Afterparty 5.0

[forcegalactic]

[There's not much that can be believed about that trial. Or that execution. Still, like before, two hours after everyone leaves, they'll find a note slipped underneath their doors.]

We have to stick together. The dining room is there for anyone that needs a quiet space, and I cooked dinner.

Hibiki made some coffee and dessert for all of us.

-Mordecai Benmont Jiminy and Hibiki Ganaha

[Today's selection includes potato pancakes and a light coffee cake. Hibiki has lit two more candles in the dining hall. It doesn't take long before Mordecai lights a third.]

Comments

[forcegalactic]

[Dio was worse than the Marshal in that way. Sparks Nevada would never kill two children in the name of the law.]

No, he's a murderer, and that's that. I wish I coulda done somethin' to teach him that he's gotta be more considerate with everyone's feelin's [stop it stop reminding him of Sparks] but it's too late for that now, is it? The ghosts are most likely gonna make him pay for everythin'.

[decrees]

...Mordecai, I don't believe anything could have saved Dio.

[Not unless they had been willing to trust him with more. Even then it might not have been enough.]

I don't know what the ghosts will want to do with him, but he may be useful to them. If he can continue to fight that monster with Reaver, then maybe...

[Maybe what? Projectiles weren't doing anything to it. Reaver had already told them that much. Logan shakes his head.]

[forcegalactic]

You say it like he was in danger. Danger from himself, likely, but I ain't talkin' in the poetic sense. It's all a matter of stoppin' him before he did all this.

[He wishes he could brush him off as just another murderer. Just a corrupt businessman like Reaver. Just an adrenaline-fueled soldier like Undyne. Just a twisted, grim fighter like Asuka. Just a suspicious ghoul apologist like Chie.

But he cared about Dio's future.]

...Did you get another message from him? That there's a monster on the other side for sure? [He never seems to get updated on discoveries except at meetings, so he's sure there's bound to be something Logan found more recently.]

[decrees]

[Logan doesn't know what to say to that first part, so he simply doesn't address it.]

...I tried to leave a message for Reaver and Ashley, but they didn't respond. My messages were still there, so I don't know if they saw them or not.

Reaver said he was fighting the shadow monster. He has no reason to lie to us and I'm certain he wouldn't. Not about something this serious. Projectiles don't work - as Dio showed us.

[Thanks, Dio.]

[forcegalactic]

[So nothing new. That's not comforting.]

I reckon fightin' ain't the right way to go when it comes to otherworld creatures. Find their weakness, like light, and exploit it that way. All species got somethin' like that. Humans have poison, Martians have nuts, robots got rust. There's bound to be a secret way to stoppin' 'em.

...Violence ain't the way. That's what the Conductor and whoever he's workin' with wants.

[decrees]

...If that thing is stopped, we might stand a chance of ending this exercise. I do not suggest fighting it right now while we don't know it's weakness, but dismissing fighting as an option entirely is impossible.

[forcegalactic]

Might not. But you can't be so sure. Chargin' into a fight, even if you're as ready as you can be, sometimes doesn't work like you want it to....and I'm a bit worried about all this excitement about fightin' it.

[Keward, Sullivan, Stallwark. They all tried to stop Jim using their combative strengths and died fighting someone more powerful than they imagined. Did Sparks take advantage of a weakness in his armor? How were they able to defeat an all-powerful dictator like him?]

But if you think that's our best option, I ain't one to stop you. I'm sure you know more about fightin' monsters than I do.

[decrees]

...This isn't one of the shadows from my world, but I may be able to find some way to combat it. Light is obviously useful, but there are other things to consider.

[He looks pretty thoughtful about the whole thing, staring down at Dio's notebook.]

[forcegalactic]

...From your world?

[Wait he never heard about this]

You got shadow monsters on your planet, to?! You fight 'em?!

[decrees]

I have fought them in the past, yes.

[Since Mordecai is freaking out, now is probably not the time to mention that's where he got the scar on his lip from. And all of the others that are hidden under his clothes.]

They were very different than this one though. The ones I faced were far more terrifying.

[Dislikes: shadows.]

[forcegalactic]

[DUDE you became really helpful just about now.]

But how're they different? They also turn into things with all those teeth? They also weak to light?

[decrees]

The ones back home were capable of controlling minds - altering what you could see and hear as well as how you could act.

They didn't have teeth.

[...is that it, logan]

[forcegalactic]

So a bit different. These got shapeshiftin' powers and can turn into weapons. Like, if the shadows in your world were of the mind-powers breed, the ones the Conductor's got are focused on physical abilities.

[Mage vs. Warrior, in RPG terms.]

If they're connected to this "god", he might know about all the varieties of shadows, both mind-alterin' and stabbin' kinds.

[decrees]

Yes, exactly. The ones from Albion were certainly not gods or anything of the sort, but I don't know enough about this one to tell. The fact that it hasn't controlled any of the people put through the executions is enough; I sincerely doubt it's capable of that sort of thing.

[If it was, why would the flying screaming Dio head have ever been a thing?]

[forcegalactic]

Then if we can't beat it by fightin' it, we gotta outsmart it. Lightin' candles and torches ain't enough.

What we need to do is figure out just what the shadows don't like to do. The Conductor did say they're more like partners than his employees, so we might have to exploit that relationship.

Make 'em frustrated with his demands, get 'em to turn against him.

[decrees]

...Turn against him...

[Well, it would be totally fitting if the Conductor was eaten by shadows. He'd actually find that really goddamn hilarious.]

Do you have any ideas for that?

[forcegalactic]

[While they all stand back and watch his hubris be his downfall.]

...I did write askin' if he can get his shadows to deliver some of the drinks and food I make, but he said they'd laugh at him. Don't know if leavin' a souffle in the mail room each night will be enough, but that's a start.

Next thing I can think of is findin' out what each of them wants. The Conductor wants to run this experiment, who knows what the shadows want? Eatin' things? Make it hard for them to deal with us, maybe stay out all night keepin' watch over the locked room and lightin' torches so it's annoyin' for them to walk about, assumin' that Dio Giovanni's bee saw was the shadows shapeshiftin' into him.

[decrees]

How do you intend to find out what the shadow monster wants? It's not as though you can just talk to it, even if it does assume Dio's form.

[...Hopefully it doesn't do that again, that's going to give someone a heart attack.]

[forcegalactic]

That's why we have the telephone and letters. While the Conductor won't tell us anythin' directly, the trick is askin' him the right questions. He doesn't want to say what the nature of his sacrifice was, but he will say that he's always been provided for thanks to his "livin' situation" when I asked him how he eats. Little clues like that.

[decrees]

...I haven't been able to learn anything useful from him. It may be best if someone else handles that.

[...]

Ah, but not one person, that's...

[WE DON'T NEED ANOTHER ASHLEY OR KANEKI]

[forcegalactic]

No, no. We need to all do this. I'll be doin' my part from now on; now's the end of Mordecai Benmont Jiminy that stayed in his room most of the day! It's high time I do my part. As mayor of Mars, it's my responsibility to make sure no more trouble happens in this place.

[decrees]

...I wouldn't count on being able to prevent trouble entirely. All we can do is keep as many people alive as possible.

[It's as gentle as Logan can get it, which still isn't very gentle at all. He's been operating under that assumption from day one, but the longer this goes on, the more he's realizing that he really hates that way of thinking.]

[forcegalactic]

That's true. Wish that were the case for my saloon, but there's always troublemakers sneakin' into it.

[Could everyone please stop shooting and/or punching each other for once?]

But that don't mean we can give up. Even though trouble manages to find my place, the Space Saloon was much safer than the bar across the street. Some fights is better than fights happenin' every day on the regular.

[decrees]

I know. Giving up is never an option.

[...That's... Well. He didn't need to think about that before he answered it. He'll have to seriously consider his situation back in Albion a bit more later.]

We'll do what we can.

[forcegalactic]

[He smiles. Remember when you thought everyone was doomed because you weren't there?]

You help out, too. We've been findin' more clue every week, and we can't afford to slow down.