Ten minutes that feel like forever pass, and you hear Bella say, "You can open your eyes now."

((Proceed to 2.))

You quickly regret this decision. These sights, resembling digital photographs in varying degrees of corruption, make you nauseous.

Bella admonishes you, saying, "I told you not to open your eyes until I told you to do so!"

You close your eyes, hoping that your discomfort will eventually end.

Ten minutes that feel like forever pass, and you hear Bella say, "You can open your eyes now."

((Proceed to 2.))

"Are we too late?" Bella laments. Just then, you feel something tug at your arm, pulling you away from the crime scene. "Just let them do their job. We'll take care of Lisa later." The voice unmistakably belongs to Grace. You look behind you.

Right next to Grace is a stranger who seems to be rather frazzled. They seem vaguely familiar to you, but you can't recall where you've seen them before.

"Who are these?" asks the stranger. Grace gestures at your direction. "This is Luck, a friend of ours. The beautiful lady with pink hair is Bella, my fiancée." You exchange pleasantries with the now-acquaintance, who seems to be too rattled to give out their name to you. It might be best to let it slide, lest you add to their stress. They tell you that they helped Grace and Bella escape from ChouChou -- no wonder they were vaguely familiar.

You hear hurried footsteps coming from the side. E and three unfamiliar ladies try to catch their breath.

"Really? The one time I nap longer than usual and the club is suddenly a crime scene?" E shakes his head. The stranger close to E clears their throat. "You might have forgotten some other incidents." "But nobody died the last few times." "If this is why you wanted us to leave the room, you could have told us that the police were downstairs, Grace," says the lady who is clinging onto E's arm.

Grace looks at the woman with short, black hair. "Big Al, do you still have the remote?" She digs for something in her coat pocket, pulling out a remote control. "Yeah." "Put the club on lockdown."

With the push of a button, you hear multiple doors close around you.

"Okay, everyone gather around me for a while," Grace says, as he motions everyone to come closer to him. "Wayne wants all of you who know that he is the 'Master', dead. I had no other way to evacuate you all from the room, so I had to be… creative. His henchmen should be inside the room you previously occupied, right now. They won't be able to escape, with all routes blocked."

"What about the trapdoor?" the woman named Big Al asks. "It should be shut unless the automated mechanism is malfunctioning. At worst, they can get inside but remain stuck inside the vents. At best, they're trapped inside that room until you release all locks."

((Choose between 3A (Ask Bella what you're doing here,) and 3B (Ask Grace about Wayne being Master.))

"I thought it would be safer here than anywhere else. I had no idea it would be chaotic today." "How were you even able to transform if you were cooped up with Luck," inquires Grace.

"I had to do it while Luck wasn't looking at me. Do you have any idea what forced us out of our human formes?" "It might be those SimuLife chips that were attached to us. I can't think of anything else."

"Oh, the one attached to our friend here from ChouChou? I found another one like it attached to Luck when I woke up in the garage." Bella shows Grace the chip you took out from your calf. She lifts the right sleeve of her coat up to reveal another chip, still attached to her.

"Can't you take it out?" "I can't."

What is all this talk about transformation? You decide to ask them.

"See, this is exactly what we mean when we say that we're aliens. How you see us right now, with these wings, is still not our real appearances," explains Bella. "If any mortal were to see our true formes, they could either go insane, or become blind," adds Grace. "Are you sure that isn't just some superstition people made--" interrupts E. "Poor Nikki from the Psychotrauma Centre comes to mind. I think it was Wilhelm that he saw in his true form?" says Big Al. "Wasn't he always just a nutjob?"

"Anyone who sees Wills' true forme would go insane," mutters Grace. He then continues in a more audible volume, "If you're curious, my true forme looks like a gigantic eyeball, while Bella is beating heart draped--" Bella quickly covers Grace's mouth. "Stop, it's embarrassing!"

((Proceed to 3B (Ask Grace about Wayne being Master.)))

"I know this is confusing for you. I finally-- I mean, E told me about it. Even I don't understand how he successfully used Brandon as a scapegoat, huhu."

After remaining silent for quite a while, your new acquaintance begins to tell you what happened while they were with E and Tanja.

"When I received an invitation from this person called Big Al to Club PLURality, I met Wayne, decked out in rainbow-coloured clothing. He asked me to help him with something. He gave me a key to the pantry of the club--"

"Hold that thought," interrupted E. "We should get the cops to listen to this testimony."

"I thought you hated the police, E? What happened to you," asked the lady whose fingers are still intertwined with E's. She looks at him with concern. "It's the principle of double-effect, baby. If I have to be tried for crimes I've committed against this oppressive rule for justice to prevail on Wayne and his victims, I'm willing to pay that price." "E, you can't do this." "I'm sure I'll be fine. The police is missing out on some juicy testimony here."

E leaves the group for a few moments, speaking to one of the policemen observing the crime scene. He later returns with one police officer, recording device in hand.

"What you'll say now can and will be used in court," E tells the informant. "Is that fine with you?"

The informant agrees, and continues, "He told me to enter the pantry and pick up two unconscious people inside. He told me that he'd take them both to the hospital. Everything felt suspicious, but he threatened to shoot his gun at me if I didn't comply. I found Grace and Bella underneath two rolling steel tables, and loaded them onto his white van. When I got inside, I noticed that it smelled strange inside. I then woke up in what looked like a hospital bed, between Grace and Bella."

"Wait, why didn't you tell us any of this before?" Bella confronts the informant. Before she can lay her hands on the person, Grace pulls her away, and tells her to calm down. "It's not like they wanted to do it. Just let it slide." Grace then glances at the informant. "Continue."

"There was a SimuLife chip attached to me, similar to the one Bella just showed us. Before I knew it was there, I thought I was inside a hospital room, attended to by a human nurse. When I took it out, it was a neon-lit room inside ChouChou, and the nurse was Wayne's Unliving guard. Grace and Bella hatched an escape plan, leading us to ChouChou's central control room. That's when we first saw most of you. E then invited me to join him and Tanja as they looked for her missing car. After a bit of driving, we found Tanja's car close to a bridge, defaced by none other than Wayne. When Tanja and E confronted him for kidnapping and theft, he sicced three of his people on us. They tried to molest E! We found out that Wayne is 'Master' through one of those girls."

E continues, "Tanja told me that she found a suspicious looking plastic bag inside her car. She decided to leave the vehicle on the bridge, in case it can serve as evidence. I got two of his 'girls' to cooperate with any investigations on Wayne. The girl who refused to cooperate with him, ironically, is that dead girl the police are examining. The thing is, we know that Wayne is 'Master' now, according to at least two testimonies, but we don't have any proof that can link him to his crimes. If we can get Brandon to testify, his statements may carry a lot of weight."

((Return to 3A if you have not already viewed that option. Proceed to 4 otherwise.))

"Once Brandon and Anjy make a full recovery, we should get them to speak against Wayne, too," adds E. "No! Why didn't anyone stay in the hospital with Brandon and Anjy?" Grace spreads his wings and flies towards the door.

"Be careful, Orama..." It is too late by the time Bella utters these words and reaches out to Grace.

((Choose between 5A (Orama?) or 5B (Treat Grace with suspicion.))

"About that..." Bella pulls you away from the rest of the group. "We were temporarily given the positions of Eros and Agape, which previously belonged to my siblings, when they both died. Due to Orama acting in contrast to the 'best' vision he saw, taking the survivors of our planet to Subeta with us instead of rebuilding our destroyed planet, we were deemed unworthy of such a position." She heaves a heavy sigh. "I don't think I deserve to replace my sister, after all. I've done selfish things out of love, while my sister has sacrificed so much out of her love for everything."

A commotion leads you and Bella back to the main group. Meanwhile, Big Al backs away.

"Don't blame Grace, lay the blame on me instead," exclaims E.

The woman who previously clung onto E forcefully withdraws her hand from his, turning to face him. "I can't believe you're more loyal to your useless friend than you are to your wife. I wonder why I even put up with you and your neglect for so long. You know what? Maybe the rumours were right. Maybe you're actually gay for Grace--"

"Do you know what you're saying now," interrupts the woman named Cess.

"V, that's absurd! You realise that Grace and Bella are my bosses?" "What crappy kind of boss doesn't warn you about someone as dangerous as Wayne," the woman named V replies. "Grace warned me about Wayne, I--" "At least I'm glad you don't always listen to your friends, just like you don't always listen to your wife!" "V, how many times have we discussed this? There's nothing for you to be jealous about." "I just can't believe you spend more time with hang out with hackers and doctors while you always leave poor Vieno Haber-Weiss née Heikki alone to manage the club."

"You've said almost the exact same thing the first time I met you, V," says Cess.

V corners E. "Do you even know why I look this ugly?" "What are you talking about? You'll always be beautiful to me." "Empty words. Just like your empty promises. Did you even bother to ask why I might be feeling this way, Erhard?"

((Proceed to 6.))

"I've learned to trust Grace when he decides not to say certain things. It's true that he can see multiple possibilities, to the extent that he can predict the immediate future. Even before E knew for sure that Wayne was behind everything, he already had a suspicion. He could not confirm everything because Brandon's crimes, which we now know are masterminded by Wayne... It's as though Wayne struck a deal with someone who can interfere with Grace's visions. Everything points to Brandon because he's the one Wayne used as an extension of himself, with possible exception of everything Wayne did himself, like the kidnapping and theft. "

CCTV is a thing. Surely those could have recorded a few of Wayne's movements, especially for crimes he committed in Club PLURality. There are the testimonies, too. If Grace always had the ability to see into the near past and possible immediate futures, why didn't he stop any of this from happening. You ask Bella about this. There seems to be a commotion going on in the group, which you ignore for the time being. It looks more like some kind of lover's quarrel between E and one of the ladies.

"Grace was almost blind when we first met, remember? It also affected his abilities. His foresight and hindsight was severely limited until the time my brother, that ghostly figure you saw in Ytiva, restored my speech and healed his eyes."

Bella's face suddenly lights up, as if she experienced an epiphany. "That's right! My brother is the only one who can tamper with Grace's abilities. Maybe that's why Grace couldn't even think it was Wayne until my brother died. But why would my brother cooperate with someone who would want to hunt all of our kind down?"

She then leads you back to the group, whose commotion seems to have died out.

A look of surprise colours V's face. She hangs her head momentarily, and wordlessly nods. E is similarly shocked, but he quickly embraces V. She then shoves E away from her.

"You're a father now, dumbass." "Finally! I've been waiting for years." "And whose fault is it that it took so long? Who doesn't bother to spend any 'we time' with his wife?" "If I stop working, who's going to put food on the table, especially now that I'll have another mouth to feed?"

"Are you even sure you're the father of that kid," interrupts Cess. "Excuse you, are you playing me for some kind of 'ho?"

The informant goes in between Cess and V, telling them to stop arguing with each other.

((Choose between 7A (Congratulate the couple) and 7B (Agree with Cess.)))

The couple smiles at you and gives you their thanks, deciding to make up in celebration. "Since V is advancing in age, just let us know if the baby comes out with any abnormalities. I can operate on your child free of charge," says Bella, chuckling.

"Don't say that! Let's just hope the baby will come out normal," Big Al retorts, walking closer to Bella. She attempts to dangle her arm against Bella's shoulder, but her arm just passes through her. You hear Cess and the informant audibly gasp.

"Heh. I guess I was just projecting. Sorry for my off-handed comment," says an uncharacteristically sheepish Cess.

((Proceed to 8.))

"Even if I'm not the one who sired that child, I will love him as though he were my own," E tells you in response. "Really?" V's facial expression seems to indicate that a thorn was lifted from her chest. E pouts. "Are you telling me I'm not the dad?" "Nah, just messing with you. You know I barely go out as is. Besides, you're the only one I--"

Cess lets out awkward laughter. "Heh. I guess I was just projecting. I never knew who my son's father was." She then smiles at the couple. "But you're right. I love my son. It's because of him that I decided to leave my old life behind and testify against Wayne."

((Proceed to 8.))

"Oh. I forgot about that. Anyway, why don't you do your magic on Lisa?" "Magic? What magic," replies Bella in a cheeky manner. "You know, the heal-y magic things." "E, Lisa is a Ziaran. Our kind can't interfere too closely with the thread of mortality of those we were not made to protect." "Can't you make an exception for her?" "This kind of disobedience is why Orama and I--" "Can't I bribe you to do it?"

Big Al pulls E away from Bella's side. "Who do you think pays for your salary?" "You do," he replies hesitantly. "I don't approve of it. Think of it this way. Bella can't do that kind of thing all the time without suffering any consequences. If word of a random woman from Lower Ziara spreads like wildfire, don't you think it will endanger her life more?" "You sure know a lot about them. Are you sure you aren't an angel in disguise yourself, Al?" "Nah. With everything I've done in my life, you might as well call me a demon."

They share a few moments of silence when one of the police officers interrupts the group.

"We found something inside the victim's clothing. It looks like a letter of sorts." He hands the soiled envelope to Cess, who opens it:

[spoiler=transcript]

to whoever reads this,

rule my death as a suicide. i love him too much. if wayne deserves to rot in prison, don't use my death to further your selfish agendas. don't lament me who chose to love an evil man despite all his flaws. if you truly wish to do something in my memory, give my meager earnings to anjy miles and raine santos.

(p.s. hold this paper up against the light)

• lisa

"It is raining in a warehouse," E says. V continues, "...the butterflies were just an illusion, gold lies beneath the grime." E low-fives V. "You haven't lost your game, V. Nice one."

Confused, the informant does not respond. Instead, E says, "Unlike you, Grace seemed tangible to me."

Bella scratches her head, unclear what to make of the situation, herself. "That’s weird. We really aren't supposed to be tactile in this form, which is why your limb keeps passing through me, E."

"Heh, sorry about that." E steps aside, maintaining some distance from Bella.

"I don't understand how this is the case, but it might be related to those SimuLife chips inserted on all of us." "Your chip is still attached to you, right?"

"Yeah, I can't take it out. Grace took his out; it was inserted on his neck." Lifting the right sleeve of her coat, Bella reveals the chip attached to her. Although it superficially looks like the Veta model, a second examination reveals that it is very obviously modified. LED lights seem to correspond to some kind of gauge. Every time Bella's hands 'flicker', more of the indicator bulbs light up.

"If the chip is stuck to Bella, you can't take it apart and examine it more closely. Why didn't Grace just leave his chip with us so we can take a better look at it," says V. E shrugs. "Even if I had it with me, it'll take me at least a few days to figure it out... if I could." "If you could?" "At this point, I'm inclined to believe there's some magic in that chip." "Erhard Haber-Weiss, you, a man of science, are going to give up so easily?" "I've seen strange things."

((Choose between 3A (Insinuate that E is not in the right state of mind) and 3B (Agree with E.)))

V yells, "What drugs are you on, E? I didn't see anything!" "The only things I run on are multivitamin supplements, potato chips, cola, and your love, in ascending order." "Aww, you." V pinches E's cheek. "Look again! Bella's hands look like they're flickering." "It's called fading." "Oh, whatever."

"I don't want to ruin your moment, but," Bella says, before directing her attention to Cess. "Let me try something. Cess, will you give me permission to lay my hands on your shoulders?" Cess nods. Bella then approaches Cess, waiting until her hands "fade out" before attempting to touch Cess' shoulders. As her hands slip through Cess' arms, she suddenly falls to your knees. Cess immediately squats down to help Bella up.

"I felt faint for a while there." "Are you okay, Bella?" asks Cess. "Yes, but I think my hand is really disappearing. It's weird." Bella directs her attention to you. "You really don't notice anything strange with me?"

((Choose between 3A (Insinuate that E is not in the right state of mind) and 3B (Agree with E.)))

"Under the influence of what?" asks V. "Is there something you aren't telling me, E?" "What? You know better than anyone else that I don't smoke, drink, or do any droogs." E replies, rather irate. "You're just too tired. You should really get more sleep, you know?" "Sleep? You're kidding, right?"

"Could it be that the chip is making me hallucinate through psychoactive substances," asks Bella. "That would have to be a very potent drug or a very sophisticated drug delivery system," replies E. "Could it be from the Upper City?" "This kind of technology looks Lower Ziaran, but I don't know anyone with the machinery or the money to make such intricate modifications to SimuLife chips."

"What about Wayne," posits the informant. "Good point, he seems quite influential in some underground circles," replies Cess. "The bugger keeps me out of his more sensitive operations, he probably figured out I'd rat him out sooner or later."

"I don't know how well-versed Wayne is with Lower Ziaran tech. He isn't upfront about his ventures, but there is someone I suspect works for him," you hear E say. He then takes a look at the informant. "Do you still remember the CCTV still... Oh, crap. You probably weren't with me at the time."

E takes out a piece of paper from his pocket, unfolding it. You take a peek to see it reveal a printout of a CCTV still and three photographs below it.

"Can you help me identify who this is," he asks, pointing at the CCTV still. "My eyes are kinda bad."

The informant takes a good look at the paper in E's hands. You notice that the person on the still has their back facing the camera. It's hard to tell who it can be from just this shot.

Big Al barges in and asks, "Don't you have a shot with even just a bit of the person's face?" "By the looks of it, this woman was aware that there are cameras all over the place," E responds.

The informant points at the first photograph. "Aria? She would know a bit about Club PLURality. She worked under me before, but she went independent." "So you're saying it's most likely to be her, right," says V. "The Aria we know isn't a sell-out. She has standards." "Maybe that's because you have standards, E."

Cess suggests the second photograph. She has about the same length of hair as the first girl, albeit straightened.

"Oh, that's right. I remember the name of Carlos' wife. It's Raine. I really don't want to suspect her of doing anything like this, but she is in a privileged position. She's a Neutral Force volunteer, just like her husband." E rubs his chin. "Something bothers me about her. If ever she's our suspect, how can there be a threat to her life from Wayne if she's in cahoots with him--"

"What did you just say," asks the informant. "Doesn't seem like it can be her. Look at the hair of the person on the capture. It looks wavier," Cess says as she traces the outlines of the suspect's hair.

"Anyone can change their hairstyle," suggests Al. She points at the third photograph. "Who is this kid?"

"I have no idea." E wears a blank expression on his face. "She's just one of the matches that the algorithm printed out." "Wouldn't she be the most suspicious?" "I can try to run a background check on her." "Shouldn't you have implemented that on the system so that you don't have to do it separately?" suggests V. "No one said I need to have perfect foresight!"

((Choose between 4A (Suggest that E is hiding something) and 4B (Ask him about Wayne.))

"At least [READER] agrees with me," confidently says E.

If Bella transported you from a warehouse to Club PLURality, without even laying a finger on you, anything is possible. You tell everyone about what happened to you since waking up this morning.

"I woke up in what looked like a beachside cabin, with blurry eyesight. When I looked out into the window, it seemed like everything was artificial. Bella suddenly appeared in the bed I was occupying. She told me to feel for something behind my leg, and pull it out. Just then, the image of the cabin faded away, after I pulled out a cord. I was inside a warehouse, and in my hand was a SimuLife chip.

Bella told me she'd get us out of that place as long as I closed my eyes and trusted in her. When I opened my eyes, I saw the dancefloor of Club PLURality."

"Speaking of the chip, can you guys help me with something," E inquires to the group. E takes out a piece of paper from his pocket, unfolding it. You take a peek to see it reveal a printout of a CCTV still and three photographs below it.

"Can you help me identify who this is," he asks, pointing at the CCTV still. "My eyes are kinda bad."

The informant takes a good look at the paper in E's hands. You notice that the person on the still has their back facing the camera. It's hard to tell who it can be from just this shot.

Big Al barges in and asks, "Don't you have a shot with even just a bit of the person's face?" "By the looks of it, this woman was aware that there are cameras all over the place," E responds.

The informant points at the first photograph. "Aria? She would know a bit about Club PLURality. She worked under me before, but she went independent." "So you're saying it's most likely to be her, right," says V. "The Aria we know isn't a sell-out. She has standards." "Maybe that's because you have standards, E."

Cess suggests the second photograph. She has about the same length of hair as the first girl, albeit straightened.

"Oh, that's right. I remember the name of Carlos' wife. It's Raine. I really don't want to suspect her of doing anything like this, but she is in a privileged position. She's a Neutral Force volunteer, just like her husband." E rubs his chin. "Something bothers me about her. If ever she's our suspect, how can there be a threat to her life from Wayne if she's in cahoots with him--"

"What did you just say," asks the informant. "Doesn't seem like it can be her. Look at the hair of the person on the capture. It looks wavier," Cess says as she traces the outlines of the suspect's hair.

"Anyone can change their hairstyle," suggests Al. She points at the third photograph. "Who is this kid?"

"I have no idea." E wears a blank expression on his face. "She's just one of the matches that the algorithm printed out." "Wouldn't she be the most suspicious?" "I can try to run a background check on her." "Shouldn't you have implemented that on the system so that you don't have to do it separately?" suggests V. "No one said I need to have perfect foresight!"

"What about the chip's effect on Bella. We need to figure that out. There is definitely something up with its effect on humans," V says. "What if the chips inserted on each of you were programmed differently? Like this is some kind of clandestine experiment?" E suggests. "It doesn't sound like something Wayne would do." "Actually, it does."

((Choose between 4A (Suggest that E is hiding something) and 4B (Ask him about Wayne.))

"Maybe YOU are hiding something from us," you say. "What are you implying?" E looks more irate than he was before. "You know too much about Wayne. It's like you're his cohort, or you yourself are 'Master'." "You're half-right."

((Choose between 4B (Ask him about Wayne) and 4C (Condemn him.)))

"Wayne was my client. He needed my services in the Psychotrauma Centre. He hired me to install a CCTV system there." E chuckles. "Nothing out of the ordinary with that, right? That's what I thought. When he asked me to install cameras in the bathrooms, I knew something was suspect about him. When I refused to do it, he told me he'd pay me more."

"So, did you do it," asks Cess. "I still didn't want to, so he ended up hiring someone else for the bathrooms. What I'm saying is, he knows quite a bit. He can hire people to do what he wants." "You're still sketchy to me, E. You sure you don't know anything else?" Cess glares at him.

"I tried to observe the centre while planning the locations for the cameras. It seemed like people who entered the centre came out in a worse condition than when they first arrived. Wayne never allowed me to spectate when he and his volunteers were performing interventions, it was just dodgy." E then looks at Bella. "I can't believe it took you guys a while to find out something was wrong. You're the volunteer doctors here!"

"E, we're surgeons. We're not as involved in the centre as the psychometricians and social workers. The neurologists and psychiatrists who cleared them were okay. How would we have known that Wayne was only asking us to operate on his 'showcase patients' and not everyone else?" "So how long did you know about this?" "Only a few days before we cut our partnership with his clinic." "Is that why you ran away from Centropolis?" "Ran away?" "You abandoned the patients of the centre!" "Believe us, E, we didn't!" "Why do you think Wayne set up his new base in Ziara?" "Because we're all here?" "So are the patients."

E's jaw drops. "What?" "You heard that right," Al says, winking.

"Oh, that's why you're here!" E's shocked expression turns into a smile. He places a hand over his chest, and sighs in relief. "But if that's the case, where are they… and why is the centre still standing?" "Afraid I can't answer the former." "Why not, Al? Hiding something, yourself?" "I can't believe you don't know that this place is bugged. Let's get out of here!"

((Proceed to 5.))

"Really now? You're not even going to let me explain myself?" "Nope." "I'm not giving you a choice to stop me from talking. But by all means, you can choose not to listen to me."

((Return to 4B.))

E tosses Al a bunch of keys, which she uses to open the driver's seat of the van. "Everyone get inside, quickly!"

As soon as everyone is accounted for, Al speeds off. Her driving leaves much to be desired, such as smoother manoeuvring.

"Why the rush," you ask. "Remember all those people Grace saved us from? We can't keep them trapped inside that room forever," says E. "Then won't they chase after us," asks the informant. "We can deal with them later. I'm not cruel enough to let them suffocate and die there. Anyway, where are we going, Big Cheese?" "To the warehouse Lisa might be talking about." "Do you mean the place where you guys found Brandon? What business do we have there?" "That used to be a depot for that company that made rain machines. You know how it doesn't rain in Ziara? I think we'll find our raining warehouse there."

You reach the industrial district quicker than you think. Considering that it should be morning (or the closest thing to it on a moon,) the vicinity is glum. The sky is grey, as though it were...

Raining? Al stops in front of a derelict warehouse whose sign has been defaced beyond recognition with golden spray paint. After alighting from the vehicle, you look above you, to see if there are any clouds hovering above you. It does not seem to be raining beyond a small strip of the pavement outside the warehouse.

"Over there!" Al points to a row of what initially seemed to be normal, if oddly shaped and very closely spaced lamp posts. The lamps dangle at a distance from the poles, connected by a metal rod. Droplets of water trickle from the lamps, simulating rain.

"Let's all go inside the warehouse, shall we?"

You can't help but feel that you're being watched.

"Here!", yells Al, who is on the opposite corner of the room. A multitude of faint lights encircle Al. As the group approaches her, you notice that she is standing in front of what seems to be a display of sorts. As you approach Al, the display and its contents become clearer to you. There are various photographs clipped onto a string, as though it were a clothesline. The faint lights around Al reveal themselves to be monarch butterflies with a dim, orange glow around them.

V reaches up to touch one of the butterflies. They pass through her hand, as if they were holographic projections.

"Turn around," says E. "There's a light coming from the opposite side of the room. It's probably a projector." "Oh dang, he's right," mutters Cess.

While your companions are pre-occupied with the illusory butterflies, you take another look at the display. Specifically, your attention is drawn to a box where some permanent markers lay. There is a piece of paper laid face down. Flipping the paper, you reveal its contents:

"Isn't that you? Who did this?"

In the stillness of the warehouse, you hear a booming voice. "Leave," it commands. You search your immediate surroundings in vain for its source.

"What are you still doing here? Leave NOW!" "Maybe I shouldn't have reached for those butterflies," V laments.

The ground beneath you begins to tremble. The contents of crates and boxes in the distance rattle violently. Debris fall close to where you're standing. You fall to your knees, trying to remember everything you learned about staying safe in the middle of an earthquake. You look above, trying to make sense of the objects close to the ceiling, amidst the darkness. You move close to the bare corner of the warehouse, crouching and covering your head with your arms.

As the shaking intensifies, from the small space you've given yourself to peek at your surroundings, you see a massive structure rise from the middle of the floor. It resembles heavy machinery, but there isn't much you can see with even the lights from the projector shutting off.

"You are not welcome here," seems to come from the metallic behemoth that erupted from the ground. The timbre of the voice seems rather feminine.

"Who are you?", Bella interrogates, in a loud voice. "Raine Santos," replies the voice. "But I doubt that my name holds any significance to you."

Have you heard this name before? Is she, perhaps…

"…the rain in the warehouse?", blurts out V. "Lisa must be dead." "Do you have something to do with this," asks E, who stands up against the large structure. "Your purpose here has been fulfilled. Please leave. You'll trouble yourselves by staying here," replies Raine. One of the machine's attachments gradually swings towards E's direction. V pushes E out of the way, just as what seems to be a large, mechanical arm comes to a halt.

"What about Carlos and Rose?" Al, who is still on the ground, asks. "I'm doing this to protect them." A brief pause. "And you, too. There are things best left hidden in the dark."

((Choose between 2A (Like what?), 2B (Try to remember Lisa's riddle.), and 2C (Ask Raine about the display.)))

"Don't try to play games with me. I'm just doing my job." Al poses another question to Raine. "Does Carlos know about this?" "There was no way for me to do that. Can you do me a favour?" "Only if you'd do something for us in return," says E. "As long as it does not go against the specifications of my job, I suppose I can help you."

((Choose between 2B (Try to remember Lisa's riddle) and 2C (Ask Raine about the display.)))

"Those illusory butterflies are a bitter reminder of my past. Somehow, their presence comforts me," Raine says. "Can you tell us more," inquires Al. "I'm afraid not. You'll have to find out on your own." "Not even a hint, huh," says E, who feigns disappointment. "Sorry." There is a hint of sadness in Raine's voice.

You think about butterflies. You've seen them a few times in your journey.

((Proceed to 2C (Ask Raine about the display.)))

"And more importantly, who did this sketch of ?", asks Bella. "I would have expected better sleuthing from your gaggle. Do you expect me to tell you everything?" "This is where Wayne took Anjy and Brandon," says Al. "So you're saying Wayne set up this display," you hear someone say. "Do we know when the police took Wayne?", asks V. "Orama might. If only he were here." Bella lets out a heavy sigh. E tries to rest his hand against Bella's shoulder, and fails. "If Wayne did this, how does Lisa have an X mark on her photo? Assuming that this is like those movies with serial killers and those X's are dead people."

"Have you considered that it may be why Lisa wants her death to be ruled a suicide? She doesn't want such a killer to 'claim' her," suggests V. Just then, E looks at you. "Who do you think is behind these, hero?"

((Choose between 3A (E), 3B (Wayne), and 3C (Raine.)))

"Really now? This is getting pretty old," E says in the most deadpan manner he can muster. "I take offense at your suspicious treatment of my husband," says V. "Even when you yourself suspect him of playing around with other women?" This statement from Al appears to hit a nerve on V, as she growls and tackles Al to the ground.

"What did you just say about me, you old hag? I'll have you know I am the person who knows Erhard Gonzales Haber-Weiss, Ph.D. best, from my romantic involvement with him of at least a decade and a half, and I have been married to him for at least 5 years. I have lived through his bouts of anxiety and depression, and I'm the person who can deal with his rare emotional outbursts best. You are nothing to--"

Before V can continue her monologue, E pulls her away from Al with one hand pulling on her shirt from the back, covering her mouth with his other hand. He shushes her gently, before turning to you to say, "Wrong. Try again."

((Choose between 3B (Wayne) and 3C (Raine.)))

Everyone nods in agreement, save for Raine's machine. V says, "It could explain why Lisa had the foresight to know she would die soon. How could she write a letter intended to be discovered after her death otherwise?"

"What if Lisa didn't write it?", Raine then asks. Her inquiry catches nearly everyone off-guard.

"Someone could have forged Lisa's handwriting. Just saying." E shrugs.

"I don't think it's easy to forge her handwriting," says Cess, who was silent for quite a while. "I think she really wrote that note. Besides, Gloria told me that Lisa cried to her and told her that she was just playing along with Wayne's schemes because she didn't want him to kill her!"

"You see where that fear took her? To an early grave," states Raine. She then continues, "On the other hand, here's Cess, unafraid to lose her life if it will lead to justice being served, still standing. Noble."

((Proceed to 3C (Raine.)))

"I wonder what led you to suspect me," coolly says Raine. "You were here before we got to this warehouse," says Al. "Besides, you just told us that the butterfly projections comfort you. You probably set this all up." "I would not be that foolish." "What is your motive for being evasive? I don't want to believe you can do this behind your loving husband and daughter," says E. "Enough. This is the last time I'll tell you all to leave. This is for your own good."

E whispers in your ear, "Let's go. There's no way to reason with her." You mouth, "Why?" His eyes shifting from left to right before he leans closer to your ear, E then tells you in a hushed tone, "Okay, between a woman inside a gigantic mech and you, an unarmed person, who will win?" "Shouldn't you be telling everyone else?", you respond.

"Thanks for nothing, Raine." E gets ready to head out of the warehouse, gesturing for all of you to follow him, when Raine yells, "Wait!" You look behind you, and are slightly startled to see a humongous mechanical hand with a greenish fruit on one of its fingers.

"Take the fruit. Think about what I said. What is this fruit called? I'm sorry this is all I can help you with."

With hesitation, you take the fruit from Raine's mech, and hold it in your hands. You then follow E and the rest of your group out of the warehouse. Drops of water continue to fall from the lamps around its perimetre, simulating rain. As you make your way back to the van parked outside, Grace blocks your way.

"Is that a chouchou you have there?", he asks.