trustfell | Initiative.

Rachel looks a bit conflicted about what should happen from here; Lisbeth is still on the floor, but she's told her what she should do, and so... Well, she's never really been good at saying no, though she does walk up and reach out to pet Lisbeth's hair gingerly for a moment before turning to everyone else.

"We should leave."

And with that, the courtroom changes, all at once; it was one thing, and then quite simply it isn't, and the podium circle has been replaced with a round spread of consoles wrapping around a center spire. The room is no longer concrete and steel, but rather stark white, all done up in glossy tile that looks like it'd crack if you hit it hard enough with something – that said, it's not recommended to try, given that it's just as indestructible as everything else in the building.

Rachel approaches the consoles, reaching out to touch them, fingers tapping gently against several of the unmarked buttons; it's probably not precisely necessary for her to do so, given the state of things, but she seems to like doing it, so do it she shall. There are a pair of slots that look like keycards are required; she glances at them for a second before manipulating more buttons, causing a small panel to open up in front of her – it looks like an authorization mechanism of some sort, the kind that you press your hand against to get it to recognize you.

"It's going to be a bit jarring when you wake up; sorry about that, but you've been asleep for a really long time. I'd suggest giving it a moment."

She pauses, though, once that's out there, glancing back at everyone.

"I'll be on the other side with you, but not like this. We can still talk, though, if you like."

And with that she just turns and presses her hand against the panel without waiting for an answer; the next thing you're aware of is the flash.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I hope you life goes better from here, Rideaux.

[ She says, sincerely. Making her way over to him, she's stretching a little bit, flexing out her legs and arms some as she makes to re-orient her sense of balance. ]

[Elda's sincerity is noted, though Rideaux can't help but feel a little awkward when he receives those words. He kind of bore his soul to everyone, though he didn't intend to at all.]

Ah... Thank you, Elda. I am confident that it will.

It sounds like you're going to have some big changes in your life when you return home too.

[It was really only reading Sayaka's letter, and later hearing it from Elda that he realized how close they'd gotten. Sayaka telling him about her plans to go home with Elda was what helped him consider a change of scenery as well.]

Not so great of a change.

[ that's... well, it's both true and a lie at the same time. She brushes back her hair and she smiles. ]

... I have some new family I will need to situate, and I have other family I... I will need to work out how they are to be attended to. But to me, as ever, I'm a Mother and a Grandmother.

[ that's what they put for her occupation, and that's why she made the choice she did at the end there. ]

[If anything, Elda has stuck to her brand through and through. And while Rideaux has never been a family person, he gets this.]

You know, if Indomitable didn't fit you so well, I wouldn't have been surprised if you ended up as Maternal or something similar.

Oh, I'm glad you think so!

[ On both counts, really. She laughs. ]

I do wonder if Lisbeth picked them all... or the old system? Or I guess who ever ran the one I was in last time?

Hm. That is a good question. [He thinks a little.] The titles seemed to be consistent across all of the documents and records that we found, including the hit list. So I wouldn't be surprised if you've been Indomitable in the past.

[...]

You made me realize I never did ask what my last appearance in these games was like. It wasn't really relevant, so...

[Now he's curious though...!]

Well, she said I was in that one other game I was a "remnant" of ... you know, the one I apparently didn't die in.

[ She was the only one who didn't die...??? ]

... Luca was being reincarnated or something.

Ah, yeah. I remember that. Seems you won't lie down and die in any game you're in.

[He says it cheekily, but there's a hint of respect behind it too. There is no way he would call surviving these games a simple task. It was hell.

As for Luca's game...]

That was the one with the death gods, right? That game seemed to be the strangest. Lisbeth wasn't even sure what to make of it in her notes. I wonder why they felt it necessary to copy this game style for their reincarnation test.

Malice? Boredom? I've never known gods to be anything but capricious... other than Milla, I suppose, though she denied her own divinity to me in her posthumous letter.

[ She nods at that, but then trails off a little. She smiles a bit bashfully but then beams with pride about not lying down at any game she's in. She wonders - did that Elda Marker come out of her game feeling the way she does now? Did she come to stand side by side with humans? ... The note said they did talk down Kirei so...

... Perhaps she was even better than she is. ]

Oh, trust me. She can be just as capricious.

[...this is one of the few times that Rideaux has actually made reference to knowing Milla, actually. And he seems pretty serious about his response.

Milla, though... Ugh. She saw all of that too, didn't she.]

Can she? She's always seemed pretty airheaded to me.

[ Hahaha... ha. ]

[He...snickers... Someone calling the Lord of Spirits "airheaded" is hilarious to him.]

I mean, I'm not going to disagree. I couldn't believe what she was apparently like before I met her.

[Without her memories, she was definitely...wow.]

But no, I am entirely serious. When we first met back in our world, I had just successfully rescued her from the dimensional abyss and as thanks she attacked me.

[Very rude of her tbh. Because his method of "rescuing" her wasn't awful or anything.]

Oh. Oh wow, really?

[ That gels so weirdly with her mental image of her, she sounds genuinely surprised... ]

Initiative.

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