I was up until almost midnight playing dnd last night lol It was fun (: Hope you're doing well, also! (There's at least one more part after this one)

You ask Grace about Wayne. How did he know that Wayne, the seemingly friendly guy from the Centropolis Psychotrauma Centre is really 'Master,' and not Brandon? Heck, E could have even qualified for '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." "Wait a second… where's Wayne now," asks the girl with teal highlights in her hair. Grace answers, "He's under police custody now. Do you want to testify against him too, Cess?" "Hell yeah!"

"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. You can't help but feel Grace has been withholding some information from everyone. You raise your concerns to Bella, who can probably speak for Grace best. She escorts you away from the group.

Glad you're well. :)

I'm having a painful day. I have insomnia along with chronic pain so I never get to sleep before 7 or so these mornings, well they started working on the apt. above us and tearing apart their balcony. So much hammering, drilling and loud noise that I haven't been to sleep yet and it's making it all worse... and they'll be back again tomorrow.

Ugh.

/whining, lol

Oh gosh, I'm sorry to hear you're sleeping well. My cat is an asshole who likes to sleep all day and scream all night. He is very distraught when no one is paying attention to him. So other than him, it's pretty quiet at night, which I am very thankful for.

I hope you do get some rest!

"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. E holds both of V's hands. "Is there something piglet isn't telling me?" "Bingo, dumbass." "Ooh. How many guesses do I get?" "I don't have time for fun and games right now." "Are you pregnant?"

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. You decide to congratulate E and V on the new addition to their family. Bella, the informant, and Big Al similarly extend their well-wishes.

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. E moves close to Bella, so that he's next to her, attempting to bump her shoulder with his. He slips through Bella, instead.

"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: 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 Holding up the paper against a light reveals the following: 9-20 9-19 18-1-9-14-9-14-7 9-14 1 23-1-18-5-8-15-21-19-5 20-8-5 2-21-20-20-5-18-6-12-9-5-19 23-5-18-5 10-21-19-20 1-14 9-12-12-21-19-9-15-14 7-15-12-4 12-9-5-19 2-5-14-5-1-20-8 20-8-5 7-18-9-13-5

Thanks, I hope so too. Hopefully your cat will be quiet tonight. :)

7/28/17

Will post 1st and last paragraphs:

You take a good look at the series of numbers revealed on Lisa's letter. It looks rather easy to solve.

"I'm not very good at these kinds of things. I probably should have gone to the hospital instead of Orama," laments Bella.

"I got'chu, fam," says E, as he unsuccessfully attempts to pat Bella on the shoulder, his hand just passing through her.

"Oh right, I forgot that ciphers are your thing, E!" "This just substitutes letters with their order in the Latin alphabet. This should give us..." E starts to count with his fingers.

Al gathers the group, and tells everyone to move towards the exit. In her haste, Cess hits her head against the unyielding front door. "Oops, forgot about that." Al takes the remote she hid in her coat pocket, and pushes a button. As the door in front of you opens, she yells, "RUN!" Your group follows after her, as she leads you all into an alley. A white van is parked on the far end of the eerily empty, narrow passage.

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?"

Thanks again anon, hunkered in the warehouse waiting for what comes next. :)

I am the worst at puzzles, and also the worst at posting in here. I am sorry anon please do not hate me ;3; Or like be disappointed because that's probably worse. Here's what I can fit for the middle of the story.

Cess hands the letter over to E. "Looks like I underestimated Lisa. I thought she'd use a simple substitution to hide an unsophisticated message and call it a day. What on the moon could she mean by that first line? It doesn't rain here in Atebus..."

"V, do you remember the name of Carlos' wife?" "Why are you thinking of other women, E?" "Do you think I'll ask you if I don't think it's important?" "What does this have to do with anything?"

Speaking of Carlos, where is he?

"When we paid Carlos a visit to check on both of you, we only found Carlos' daughter there, scared," Bella says. "She refused to talk to me at first because she thought I was one of Carlos' captors. I promised her that I'd return her father to her the next time we meet, and brought her to Dr. Syl Moeder, a friend who lives next door."

It occurs to you that Bella teleported you from that odd warehouse to Club PLURality, but how did you get into that warehouse in the first place? Who inserted that SimuLife chip on you?

"After dropping Rose at Dr. Moeder's place, I saw the men who took you and Carlos carrying both of you into a van. They wore shirts with ChouChou's logo. I got their attention by telling them I'm an alien. They took me with both of you, locking me inside that warehouse. They must have inserted the chip on you while they knocked me unconscious, because I didn't notice it on you when we weren't inside the warehouse yet. Carlos also wasn't in there when I woke up."

It seems like Bella wants to say more, but she pauses for a moment and looks at her hands. A panicked expression can be seen in her face. She then addresses the group, asking, "D-do my hands look translucent to any of you?" You confirm that Bella's hands are, indeed, seemingly fading. Everyone else agrees with you. She looks at the informant, whose name you still do not know, and asks them, "Hey, when I got here, you were with Grace, right? Were you able to… touch him?"

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." You agree with E. You've seen Bella's hands fade in and out with your own two eyes. Why deny it?

"At least Squid 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."

(There's more after this but low character limits hinder my ability to finish posting the rest of the story)

Al opens the backdoor of the van, taking umbrellas underneath one of the seats. There are enough for everyone; she eventually hands you a dull, purple umbrella. After she ensures that the doors of the van are locked, she leads the way, walking towards the neglected warehouse.

Years of disuse rendered its exterior covered with dirt and grime. Its walls are similarly defaced with graffiti, ranging from artistic renditions of Subetan animals, vibrant pop art, to crudely spray-painted unmentionables. The perimetre of the building is surrounded by "sprinkler posts" just like those simulating rain in the pavement. Ignoring the main entrance, which is kept shut by multiple heavy-duty padlocks, Al heads toward a side entrance labelled as the "Service Entrance". Unlike the other parts of the warehouse façade, it seems to be well-maintained. Someone left the steel door open, giving you a glimpse of the building's dimly lit interior.

Go inside. You are greeted by stacks of boxes labelled "Rain Machine", reaching up to the high ceiling of the building. Al was right, it seems to be a depot now. The overhead lights are dim, either from being close to their end-of-life, or from the dirt that accumulated on the bulbs' surfaces. While there is an abundance of packages surrounding you, there is a noticeable dearth of people.

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

2C

You ask Raine about the display where the monarch butterflies were projected. You recognise some of the people in the photographs. Some of the photos were encircled with a blue or green pen, while others are crossed out with a red marker.

"And more importantly, who did this sketch of FCoD?", 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?"

There is more but it's too long to post.

No problem anon, I just hope that you have been/are okay. :)

Thank you for this wonderfully intriguing plot! I just suck at these... sorry.

Picking up where FCod left off. ((Choose between 3A (E), 3B (Wayne), and 3C (Raine.)))

-- Honestly, Anon, how dare you apologise to us for not "posting" more. I don't accept your apology because it is not necessary. You are so spectacular.

Dear anon, thank you again for the items and the wonderful adventure (I figure it's probably way too long to post). I chose road trip because 1) I hate to fly and 2) I got to sleep which I don't get to do much in RL. :)

I am loving this and hope that you've been well and are enjoying Morostide.

hugs

I picked trying to fly us there because hello flying and then I felt bad :c I'm sorry I'm so fat~

Now let's pop down that trap door!

And yes, happy Morostide, anon. I hope you're getting all of the things you want from the holiday~

...and the plot thickens again!

Thank you once again anon, I'm enjoying this adventure.

Did I go over and instantly start meowing at the pink cat? You bet I did!

Thank you again anon and holy carp, I didn't look as instructed. :)

Love the sketches, wish I could draw like that and can't wait to see where this continues heading.

Thank you for including me in this adventure and I hope you're well and having a wonderful holiday season. Happy Lumi!

Anon, I am so happy you're back! I was thinking about you, and I just really hope you have a great holiday this year.

Th st said ... uh ... I totally tried to peak.

Blue Fireworks Sticker Mostly Restored Antique Vase

Thank you anon, I have so enjoyed this... are you ever going to let us know who you are? :)

I hope that you have the most wonderful New Year. hugs

I second 's question - Anon, are you ever going to reveal yourself to us?

You've been so kind this past (ALMOST A YEAR! DANG!!) I'd love to know who is responsible for keeping us entertained with this story.

I love this chapter, if you want to call it that, although I have to be honest, I am completely disgusted with Wayne's ... well, pity party I guess. ("You were the only beauty I had in my life. Without you, everything lost its meaning. Do you understand how it feels to be betrayed by the person you love more than anything else in the world? It's very excruciatingly painful!") To blame someone else for his actions. Bleh. Gross.

But I mean that in the best way possible! Someone in my life once said "You know someone is a good author when they can make you hate a character"

Everything said. :)

Wow almost a year, thank you for that. What a wonderfully entertaining and interesting story. Still want to know who you are...

hugs