oh you’ll be fine, you’re young.” (Odile brushes you off and steps up, placing a hand on the invisible wall.) “Interesting. . .”
“This place really has everything huh.” {Antoine laughs to themself and steps up.} “Giant sadness, light and dark all over the place, now an invisible wall? Wild. . .”
“It is a form of dreamscape, after all.” {Odile replies.} “Or mindscape. I doubt the differentiation matters much now.”
“Heh, maybe if it’s an invisible wall, maybe there’s an invisible fella talking on the other invisible side.” {Antoine leans forward and presses an ear towards the wall.}
(Maybe it’s. . .) (. . . You turn to Isabeau, and open your mouth to say something.)
“WHATTHE-”
(There’s a yelp, and a crash, and a gasp. When you turn back around ready to see what new kind of hell’s shown up, you instead see Antoine. They were laying face down on the dais, almost like they fell forwards.)
“A-ANTOINE?!?”
“Are you okay?!?”
“‘COURSE I’M NOT!” {They scrabbled to an upright sitting position.} “Fell flat on my face!! Invisible wall my crabbing ass!!”
“That’s weird. Hmm. . .” {Isabeau scrunches his face up, and copies what Antoine did. He came in contact with the wall.} “Yeah, thought not.”
“Worth a try?” {Mirabelle reached up to start chewing fingernails. But she stopped.} “How did you even do that?!?”
“No clue!” {Antoine chuckled nervously, then looked behind him to the figure still sitting at the far end of the dais.} “I’d really like t’not be here alone, though.”
“Wait.” (Odile puts a hand to her forehead, smiling, yet shaking her head.) “Gems I swear- Antoine, please step back here for a moment.”
“Aight?” {He does so. Easily.}
“Please take my hand and lead me onto the dais.”
“Ooo-kay then!”
“Oooooohhh.” (You nod, understanding.) “One of those things.”
“Smart Odile, off being smart yet again.” (Isa chuckles, arms crossed.)
{Antoine takes Odiles hand. The two walk onto the dais unimpeded.}
“Wow!!” (Mirabelle shook her hands excitedly.) “So it’s another barrier that only some can see!”
“Hiroshi, Eden, Antoine. A friendly acquaintance, a close friend, and a partner.” (Isa holds out a hand for Antoine.) “Deffinately not a coincidence.”
“Won’t look a gift horse in the mouth though!” {Antoine chuckles. They help Isabeau through. Then Mirabelle. He holds a hand out to you, and pauses.} “. . . Which one a’ you is coming through?”
“They are.” (You point to Nihil.)
{You hold out a hand.}
“Alrighty!” {They take your hand, and pull y-}(-ou througHOAUGHGHASDNFGSAND--)
(O-OKAY. REAL DIZZY NOW! HOKAY- S-STARS!!! You stumble and fall flat on your face as Antoine pulls you through oooohh Change your headhurts- n-nnooo nothurts just dizzy and- hhauwah. . . Ha. . . Ha. . .)
(It. . . It felt like you were drowning, miles, miles down, with pressure threatening to explode your lungs, and then, suddenly, you’re near the surface of the water. Y-your lungs aren’t gonna explode anymore but you still! Can’t Breathe!!!)
“Ramos?!?” [That doesn’t make any blinding sense! Oh Isabeau’s talking to us.] “Hey buddy! Y-you alive?!”
(Haha, y-yeah, you know. You get up on one knee.) “Y-yeah. Just, sudden switch.” (Nihil? Are you still here?)
{. . . Yes.}
(What just happened?!)
{. . . I feel calm.}
(Huh?! Nihil what does that- o-oh! Okay! Alright bye then! Change. . . Oh, Isabeau’s holding a hand out for you. You take it.) “O-okay. Okay. All good.”
“You sure?” (Isabeau shuffles uncomfortably.) “If something’s wrong, then. . .”
“No no, I’m fine. Promise.” (Phew. You sit up straight, shake your head, and pat Isa on the shoulder.) “Just a dizzy spell.”
“If, you’re sure!” (Isabeau smiles softly, but he’s worried.)
“Maybe y’need more iron in your diet, kid.” (Antoine leans on his cane.)
“Har har.” (You roll your eyes and brush yourself off from Isa.) “Come on, I don’t wanna linger.”
(Walking forward, Odile was waiting patiently with her hands behind her back. A few meters behind her, Mirabelle was slowly walking towards the figure on the far side of the dais. She was standing up straight, and had her shoulders squared. Oh she’s in SERIOUS mode.)
“Everything alright?” (Antoine asks Odile as you all catch up with Mira.) “She looks none too happy about something.”
“I am not sure. Mirabelle was staring at that figure, and then started storming towards it.” (Odile huffed.) “She must recognise who it is.”
“Huh? Really?” (Isabeau squinted at the figure.) “From all the way over here?”
“Let’s catch up.” (You pick up the pace.)
[Y’know this dais looks like a great place to fight someone.]
(Not helping, Alex!)
[I mean come on! This place is all about thematics and interpretation.]
(But this is too obvious! It’s too clearly a place to fight! You catch up to Mira and put a hand on her arm.) “Everything okay?
<Are you trying to double bluff the rules? Mira jumps and turns to you.> “Ramos! C-crab you scared me-! N-no! I mean yes! I mean-”
“Just breathe, it’s okay.” (Don’t point it OUT, Altiare!) “With me?”
“O-okay, okay.” (She takes a deep breath in. . . And out. . .) “Okay! I’m okay!”
“Good.” <You punch Mira’s shoulder.> “Now, you know who that is?”
“Hello to you too, Altiare.” <Isabeau puts an arm around you.> “Wanna wait for the rest of us to catch up?”
(Mira giggles, but she was constantly side-eyeing the stranger.) “I, I dunno. He, I know him! I-I just. . .”
{DENIAL.}
(Huh?!? Foul?! Denial? Odile raises an eyebrow.) “He?”
<It means she's in denial.> “. . . Let’s go see who he is, then.”
(You lead the charge. Antoine and Odile keep a step behind you, as Mirabelle and Isabeau march alongside you. That stranger still wasn’t moving, even after all the noise you made earlier.)
(Mirabelle’s tense. She puts a hand on your shoulder as she takes point, walking confidently up to the stranger. Getting closer, you could make out details. Flowing white hair, heavy and dark-tinted armor, a crown. . .)
<Shit.>
(?!?!? Wha?! What's wrong?! Isabeau sharply inhales, Odile quietly gasps. Altiare?!?)
“Excuse me.” (Mirabelle clears her throat; her voice with a splash of. . . Authority?!?) “What are you doing here?”
<You can feel the hairs raise on the back of your hand, the tingles on Isabeau's neck, phantom pain acting up in Antoine’s leg. For a second, the stranger didn’t even react, as if he was deaf to the world. But just another two seconds later, he came to life, straightened himself, and slowly turned to face you all.>
“. . . .”
<Between the weavings of white, silky hair, you could barely make out his face, a face sullen to the world as if this sand had personally wounded him. He had eye-bags, and sleepless, bloodshot eyes to go with them. He looked pathetic, but also. . .>
“. . . . Oh. . . Saviors. . .” (The voice shot ice cold water right into your veins.) “Housemaiden. . . . . Are you. . . Real. . ?”
(Isabeau stepped in front of you, and you could feel Odile storing energy for a craft skill. Yet Mirabelle stood defiantly against the King, even when fear was dragging your heart back to void.) “Yes. I’m here and I’m real. Now please answer my question.”
“Oh. . . You. . .” <The King, neither looking as he once did as a tyrant nor how he was frozen, reached a hand towards Mirabelle. Refoulement jumped from over Mirabelle's shoulder after only a few inches and swiped at his hand. He slowly retrieved the limb and stared at it.> “. . . Ha. . . Ha. . . Y-you are real. . . .”
<The King collapses in front of Mirabelle, sobbing. His forehead against stone in a way that almost looked like a bow. Mirabelle steps back, shocked.> “W-what-?!”
“Please. . . Oooh Housemaiden please. . . Take me back. Take me back home. Take me home, I beg of you, please. . .” (He was sobbing even harder, and choked on his words.) “I. . . I know not what you did, but please. . . My dream. . . My home. . . I could finally see it. . . But, it was stolen from me! Now I am here with that place at the edge of my mind, please, please Housemaiden! Help me go back!!”
“What in void. . ?” (Your voice is a whisper as you stare, shocked, at the once-tyrant.) “Izza? Was he. . . Like this, before?”
“No.” (Isabeau’s voice, by contrast, was very controlled.) “No he wasn’t. If anything, he was. . .”
“He was a man of absolute, ruthless determination.” (Odile’s voice is one-tone and cold.) “Devotion to his cause, unwavering in will; an immovable object even to a time-looping unstoppable force.”
“I-I, I don’t. . .” <Mirabelle was at a loss.> “D-do you mean when I, I-I. . .”
“Yes, yes. . ! Please, I beg of you, send me back, please!” <The King pleaded.> “All I wish. . . Is to sleep once again. . . And dream of home. . .”
“That’s really him?” (Antoine sounded skeptacle, and even walked over next to Mira.) “. . . Well, miss?”
“I. . . I can try.” (She breathes in and out.) “The craft that froze you was your own, reflected back. B-but. . .”
<The King looked up at her, begging, clearly a question left waiting on his tongue.>
“. . . I-I can do it. I-it’s a long story but, I can. J-just. . .” <She looks up to Antoine, then the rest of you, for support.> “. . . Are you sure that’s what you want?”
“Oh. . . Oh Housemaiden of Change. . .” <There was almost a smile on his face.> “I have wished. . . For nothing more. . . I would trade my whole life for a chance to remember, please. .”
<Mirabelle looked down, then grabbed the frozen tear around her neck.> “Alright. I’ll do it.”
<Antoine takes a step back as Mira grasps the tear in both hands, breathed, and used [Soothing Restful Song]. A shade-negative disk of change gently floated into the begging figure at her feet, and a moment later, he was frozen once again. You don’t know if you should feel sorry for the guy or not. . .>
(Alex, you there? You feel okay?)
[. . .]
<Leave ‘em. She’s probably just thinking about- >
(An echoing, radiant, pain fueled scream echoed through your body, soul, ears, heart, and mind. You saw it, you tasted it, you smelled it! It saturated every single part of your ego! It tasted like fried mint leaves, hurt like defiant mourning. Forcing your eyes open, you could see the sun upon the distant tower burning bright in rage!)
<Burnt sugar! You grit your teeth, pull Mirabelle back just in case, that-- P-perci you undercooked piss stain!!!>
(The waves pass, and you start to blink the light out of your eyes. . . Change. . . Everyone looked okay, t-that’s good. But, crab. . . The King, he wasn’t frozen anymore. He was lying on his side, back to you, silently sobbing to himself.)
“Ah crabin’ hell. . .” <Antoine groaned, either feeling pain for themself, or sympathy for the king.> “What was that?”
“Perci.” <You reply, gritting your teeth and sitting on the stone dais.> “Don’t think he liked that very much.”
“‘Aight, but why?!”
“. . . If I were to guess. . .” <Madame sighed, looking away from the sobbing man.> “Percival is looking for any way he could remember. . . Whatever it was he lost. He likely wants to keep the King around so he can poke in his mind.”
“O-oh. . .” (Mirabelle nearly started biting her nails, before fiddling with them instead.) “. . . I-I, I don’t know what to do. . .”
“Yeah. I dunno if there’s much we can do, huh. . .” (Isa rubbed his temples.) “Would he still be unfrozen if everything goes back to normal?”
“O-oh, uhm. . .” (Mirabelle looks down at the King, before kneeling down and, very hesitantly, putting a hand on his shoulder.) “. . . We’re going to fix this, okay? A-and once we’ll do, I’ll. . . I-I’ll come back a-and. . . Uhm. . . Y-you know. . .”
(The King mumbled something in response that took you a second to register. It was “Thank you”. Crabbing stars. . . Why do you, almost feel bad for him?)
<Don’t lower your guard. Don't you remember what they told you about him from Siffrin's little trip through time?>
(O-oh yeah, I do. You pat Isa on the back.) “Guess. . . Maybe we should get going?”
“One moment, Ramos.” (Odile steps up, a glare armed and ready on her face.) “I have a question for him.”
“Be gentle with him m’dame.” (Antoine sat down next to the King.) “Got bigger baddies than th’ King right now.”
“I am well aware.” (An eye twitch, ah, Odile was holding back some Words.) “King. Have you seen anyone, or anything, pass this way?”
“. . . Oh. . . Yes. A few.” (The King takes a shaky breath, still not turning around.) “All small groups. . . Each took a boat. . . Oh. . . And many dressed similarly.”
“Similarly?”
“I. . . Oh, I do not remember.” (He sobbed again.) “But. . . There was one who was. . . Was. . .”
“Go on, we don’t have all day.”
“. . . It killed the sadness you passed to get here, and moved like. . .” (It took him a minute to get the right word.) “. . . Like a searing, lightless lightning that left that strange shade in its wake. . .”
“. . .” (Odile pondered this as Mirabelle got up.) “. . . Where was it heading?”
“Across the water.” (The King’s sobbing was dying down now, at least.) “Like all the others. . .”
“Thank you, that is all.” (Odile rubbed her temple and wordlessly headed for the docks.)
“Finally.” <You let out a sigh of relief.> “C’mon, let’s go.”
“Y’all go on without me.” <Antoine makes himself comfortable next to the King.> “I’ll keep him company until y’all save the day again.”
“Huh?!” <You could taste the confusion from Mirabelle.> “A-are you sure?! What if you’re attacked?!”
“Or if we need your help again.” <Isa adds.>
“Eh, I’ll be fine.” (Antoine waves his cane at you all.) “‘N if you need my help with somethin’ just come back and get me.”
“That’s very shortsighted and optimistic.” <You shake your head.> “A thousand things could go wrong, you’re going all in on double-zero’s, buddy.”
“It uh, might be fine actually.” (You counter.) “Antoine already helped us get here, so we should be on the same, uh, level of access?”
“You don’t know that for certain.” <You scowl at Ramos.> “And what, you’d bet everyones lives on that?”
“No they’re right.” (THANK you Mirabelle!) “We’ll find a way. Just take care of yourself, okay? Please?”
“Promise.” (Antoine waves at you, smiling.) “Hopelfuly next time I see ya it’s in Dormont!”
“Good luck!”
“Here’s hoping, take care Antoine!”
“Keep him on a tight leash for us, Antoine!”
“HEH! Will do!”
(You all joined Odile and stepped off the dais. A part of you was worried for Antoine, worried about what could go wrong. Another part was worried about the people who took these boats, another about what Perci must be going through right now. But the biggest part of you was worried about Bonnie. Bonnie. . .)
(. . . Pétronille is going to kill you so much.)