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Post by Cloud on Dec 21, 2013 20:11:18 GMT 12
(Okay just to reiterate, these will be episodic sort of. I can't be bothered writing the entire thing out and it'll probably be best if I break things up to make things easier. Bare with me here.) October 3 1986
To understand the tenth game, as our dear players had discovered, it became necessary to delve into the past of this retelling of Beatrice's catbox. Unlike any other game, mind you, this game board held a twist discovered only with the revelation of the Epitaph's riddle. The answer gave the readers a window with which events preluding the game of death could be peered into. It was a window just like any other built within the mansion of Rokkenjima. It was a window that looked into the grim, dark, and morbid circumstances of the tenth game of which it so desperately depended on. This window would later become beaten with the raindrops of a coming storm, but as of the moment that had been witnessed, only the clear black night peered into Natsuhi Ushiromiya's room. "Oh my god no... this can't be..." Krauss clasped his hands to his mouth, muffling a small scream and forcing back the inevitable tears that came streaking down his face. In the dark, damp and cold room of his wife hung Natsuhi herself swinging from a home-made noose which was securely fastened to the above ceiling fan. "I'm sorry you had to see this, I feel just as bad for what Genji himself saw." Nanjo stood closely to Krauss, poorly assuring him before taking down his wife and checking for any signs of life. His original brief check was confirmed and his attempts to save her were in vain. "We mustn't tell anyone at the conference about this, not yet..." After a painful silence, Krauss looked away from the horrific sight and spoke both sternly and grimly. "But sir, why would you not reveal it right away?" "Look, I need to make sure I can financially sustain everyone before telling everyone the bad news... If I tell them now, they'll know I've been embezzling father's funds... Then again... it would seem cruel of me to keep this a secret for very long..." Krauss turned back to his deceased wife, crying once more. The shadows of the calm and cool eve of the family conference began to overcome him. "As far as everyone else is concerned, both Natsuhi and Father are alive... So long as I am alive, so will they be." "But until you decide to reveal the body, what will we do with it for now?" "Have Genji dispose of it." With that order alone, Krauss ended the conversation and left for his father's study, tear-stricken, and with golden key in hand. Unbeknownst to Krauss, Genji held other intentions for Natsuhi's body. After moving Natsuhi's body onto a sheet of tarpaulin, swaddling her and lifting her up with apparent ease. He moved the corpse over to Shannon. Shannon, of course, was merely one third of an incomplete soul. That soul longed to achieve fulfilment, to become merged together into one whole entity, encompassed with love. There was only one way to obtain her greatest desire - the resurrection of her missing component, The Golden Witch Beatrice. "M'lady... Perhaps this may assist with your ceremony." Genji placed Natsuhi down on the ground in front of the servant. She smiled and chuckled quietly, no longer as Shannon but as the witch Beatrice. She leaped within her heart at the possibilities provided to her by Natsuhi's suicide. By utilising Natsuhi's body, Beatrice believed she would be able to slaughter the Ushiromiya family as part of the required sacrifice to carry out her ceremony.
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Post by Cloud on Dec 21, 2013 21:42:13 GMT 12
October 4 1986 The cold ocean breeze danced off the spray of the water that ran past the edges of a cruising vessel. The boat quickly cut across to the docks of an island, its destination: Rokkenjima, the resident island of Krauss, Natsuhi and Jessica of the Ushiromiya family. On this very day, October 4 1986, the annual Ushiromiya family conference was to be held between the children of the family’s head Kinzo Ushiromiya - Krauss, Eva, Rudolf and Rosa, their respective partners Natsuhi, Hideyoshi and Kyrie and their children, Jessica, George, Battler and Maria. Despite its superficial appearance of a mere family reunion, beneath its friendly disposition lay sinister and schemes over the inheritance of Kinzo’s immense wealth becoming of it’s initially pretentious title of “conference.” Today also marked the return of Battler after 6 years of previous abandonment following the sudden remarriage of his father upon the decease of his mother Asumu. After clinging tightly to the side rails of the boat, screaming and declaring his fear of boats, Battler alongside the rest of his family arrive at the docks of Rokkenjima, eventually meeting with well-known servants to Kinzo including Shannon, Kumasawa and Genji as well as meeting new servants such as Kanon and Gohda. Every year a heated argument over Kinzo’s inheritance would occur amongst the siblings Krauss, Eva, Rudolf and Rosa, often revolving around the location of ten tonnes of hidden gold alluded to in an Epitaph made by Kinzo, devoted to his supposedly magical mistress “Beatrice The Golden:” Behold the fruits of my labour. Representative in beauty reminiscent of my work. Like all existence its duty is to wilt to nothing but with hope the seed will hold reign. Upon approaching the land that is held under view of the outsiders, you shall find the gold.
The one who obtains the key must then travel to the Golden Land in accordance with these rules On the first twilight, offer the seed of the three chosen by the key as sacrifices. On the second twilight, those who remain shall tear apart the one who still holds their own. On the third twilight, only the one whom have borne their children may remain. On the fourth twilight, monsters will be birthed from angels and angels borne of monsters. On the fifth twilight, separate the truth from lies and prosecute the deceivers. On the sixth twilight, gouge the head and kill. On the seventh twilight, gouge the chest and kill. On the eighth twilight, gouge the belly and kill. On the ninth twilight, gouge the knee and kill. On the tenth twilight, gouge the leg and kill. On the eleventh twilight, the witch shall revive, and none shall be left alive. On the twelfth twilight, the journey shall end, and you shall reach the capital where the gold dwells
The witch will praise the wise, and should bestow four treasures. One shall be, all the gold from the Golden Land. One shall be, the resurrection of the souls of all the dead. One shall be, even the resurrection of the lost love. One shall be, to put the witch to sleep for all time.
A sinister and dark mass of clouds swept across the sky, marking the approach of a dark and monotonous storm and explaining the eerie lack of seagulls’ cries that once stood as a declaration to the beginning of each yearly gathering. The shadow of the coming typhoon darkened the layout of the beautiful rose garden in front of the Guest House. Swallowing the house shortly afterwards and eventually, the mansion of the island. The conference gained an early start during dinner, even with the cousins watching, however, Natsuhi herself was absent due to an increasing headache. Krauss stood up as he became cornered by the discussion. “Very well then… I think it’s time to reveal it. You are indeed correct, our father - Kinzo Ushiromiya - is dead.” As soon as those words left Krauss' lips a horrific and tense silence enveloped the dining room. Rosa broke the silence as she stood up, "Ah... I think it'd be best if you kids head to your room for now..." The silence's intermission was short-lived as Rosa's statements received no reply. She sat back down, looking down at table in dismay. Finally, Krauss began to elaborate and speak, "Actually... I agree, kids, I think it would be best if you did leave. We'll sort things out." The cousins groaned and trudged towards the door. "Genji, could you get Shannon and Kanon to prepare and deliver some hot cocoa? They can then take their leave for the night after that." Krauss turned over to Genji who had been calmly and stiffly standing to the side of the dining table. He bowed and walked outside. "Kumasawa, Gohda... I think it would be best if you helped tidy up." Kumasawa and Gohda catch a brief look that resonated from Krauss' eyes, immediately understanding that he wanted privacy. Battler stops in the middle of the doorway, making a slight chuckle. "Ah. It's a shame, I would have liked to explain the answer to the old geezer's riddle later on. But if the man's gone I guess there's no real point now, right? Uncle Krauss is the head now, right? Haha." He let George and Jessica past him before following from behind, but Krauss immediately began speaking urgently. "Wait! Battler, what did you just say? About the riddle, what was that?" Battler span back around to face his uncle. "Uh, well I mean I just recently worked out the first part of the riddle." He jokingly dusted his fingernails on the lapel of his blazer, making light of the situation concerning his Grandfather's death. "Battler, I don't mean to be a pain... but could you remain for a while... I'd like you to explain your findings." Battler sat back down at the table and started writing out the epitaph. He drew several arrows at different lines in the first paragraph. The siblings huddled together tightly around Battler's work. To the side of the epitaph he wrote several possible answers. In the end two words become underlined as a great realisation falls upon the family: Rose Garden
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Post by Cloud on Jan 5, 2014 23:22:16 GMT 12
After a discussion over the meaning of this answer to the riddle, Battler had been allowed to leave the dining room and return to the guest house. Dazed with fatigue he made his way towards the door only to be grabbed by Rudolf who whispered something in his ear. "Could you please wait in the parlour, there's something I need to explain to you and Kyrie... it's about your birth..." After being let go, the confused Battler sat down and grabbed a nearby book within the parlour, sinking into the sofa under him. As he read "Higurashi: When They Cry," each page seemed increasingly difficult to turn and read, slowly he began to fall into a well-needed slumber.
The tone and topic of discussion in the dining room suddenly changed from the answer to Kinzo's riddle to the matter of who truly inherited his wealth, especially with the revelation of the old man's death himself. An air of resolution quickly changed to a murky and thick stench of anger, envy and paranoia. "So, what you're saying is you really haven't found father's gold?" Rudolf shot Krauss' weak point, the main area of a previous proposal from earlier that day. "No... I'm afraid not... But it doesn't matter, because I am the oldest I-" Krauss started to reply, asserting his own status in rebuttal. "You stop right there, brother. Father intended this riddle be written for the sake of finding an heir, just because he's gone now does NOT mean his wish can't be fulfilled. This is the closest thing to a will!" Eva snapped her fan down into her hand with a crack and pointed it at Krauss with a tone befitting her sharp assertion. "Well it's not that simple, the riddle-" "Are you sure it's not that simple? How could it not be simple?" After keeping her silence through most of the conversation, Rosa finally cut off Krauss' attempts at snatching the inheritance. Following her interjection, the adults all erupted in loud conjecture, but with a single statement the rabble was silenced.
"Because someone has already solved it!"
Krauss stood up and yelled over the raucous yelling with urgency and sudden fortitude. The others stepped back in shock, almost as if a great gust of wind moved through the room and tried to knock them off their feet. "W-who... who solved it!?" Eva then had begun to scream in disdain and horror, especially at the loss of what could have been hers. Krauss closed his eyes and breathed in the air that felt more like a toxic gas of wrath in a vain attempt to relieve himself of the gravity of what he was saying. "Shannon... and Kanon..." He kept his eyes closed, slowly and calmly speaking. "No. No way, not that furniture! And what do you mean both of them? They can't BOTH get the gold, it has to be ONE person at least! It should be someone of the Ushiromiya family! I will not sta-" "Then they can inherit the gold..." Eva's angered conjecture became continually cut off by Krauss' vague answers. "What is that supposed to mean?" "I mean, they ARE one person... the daughter of father's own illegitimate child." At this point, the atmosphere felt like a rope tightening around Krauss' neck as he spoke. Its grip digging into him more and more with each breath that passed out of him. "What kind of fool do you take me for! Illegitimate child of who-" "Beatrice. I've had Genji and Kumasawa explain the situation-" "They're full of bullshit! They don't know anything! The servants just want to split it up amongst themselves! Where is the gold then, huh?" "She came to me... Shannon, Kanon, whoever they are... dressed in Beatrice's dress... and handed me a gold ingot..." "Shut up, Krauss, these are all lies they're trying to trick us-"
"No... he's not lying..." Rosa cut off the conversation once more with a panicked but sorrowful voice, clutching her head she repeated the phrase, this time with an almost screaming tone of voice. "He's not lying... Beatrice... Kinzo's daughter... she existed... and I... I killed her." Rosa looked away from each of her siblings, hyper-ventilating, the occasional tear pushing its way out of the corners of her eyes. "20... no... 19 years ago... I saw her. I found that mansion... that hidden mansion..." Eva opened her mouth, about to scold Rosa for such distasteful pranks, but the frantic look on her sister's face told the complete truth. In that moment it dawned on everyone; the truth about their father, and the truth of Krauss' words.
The siblings were now fully aware of the truth behind Shannon and Kanon.
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Post by Cloud on Jan 5, 2014 23:58:49 GMT 12
"Why don't we get Shkanon in here right now? Hm? Where is this gold bar of yours?" Rudolf insisted on pressing the issue, only to be silenced by a thud on the table. A thud from a golden ingot with the Ushiromiya One Winged Eagle crest, placed on the table by Krauss. After several minutes of silence Hideyoshi suggested a momentary break and the crowd dispersed.
Rosa now no longer heard anything that anyone said, she quickly moved out of the dining room, shrugging off Krauss' arm in his attempt to console and understand her. In the hallway was complete silence and a void of complete regret, anger, confusion and horror.
I killed Beatrice... I led her to her death and now her child is here on this island... Her child has claimed father's gold... Her child... has no mother... because of me... I killed their mother... I'm a murderer... What if... she's out for revenge? She's going to kill us, isn't she? Isn't she? She's going to kill me. I can't....
Rosa fled to the bathroom and vomited, now extremely distressed by the current circumstances, each pang of panic penetrating her every thought with the pain and consequences of what she held herself at fault for. Across from the bathroom to her stood the door to the kitchen.
The child is in there... "Shkanon" is in there... making cocoa for the children... What if... she does something? What if she plans on killing them? I can't let her kill anyone! I can't let her kill my Maria! I... I have to protect my daughter. I have to stop this child from taking her revenge. I'll protect everyone... my daughter... the children... my siblings... My siblings... They... they are monsters... Yes... that's right... they're all monsters, just like me... I have to protect Maria... from the monsters... Rudolf is caught up in his own lust and infidelity, not even that pretentious wife of his can see past that disgusting contempt and envy of hers and realise what a fool Rudolf is. I've never known a more disgusting man. I've never met a more disgusting couple. I almost feel sorry for what Hideyoshi has gotten himself into, there is no love between him and Eva, Eva simply wants nothing but his financial success and his submission to her unrelentless greed. He is as oblivious as he is gluttonous, especially to the greed of his wife that rivals our brother, Krauss. Even Krauss' Pride is almost on par with Eva's ridiculous crusade to prove her son's greater worth. How truly awful, using one's son as a means of proving a point and derailing someone else's pathetic attempts to maintain a faltering wealth. They are just as bad as each other, nothing but crows tearing apart at father's remains, ignoring those they claim to care for. Not even Natsuhi is free from sin, her tardiness and her lack of stability and fortitude never ceases to amaze me. She is nothing but an accessory tagged onto Krauss, riding on his coat-tails and laying claim to the Ushiromiya family. She is just a trophy wife. She knows nothing. They anger me. They all disgust me. They are not worth protection. They are not worth anything...
...Except my wrath.
Yes... I'll protect my daughter from these beasts. I'll protect my daughter from everyone. From Beatrice's child, from those horrendous excuses for relatives, from everything.
Rosa opened the door into the kitchen, taking in a deep breath of a slightly calmer and cooler air. Before her stood Shannon, a confused look on the servant's face that had been preparing hot cocoa. Several cups laid out in front of her and a large kettle of boiling water raised in her hand. Rosa denied Shannon the chance to speak, answering her question before it could be asked:
"I hope you don't mind me helping, I need to take my mind off the conference right now."
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Post by Cloud on Jan 6, 2014 0:29:30 GMT 12
As she helped Shannon prepare the cousins' cocoa, she slipped in some gin into the pitcher of milk, ensuring the young servant did not see. Shannon turned back to the mugs after retrieving a sugar bowl. She noticed there were two extra mug on the tray. She reached out to it only to have Rosa break the strange tension between the two. "Ah, I put those there... they're for you and Kanon... Say... where is he?" Suddenly Shannon froze in place, her arm still stretched out as she looked at Rosa with slightly widened eyes. "Kanon is off-duty at the moment... why... would you prepare some cocoa for us? We're... furn-" "Look. Just take it, you need a break occasionally too, right?" Only the gradually quietening whistling of the boiling kettle fought off the emerging shadows of silence in between each statement. Shannon finally swung her arm back, loosening up and half heartedly smiling. "Ah. Yeah. Th-thank you, Madam Rosa." Rosa smiled back at her and moved away to retrieve several silver teaspoons. In her momentary absence and blindness to the tea tray, Shannon grabbed the same bottle of gin that Rosa had prior, and poured a small amount of it into the kettle.
Shannon and Rosa walked together down the mansion hallway with the hot beverages on a serving tray. The two moved into the guest house and finally into the room the cousins' were staying in, Jessica included. They all had a brief and light hearted conversation, despite the heavy thoughts running through Rosa's head as she continually observed Shannon. "Hey, I've noticed you've barely touched your cocoa, Shannon..." Rosa spoke smiling uncharacteristically to the servant once more. Shannon stammered during her apology, internally cursing Rosa's suspicious activity. Shannon picked up the cup, raised it to her lips and slowly downed the half-full cup of bitter and lukewarm cocoa. It wasn't the cocoa that was bitter, but the sudden regret at drinking her anaesthetic for the cousins. Beatrice's plan did not appear to be proceeding well at all, Battler's absence and now the possibility of her own intoxication implied the worst luck for her thus far. However, it was only once Rosa began to her once more that it dawned on her exactly what was going on,
"It's a shame Kanon couldn't join us... Shannon, I hope you don't mind drinking his cocoa. It really would be a shame for it go to waste, I would be a bit offended actually..."
Suddenly Shannon's hands started trembling slightly, not enough to be seen, but enough to be felt. A chilling tremor moved through her spine as the wind picked up and beat against the room's windows. A flash of lightning and crack of thunder accentuated her fears. No, they confirmed her fears. Shannon slowly pulled a pained smile that only Rosa could see through, a larger smile growing on her own face, and drank Kanon's cocoa begrudgingly. No, she drank with a feeling of absolute terror as everything began to fall into obscurity and blurriness. Shannon quickly made her way out of the room, leaving the tray behind and fleeing to the Rose Garden. After turning several valve-like switches connected to the garden's iron posts, her entry into a hidden dungeon housing a mountain of gold became her solitude and protection from the storm that was brewing not only outside but within the mansion of Rokkenjima.
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Post by Cloud on Mar 5, 2014 17:23:45 GMT 12
It was only a matter of time until everyone had headed to sleep, until the lights were out and all that remained awake was the roaring thunderstorm and Rosa Ushiromiya, quietly moving from her own bedroom to the young cousins'.
Forgive me, but if there really is an afterlife, a "Golden Land," you'll understand and thank me.
After the vile act of murder was committed, Rosa began making preparations to conceal the crime at least temporarily. First, she laid a bookcase across the ground, pushing against the wall opposite to the door. Then she carted the bloodstained bed where Jessica lay in front of the door, in between the door and the bookcase. Finally, from her daughter's bag, Rosa took two hair-ties similar to the ones Ange wore whenever she attended the family conferences, tied them to each other and to the door's chain lock. After tightly cramming herself through the gap provided by the door, Maria's bag in hand, Rosa successfully left the vicious crime scene where George and Jessica lay dead whilst her daughter slept soundly.
After ensuring no-one was awake within the mansion, Rosa piled the grounds' many keys into Maria's bag and brought them straight to the garden shed. After spilling the whole lot of keys, with the exception of the shed door, Rosa painted the ominious pentacle of Gaap to "seal" the illusion of magic influence to incriminate the witch's child, closed the shed door, locked it, and threw the final key in through the window. Now there would be no escape from what she'd soon unleash.
All it would take to maintain this illusion of magic would be to fight fire with fire. I'll lie and I'll lie, that's what magic is isn't it? Lies? I don't need keys to lock a door. I simply need to lie, knowing no-one will find a gap in my testimony until it's all too late.
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Post by Cloud on Mar 5, 2014 18:09:54 GMT 12
The following morning Beatrice awoke from her slumber. It was neither warm nor cold, neither comfortable nor uncomfortable but regardless of its condition it remained a slumber nonetheless. The young, long and golden haired woman sat up within her large queen bed. A canopy shielded her from her view of the mountain of gold beside her bed. Next to her end table, with its small lamp upon it, stood the elegant dress of her witch form with which she was to don for the sake of her resurrection ceremony later that night. It was of utmost importance to her to draw out the sin of her lover from six years ago and purge him of that sin. Revealing her heart as the legend of the golden witch reached its fulfillment. However, time was necessary to pass at least just for a little longer until her plan could be executed. Taking one foot out of the bed followed by another, Beatrice felt the stinging cold of the dungeon she called her small “Golden Land” at least for as long as her mortal self could exist.
Shannon moved through the mansion, placing cutlery within the dining room and readying everything for breakfast which Gohda had been preparing, after cleaning up the mansion she discovered Battler sleeping on a couch in the parlour with a magazine held against his chest. It appeared he had fallen asleep reading. “B-Battler… I… don’t mean to disturb you…” Battler quickly jumped back to life at the sudden startling sound of Shannon’s voice. “Ah! Shannon! I’m sorry I… what… what time is it?” Battler sat up on the couch after looking around towards the windows which shone with a dark morning light. “Umm… it’s about 8 in the morning. May I ask… what are you doing here?” Battler shuffled along the couch and patted beside him, gesturing Shannon to let her know she could sit next to him, however she politely declined. “That bloody conference last night, I got pulled into it. First they reveal the old geezer’s death then next thing I know I’m waiting in the parlour whilst the old folks ponder to themselves about something and the others head off to bed. Why did I have to mention that damn riddle!?” Battler sank his head into his hands before looking back up at Shannon, “Weren’t you on duty then, Shannon?” Shannon raised her eyebrows and gasped slightly before replying. “Ah, no. Kanon and I weren’t on duty last night, thankfully. Tell me more about what happened, Battler! Did you solve the riddle?” “Sure thing, come on sit down, I’m sure you can take some time off for now. Well no, we sort of solved the riddle but we didn’t really do anything about it.” Shannon made a small sigh of relief at Battler’s previous statement. “What was that about? Shannon are you okay?” Battler looked at Shannon inquisitively as he spoke. “Um… yeah, it’s just… I…” Suddenly, as Shannon spoke the mansion doors slammed open, briefly releasing the sounds of the outside storm. Eva came sprinting inside, followed by Rudolf who ran upstairs shouting for Krauss. Battler and Shannon quietly peeked around to check up on what was happening only to have Rudolf, Eva and Krauss run back outside towards the guest house, leaving the doors wide open once more. After a brief moment of silence, Genji walked in with his usual robust and staunch posture. He slowly moved over to Battler and Shannon and bowed. “I apologise, Master Battler but I’m afraid Shannon will have to part with you for now.” He turned to Shannon and continued, “Shannon, come with me, we must find Kanon.” The two quickly moved off, leaving Battler alone in the entrance hall. Before long, Battler moved away himself, following his father to the Guest House. As he entered the enclosure of the guest house, safe from the cold and pouring rain of the morning, he discovered Aunt Rosa fiercely bashing on the door of the room that he was supposed to be staying in. Before him was Rudolf, Kyrie, Krauss, Eva, Hideyoshi, Rosa and Kumasawa standing next to the door of the cousins’ room. The door itself seemed slightly ajar but secured with a chain. In the crack between the doorway and the door seeped a deep, thick and red liquid. Blood trickled out from the cousins’ room into the hallway of the guest house. On the door itself lay an ominous red circle painted in a blood-like substance and on further inspection, Battler saw what appeared to be a blood-stained hand sticking through the doorway. Before long Kanon arrived alongside Genji, he stopped in his tracks and let out a sudden gasp, placing his hands to his mouth to muffle any screaming that tried desperately to move through the cracks in his fingers. The true horror to him was the small glimpse of a hand that peeked through the doorway; that arm was encompassed by the sleeve of a purple blazer. What little could be seen implied a tragic fate for Jessica and perhaps even the other residents of the room.
As Rosa saw Kanon approach she quickly snapped aloud "Go get some wire cutters! We need to get into this door!" "And be quick about it!" Eva growls.
Kanon and Genji quickly ran to the garden shed until they were suddenly stopped in their tracks by an ominous red pentacle of some sort. Kanon closed his eyes and thought back to Kinzo's hobbies, Genji too recollected the sign of "Gaap" the one whom could transcend locked doors, chains of both the literal and metaphorical senses. Kanon tried to open the shed only to find it was locked. After searching his pockets he discovered he has no keys on him, Genji checks himself as well - he too does not have any keys. Kanon searched his whole person only to realize how he had blundered. " I must have left it in the servants quarters, I'll fetch them immediately." He dashed off to go find them, slipping some in the mud and rain. " this has to be some mistake. There is no way....." Genji followed Kanon to the servants' quarters to check for any lost keys, however, as soon as he arrived he discovered not only his personal master key missing but also the entirety of each separate room key kept in the servants' room missing.
Kanon sighed with exasperation before speaking, "We must go inform the master." Genji and Kanon returned to the group empty handed. " It seems all our keys were stolen." Rosa was still fiddling with the chain and bashing on the door. "Its no use. We tried so desperately to bust down this thing but it seems as though there's something behind the door as well... I..." Rosa fell to her knees and began to weep. Krauss wiped several tears streaking down his face and replied to Kanon and Genji. "What do you mean your keys were stolen!? Kumasawa! Gohda! Do you have your keys? Where is Shannon!? Kanon! Quickly find Shannon!" "Another thing master... there's something on the Garden Shed door..." "Fine! Take me to it! I must see what's happening at once!"
As Krauss follows the servants the adults all begin to tense up. "See, I was right, they're trying to pull off their double act even now. The disgusting monster..." Rosa stands up, no longer crying and speaking with spite and anger towards Kanon.
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Post by Cloud on Jan 22, 2015 18:02:13 GMT 12
After inspection of the Garden Shed's pentacle with Battler, the entire party within the Guest House made their way into the mansion parlour by Krauss' suggestion. Eva, still hung up on Natsuhi's absence, sparked more detraction from Rosa's involvement and departed in a flurry of panicked anger in search of her. Krauss, and soon afterwards, everyone trailed after Eva towards Natsuhi's room where they had been led to believe she had been alive. Eva smashed her fist on the door several times, screaming Natsuhi's name but with no reply. She rapidly twisted the door's handle and hardly burst the door open. Not a single soul existed in the bedroom.
It were as if she were the Kinzo of this game, a corpse from before the game, waiting to be found.
"WHERE IS THAT BITCH!?" Eva quickly stormed through the mansion, bashing the doors wide open as she moveed along, abandoning the group. Before long, everyone began running after her. As Eva opened each and every door; of the second floor, and then the first floor, she found no sign of the woman she accused of murder. At this point, Rosa's own sense of justice became validated, to her, Beatrice's child must already have killed Natsuhi.
The group reassembled in the parlor whilst the servants moved to the kitchen to retrieve canned food, shocked to the core by the recent events. Eva struggled to calm down. "If she's out there... then who knows what she intends to do with the rest of us." Eva clenched her fists and closed her eyes, struggling to picture whatever schemes Natsuhi may have been holding up her sleeves. "Eva, please I'm sure she won't do anything else... if she did anything at all..." Krauss began to speak but was cut off by Kyrie, "Sorry, Krauss, but if you turn the chessboard around it only seems to make the situation darker for us. These actions point clearly to Natsuhi... but because they point to her she must not intend on getting away with murder, but merely carrying it out." That statement alone brought a painful and terrifying realization upon everyone: Sooner or later, they would have to defend themselves. "Which means, brother, that we need access to father's study." Rudolf continued along his wife's train of thought, turning to Krauss who had until then clasped his hands together tightly, pressing his golden ring of headship against his fingers. "You are the head of this family after all, protection should be of the utmost importance to you." After a moment of silence, Krauss reached into his pocket and pulled out the study key. "Krauss! Why do you have the key to father's study?! Genji is the only one supposed to have that thing!" Eva snapped at Krauss, still not willing to let go of her greediness even in times where altruism would be the only understandable fallback for sensible beings. "This key is an inherent right to the Ushiromiya head. It is my duty to protect you and the only way to do so is with this key. Rudolf, Hideyoshi, Battler, let us go get some guns. While we're out, can you barricade this room and don't let anyone but us in. Not even the servants. Understood?" Krauss elaborated on his plan of defense, refusing to notice the pride he insists on flaunting under the guise of protection. "If you want to protect us so badly, why don't we lock ourselves in the study and leave that bitch of a wife out here where she can't reach the rest of us?" Eva rebutted, calling Krauss out on his implicit cowardice.
Meanwhile, outside in the rain, Beatrice marched from the secret staircase in the Rose Garden, a tightly sealed envelope in one hand, and the other, the end of a rope tied tightly around the tarpaulin that covered Natsuhi as she was dragged along the concrete as Beatrice made her way back into the mansion. As Beatrice placed the tarpaulin in the VIP Room and unwrapped Natsuhi's stinking and defaced corpse like a present, revealing her adorned in Shannon's uniform. After the body had been placed securely, Kanon left the room, only to notice Krauss and the rest of the family following him upstairs. Kanon handed the group the letter. "We received a letter... from The Golden Witch." Kanon lessened the vice-like grip between his fingers on the envelope as Krauss forcefully snatched it away from him and read its contents:
"To whom is starting my resurrection ceremony against my game board layout:
I will take great joy in sacrificing you as soon as I find out who you are, in the meantime, allow me to bestow a sacrifice of my own. You will find her within the VIP Room.
- Beatrice The Golden"
At this point, Rosa's suspicions were confirmed, Kanon had made an explicit threat towards her, but this time it was equally clear to the rest of the family. Krauss screwed the paper up and dropped it. "Impossible... That's it, we need to get into the study! At the very least arm ourselves... I'm afraid the killer is inside." Eva began to feel remorse and regret simultaneous with her anger, Natsuhi's absence suddenly made a lot more sense after what appeared to be Kanon's threat. But her anger still continued to cloud rationality as she spitefully continued her rant against Natsuhi. "I agree. That WHORE you married is probably in there waiting for us so she can kill us." On her final cruel yet equally hollow remark, the family quickly made their way into the study, leaving Kanon behind.
In the dark and cold study, an air of fear resonated with an unwanted feeling of closure within the surviving Ushiromiyas. Natsuhi no longer seemed like the most obvious suspect, not after what practically appeared to be a confession, or at the very least a threat from Kanon. There was most likely a corpse in the VIP Room, and there was only one possibility as to who it could have been. After retrieving guns for the siblings, Krauss immediately insisted on forming a party in order to retrieve food from the kitchen, with the right protection (and noting the fact that no guns had been taken from the study aside from the ones the siblings had just taken themselves,) they had the upper hand against the killer.
Krauss left with Hideyoshi and Rudolf, as they departed they figured it best to enter the VIP Room, now that they had guns to fend off Kanon (assuming Kanon was not already discouraged by Krauss' rejection). On their way downstairs they detoured towards the VIP Room, unbeknowst to them however, Eva, disagreeing with Krauss' plan, attempted to trail them towards the kitchen, not considering the letter pointing towards the VIP Room. Beatrice sensed someone approaching as they idled in the entrance hall. Immediately they took cover underneath the staircase as Eva came rushing down towards the kitchen. Meanwhile, Rosa, whom had become shocked and disgusted by Kanon's threat, quickly planned to act upon Kanon's letter. After lying to Kyrie and Battler about her intentions to make sure Eva was not left alone in her pursuit of the men, Rosa left the study and moved towards the VIP Room, and, to her luck, discovered the men already checking upon the corpse of Natsuhi disguised as Shannon. Fortunately, Krauss had already put down his gun to further inspect the corpse, making it easier for Rosa to take out Rudolf first - the fastest trigger of the group - and only having to worry about Hideyoshi to respond (and to be the second to die,) leaving Krauss as the final victim in Rosa's second onslaught. Rosa quickly swapped her gun with Krauss' then pulled the fake corpse of Natsuhi out of the VIP Room, closed the door behind her, and dragged Natsuhi downstairs into the middle of the entrance hall. Rosa sensed the presence of someone nearby, and rightfully so, Beatrice had heard Rosa's footsteps after her murder of the men. Rosa raised her gun, turning around and walking alongside the staircase, she heard the heavy breathing of the witness but knew immediately that it was her scapegoat, the child of the woman she killed 19 years ago, she figured it best to spare her. Kyrie and Battler, having just heard the gunshots came rushing down the staircase to witness Rosa standing over the corpse of Shannon. Eva returned from to the hall to face the horrific sight herself. Rosa looked at Eva, shocked, who returned a gaze of confusion. "I... I came to accompany you, Eva, but when I left the study I heard gunfire and feared the worst. The next thing I know, I see this corpse lying on the ground. Was this here when you ran past?" Rosa played the fool to the survivors. "N-no... but I came past here before those gunshots." Eva started to ponder past events, trying to think straight for the first time in a while. "Gunfire? But that means the killer has a gun! Did you see anyone, Rosa?" Battler checked Rosa and Eva's guns briefly, to discover no scent of gunpowder or even slight indication of their use. "We need to get back to the study." Kyrie quickly interjected only to be cut off by Eva's own objection and insistence to find the men, but Kyrie's stern silence forced the worst assumptions into Eva's head in rebuttal.
As the party moved towards the study they walked past the VIP Room. Yes, it's true that Battler and Kyrie were not the first to discover the bodies of the men because their killer was the only one that ever did.
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Post by Cloud on Jan 29, 2015 16:47:40 GMT 12
Kyrie, Battler, Rosa and Eva fiddled around with the doorknob of Kinzo's study to no avail. Kanon ran down the hallway to meet them, a sense of shock and urgency painted across his face. "Sh-Shannon is..." "I know, Kanon..." Battler moved over to him and patted him on the back, his own face shadowed by a sense of despair, clouding the anger that began to well up within him, it seemed that even Battler was convinced of Kanon as a valid suspect. "I know... I wish I had the chance to tell her how I felt..." Kanon raised his head in complete surprise at Battler's confession before gradually melting away into his previous mournful state. "Kanon. Where are the other servants? You've been the only servant we've seen in a long time." Kyrie broke the mourning period to interrogate Kanon. "Kumasawa, Gohda, Genji and Nanjo are all in the kitchen, they send their apologies for barricading themselves in and not giving you that food you requested." Kanon bowed lowly in apology. "Then why are you out here?" Kyrie's face held a scornful disposition, almost accusing Kanon of recent events. Kanon suddenly stood back up straight, a slightly confused look across him. "I was... looking for Shannon before the others barricaded the kitch-" "Where did you get the letter you gave us? The one that told us to move to the VIP Room?" "I-" "If you were out here you must have heard the gunshots, where were you then?" "You heard gu-" "Don't play dumb with me, Kanon. There's obviously a reason why you're out here. Now answer me." Kyrie bombarded Kanon with questions but they did not need any particular answer. She already had her sights set on who she thought had been killing the Ushiromiya family, much to Rosa's sense of success. Battler stepped in front of Kanon, between him and Kyrie. "Kyrie. There's no reason to have these pointless accusations. Tomorrow when the storm clears, the police will be here and will be able to find out who killed Dad and Shannon. They'll find the bastard. I promise everything will be alright in the end." Battler deflected Kyrie's merciless and deadpan accusations, immediately jumping to the painful assumption of Rudolf's death. Kyrie turned to Eva and Rosa without a response aside from a sigh. Battler feels something tugging at his sides. "Battler...." Kanon grabs onto Battler slightly, his voice trembling in much higher voice that's rather uncharacteristic of him. Battler turns around to find a large stream of tears pouring from Kanon's eyes. Battler brings him in for a very brief but tight hug in order to comfort him. Kyrie does not acknowledge the scene at all and begins to speak. "We'll have to barricade ourselves somewhere. Obviously we can't get into the study and we don't have any keys. Any suggestions?" "What about father's gold vault? Or we could see if that other mansion's real. Either way, if we're able to get to those places then we'd be safe...." Eva trailed off, thinking about her lost husband and son. "Eva... are you saying... you know where the gold is?" Rosa stepped back in shock and wonderment. She was not so much surprised as she was reassured in her understanding of the extent of Eva's greed, being able to locate the gold using the mere power of Battler's initial work. Eva smirked. "What, are you saying you didn't, Rosa? It was simple!" Eva's expression changed back to a frown. "If I'd mentioned it earlier...maybe my husband...." Eva chokes up. The truth is, Eva was already aware of the gold's location as soon as Battler solved the first part, she was waiting for the right opportunity to find it by herself but never got the chance. Rosa began excitedly and shockingly urging Eva to continue as to where it is. Kanon interjected: "Perhaps you could take shelter in the lounge?" "No. I think it'll be best to find wherever this vault is. Chances are, we'll be safe there. The question is: Are we willing to let the servants follow us?" Rosa cocked her gun handle in preparation in case they encounter anyone attempting to attack them. "That furniture and the bitch are working together! They're the only ones who were out here to kill my husband and our brothers!" Eva brusheed some hair out of her face. "Besides....I...want to see my son one last time...." "If you truly want me to stay here... then I will obey..." Kanon walked away silently after bowing. "Very well then, how do we intend on seeing George?" Rosa asked Eva to elaborate on any possible plans, clenching her teeth in fear for a scheme successfully revealing the very-much-so alive Maria whom, at this point in time, had begun to wake from her intoxicated slumber, clamoring to her gruesome surroundings to maintain steady balance - but to no avail. "Well...we could give another try at bashing the door down...failing that, we could always use a window...." Eva snapped Rosa back out of her pondering over Maria and her secret, at this point she had to lie even further to keep herself out of check. Unbeknowst to her, Eva had already started to suspect Rosa, had Rosa paid attention she would have noticed the gambit Eva had started to conceive and execute. Rosa's eagerness to find the gold and reluctance to enter the cousins' room began to create grounds for a valid theory that explained everything thus far, but Eva had no evidence at this point. The party, now having lost Kanon, moved to the guest house in the pouring rain. Rosa ran to the door but suddenly stopped in horror after failing to turn the door handle. "The... door...is locked." Eva looked around at the window, noting that it was too high to enter, being on the second floor. She sunk her face into her hands, dreading never being able to see the face of her deceased son... and dreading Rosa's potential lies. The servants waited anxiously in the kitchen after hearing disturbing gunshots. After an extremely painful silence Kanon knocked on the door. "Kumasawa, Genji... They are heading for the gold." Eva moved towards the Rose Garden, whittling away at the riddle and turning posts to quickly access her father's gold, but no longer to satiate her queries, but to devise some way to keep Kyrie, Battler, and herself alive despite being in the presence of someone who very well could be the killer of her son. The flower bed in the centre slid downwards and to the side, revealing a large staircase below it moving straight downwards. Kyrie, Rosa, Eva and Battler all descended the staircase to find a door at the bottom with a gruesome inscription painted in red: The witch will praise the wise, and should bestow four treasures.
One shall be, all the gold from the Golden Land.
One shall be, the resurrection of the souls of all the dead.
One shall be, even the resurrection of the lost love.
One shall be, to put the witch to sleep for all time. The party opened the door to find a dark and cold room. But in front of them stood a mountain of gold ingots, to everyone's shock and surprise. The horror of recent events prevented everyone to celebrate, but a mutual sense of amazement existed behind everyone's distressed faces. To the left of the gold was a large queen bed with a beautiful canopy and a large elegant dress identical to the witch's clothes in the portrait. To the right of the gold was a huge dark chamber that led seemingly endlessly. "Let's close this thing before any of THEM sees it." Eva closed the door behind them and barred it with a sidetable as a weak barricade. "I wonder where that goes." Eva pointed her gun at the chamber. "Any bets on that thing leading to the secret mansion?" If the secret mansion truly did exist, then there was bound to be a small wharf that the servants used to access it discretely, with luck, it could have been possible to leave the island. After moving down the massive and pitch black hallway, another staircase was found leading to none other than the fabled secret mansion of Kuwadorian. Its appearance was similar to the one that had already known themselves, but with clear weathering and a sad appearance of abandonment and neglect over many years. The party rushed into the front doors entrance Eva quickly gathered whatever chairs or tables she could find to barricade entry. The thunder rumbled and lightning struck as the storm increased in magnitude, especially in the dark mansion where power kept cutting out. The Ushiromiya party lingered in the parlour in silence. Wondering exactly what was happening around them but at the same time denying any thought that anything did happen. "I'm sorry... I have to use the bathroom." Rosa stands up and spoke dully, slowly making her way for the door. No one objected due to the fact that, for the time being, everyone was safe in Kuwadorian. She stopped in the entrance hall and began to weep into her hands. Speaking through her fingers, her muffled voice became the only sound of company to her. At this point, regret started to loom over her, alongside a mix of guilt and anxiety. She knew that she could not stop her campaign, but she did not enjoy her righteous act of revenge or judgement. Her wrath was very much so her own fatal flaw that prevented her from being the right person for the job, and now, it seemed as though she may never find her daughter again, her idea to protect her daughter from the vile world and her villainous siblings was all in vain in this very moment. Of course, she could not stop at this point and had to ensure that the servants did not pose a threat to her scheme. Eva's barricade began to shuffle under the force of the servants' attempted entry outside, but to an ultimate failure. Rosa did not mention this to the others and rushed away quickly through the mansion. The survivors dispersed across the mansion, Eva explored the mansion herself, as did Battler whilst Kyrie lounged in the parlour. Upon everyone's dispersal, Rosa quickly dismantled Eva's barricade enough to move back inside when her next deed was done and ran outside through the back door. Rosa moved towards the surrounding walls that were shrouded by the over-hanging trees. The massive downpour of the sky's tears formed a cascade of obscurity. The thunder provided a dark chorus that swallowed Rosa's gunshots in her assault against the servants, ensuring Kanon entered first, her scapegoat, before attacking the others. Hastily, she burst in through the front door scattering parts of Eva's barricade across the entrance. Impulsively, but with timing that only chance could provide, Rosa fired her gun at Kyrie before fleeing towards the dining room. Battler quickly ran down the nearby staircase to witness a horrific sight - Kyrie's dead body with a gaping void of gore between her eyes, letting out a scream he searched frantically for Aunt Eva and Rosa, noticing his own lack of protection and the destruction of the entrance's barricade. Eva rushed downstairs, fearing the worst for Battler and possibly Kyrie. It was in this moment she knew that Rosa was to blame, there could be no other explanation. It were as if she was no longer in a sanctuary, but a large scale closed room which walls had begun to constrict and tighten around its victims. But upon discovering Kyrie dead, with her gun fallen to the floor, Eva now had a chance to cut away Rosa's vicious spiderweb - even if it meant stooping to her level and becoming a witch herself. Eva ran for the gun, then to the top floor balcony, hiding Kyrie's gun under a chair that overlooked the forest that vignetted the night's murderous denouement before entering the dining room with Battler to discover Rosa. She formed yet another barricaded as the closed room became even tighter. Outside, in the parlour, the detective Kanon began to notice the killer's trail that was soon to unwind. Eva had to act now, she had to save Battler before it was too late. Eva was never a fan of her father's hunting for sport, even if Rosa attempted to invest interest, it was always the boys' source of fun, even if Rudolf was only into it in admiration for western films. Eva had always enjoyed fishing, one of her favourite areas of her home was the nearby wharf where she would catch mackerel only to have Kumasawa joke about using it for everything she cooked. And here, just like her favourite hobby, she was about to throw away Rosa's blatant red herrings and catch herself a mackerel. "We aren't alone here... I'm sorry... I've failed as the head...." Eva headed out of the room and made her way up to the top floor of the mansion, leaving her gun behind, knowing full well Rosa would tail her and try kill her as soon as they were left alone. "Eva! It's not safe!" Rosa runs up with her. Battler did not raise a single objection but looked across the room to the cabinet filled with alcohol - canters filled with brandy, bottles of aged wine, one of which given the peculiar name "Bernkastel," and a bourbon named "Ronove." He took a glass and began downing several servings. He finally started to feel despair wash over him. Rosa caught up with Eva. "Hey! What are you doing up here!?" Eva sat down over the gun she hid away to make it seem as though she was defenseless. "Rosa... I'm sorry I couldn't help you see Maria again... I know you must've wanted to see her as much as I wanted to see George..." Eva recalled Rosa's stern reluctance to return to the cousins' room and her immediate acknowledgement of the door being "locked," even if there was no opportunity for it to be locked, especially with the complete lack of keys. Unless it were locked with, dare she say, magic? With Eva's statement, it started to dawn on Rosa that Eva had begun to pick apart her crimes. No. They weren't crimes, they were sentences. Eva knew who the killer was, and she needed to stop her as soon as possible.
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Post by Cloud on Jan 29, 2015 17:45:41 GMT 12
The wondrous thing about Rokkenjima's status as being a cat-box of infinite possibilities is that sometimes even new characters appear upon the family shores. Of course, that said there are often limitations. In this case we were limited to one additional character, the young Erika Furudo. Erika washed up on the shores of Rokkenjima, only awakening later than we usually anticipate, entering during the very climax of the tale. It did not take long for her to walk up the cobblestone steps that served as the Rose Garden's prologue, it did not take long for her to venture into the dark underground bridge between one mansion to the next, and it did not take long for her to eagerly charge into the mansion and discover a front door in shambles, a bloodied corpse of Kyrie, and the drunken wreck called Battler Ushiromiya.
An even younger girl traversed the steps in the Rose Garden after leaving the guest house that was not, in any shape or form, locked, and entered through the dark alleys of the vault in the wake of Erika Furudo whom had stood still outside of the dining room, witnessing the messed up slurring of his confused words. He mentioned to himself, unaware of Erika's presence, the amount of guilt he felt for neglecting what he now saw as a sense of responsibility to protect his family. As you all know, Battler was usually one of the most pivotal characters in our tales, but here he sat down having accomplished absolutely nothing. Perhaps the game formed the way it did due to his complete neglect of his common role as the detective. He turned to face the young girl who aspired to be a detective herself, only to have her perky introduction cut short by Battler's fearful and angry surprise. "Who... who are you!? You're... you're the murderer, aren't you? You're the one that killed father and Kyrie! You killed everyone, didn't you!?" Battler reached for the gun Eva left behind and fired at Erika.
It did not take long for her to die, either.
Rosa refused to sit down, she knew that she had found the perfect chance to take down Eva and end her tyrannical stench of envy. Just as Rosa moved her index finger from behind the trigger to the front of it, gunfire resonated from the dining room, Eva flinched and stood up. "Rosa... did you hear something just now?" Rosa turned behind her to face the staircase in confusion and horror, she thought the worst for Battler. Perhaps he took his own life. As she turned back to Eva she saw something clasped in her hands - a gun. Where did she get that from, Rosa wondered. Rosa raised her own gun at Eva. The two women pulled back their respective triggers and let loose the explosive thunder from within their Winchesters, setting off an extremely short lived duel. As clock chimed an eerie midnight signal, the mansion of Rokkenjima exploded in a tragically wonderful display of fire and wrath, shaking the earth the island. In that moment, Eva landed a shot to Rosa's knee which forced her to the ground. Just as Eva cocked back her gun's handle and fired again at Rosa's leg, Rosa got back up and penetrated Eva's stomach before stumbling backwards into the stairwell behind her. She tripped and fell down the staircase, snapping her neck and rolling down outside the dining room.
Beatrice, our detective, rushed from the parlour to find Eva upstairs, bumping into the bumbling drunken Battler who passed out on the floor. Eva was outside of the study reaching for a gun and clasping her stomach which was gushing with blood from her gunshot wound. Beatrice ensured that Eva did not try to kill her by kicking the gun out of the way and continuing down the staircase on other side of the room, following the trail of blood leading to Rosa's dead body and the young Maria weeping over her mother. As the storm began to settle it became obvious the nightmare was over.
Kanon carried Battler and - immediately afterwards - Eva to the boat out on the other side of the island. As Kanon placed Battler in the boat, Beatrice kisses his unconscious forehead. Eva's wounds are momentarily covered in the clothes of a male servant. Kanon looks at the clothes and saw it as if he too were leaving the island. This, of course, was Beatrice's way of removing that part of them having now found the means to become a complete person on their own terms. Beatrice started up the boat with the two passengers inside it. She picked up Maria beside her and, after waving goodbye to the boat, walked back to the mansion. Beatrice lay Maria down in one of the beds inside the mansion - Maria having had cried herself to sleep - and gazed out the gaps in the walls where the windows once stood. Radiant beams of sunlight began to pour through the cold, large house. Beatrice closed her eyes on the scene before her...
...And she continued to dream.
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Post by Cloud on Jan 29, 2015 18:06:57 GMT 12
Ange stood at the back of the mighty chapel filled with goat heads, sorcerers, witches, angels, and demons as Virgilia and Yasu played and cheered next to Natsuhi in the middle of the perpetual Halloween party. Virgilia's disciple spoke of a game of her own set in an alternative universe, a puzzling tale that resulted in their victory. One game became undermined by Featherine's suggestions, later to be solved by the surrounding guests, Lambda pointed another finger at Natsuhi in a brief but "fun" game of her own only to lose herself, whilst Bernkastel chimed in with yet another short game that manage to stump the few that gathered. Everyone ultimately enjoyed themselves, playing as friends, but something did not sit right with Ange. This communal sense of joy and reveling in the death of her family started to well up and fuel a fire of rage within her. Even her dear brother indulged in the witches games as if they meant nothing. These endless possibilities meant nothing but different outcomes to point at like a meaningless board game. These were people's lives being lost over and over again and no-one seemed to care. The neverending party had to be cut off, and Ange was the girl to make it happen.
Ange forcefully and angrily stood up on one of the tables in the very centre of the party, giving a mighty roar objecting to everyone around her. "That is it! This party ends now! Your pathetic and disgusting means of sourcing enjoyment from the death of my family ends now. Battler, to think even you have given up on wanting to open this cat-box once and for all, to end everything here and now. I am going to solve everything and I challenge those that refuse to help me to try prove that I can't. For you fantastical beasts, you foul witches and vile demons; I only have one thing to say to you all:
Prepare to die."
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