[spoiler]Cobalt, we’re continuing from here.[/spoiler]
“Uh, what?” Fukua asks, looking up from checking on her wounds.
English
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[spoiler]Good speechless, don’t worry.[/spoiler] “I saw Fie, back there. She told me I couldn’t die yet, we still had to explore the world. I’m keeping that promise.” [i]Cobalt goes and retrieves his Flatline and Aklex, then goes back to Fukua to see if she needs help.[/i]
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Fukua looked at you with a sad expression, not entirely sure what to say. When you came to check on her, she let out a deep breath. “I’ll be good. I’ve never been separatee from my shade for that long, and I’ll admit I’m still a little shaken, but I’ll be fine.”
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“I’m going first, then. Stay behind me, yeah?” [i]Cobalt looks around for where he can go next.[/i]
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You’re in a large circular room. There aren’t any doors, but the ceiling seemed to be absent. It looks like the only way to go is up.
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[i]Cobalt looks upwards, and sighs.[/i] “Alright, guess we’re going up. Are you able to climb?”
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“Yeah, I can climb. Probably better than you can—you sure you can scale that wall?”
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“Shouldn’t be that bad. I was worried about having to carry you.” [i]Cobalt heads to the wall, and plunges his first in, creating a sort of handhold. He kicks in with his foot, doing the same.[/i] “You ready?”
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Fukua’s hair branches out to take the shape of a spider. One lock folds under her to make a seat, as the spider-legs stick to the wall. “Ready.” She says, as the legs begin carrying her up.
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[i]Cobalt repeats the process, punching and kicking to climb up the wall. [/i]
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When you finally reach the top, you find yourself in a flat circular area. Vines crawl up over the exit you just came out of, creating a surprisingly scenic view. You see Aubrey just across the way, sitting on a blanket, sipping a cup of tea. "Had fun, I hope?" She asked, with a sinister grin on her face, pouring you each a cup of tea.
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“Not really, no.” [i]Cobalt snaps up his rifle, motioning for Fukua to stay back, while he slowly approaches.[/i] “You’re going to stand down, yeah? Make this easier on both of us?”
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Edited by The First Aifos: 5/22/2021 5:06:03 AMSeveral vines were instantly covering your entire body, faster than you could react. Fukua reachd out towards you, and was about to call your name, when she found several vines covering her arm as well. You both felt small thorns grow out of the vines' surface, ready to pierce you clean through all over your body. Aubrey took another sip of her tea. "Quite the contrary, [i]you're[/i] going to stand down. If you want a fight, that's going to have to wait until I'm done with my tea. In fact, why don't you join me?" She motions for you two to sit on the carpet across from her, and the vines coil back down your body, releasing you from the grasp.
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[i]Cobalt doesn’t move, keeping his rifle trained.[/i] “I don’t drink tea. And you don’t deserve the honor of seeing my face.”
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“Fine, if you don’t want to drink tea, then don’t. But let’s all just sit down and have a chat at the least, hm? I’m sure you must have some questions for me.”
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[i]Cobalt hesitantly approaches, holstering his rifle. He takes a seat.[/i]
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Aubrey takes a sip of her tea. “Well, don’t you have any questions for me? Motives? Means?”
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“Motives, start with those. Why’d you murder a robot with no reason to harm you?”
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She puts her tea down, and looks up at you. “Tell me, have you noticed it yet? Nobody down here is happy. Not a single person. It’s rather pathetic, isn’t it? Everyone came here trying to [i]find[/i] something that they were missing in their lives above. Companionship, the approval of their family, a new start, an adventure... That’s all they are, the PFDs. Aifos thinks he needs to save something—to [i]fix[/i] something. He’s still obsessing over the mistakes of his past, and he thinks he can find his redemption down here.” She lets out a quiet laugh to herself, and picks up her tea. “I doubt you even know what he did, but here he is, trying to play hero for a threat that doesn’t even exist.” She paused, and took a sip of her tea. “Everyone came down here to find their dream, but what [i]is[/i] there to find down here—what is there really?” She lets out a sigh. “Not much, as it turns out. If Aifos is down here to play the hero, then he needs a villain, don’t you think? So why kill Fie? Why kill the PFDs? It’s simple. I’m here to play the bad guy. To crush that obnoxious little glimmer of hope in his eye. Besides..” A crooked grin crept across her face. “This is what you’re here for, isn’t it?”
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“I... I’m here because he invited me. I didn’t sign up to be a bad guy.”
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“You’re going to make me spell it out for you, aren’t you? The reason you’re here is because you wanted an adventure, isn’t it? You wanted tobe a hero. In the end, you need me, because without me there’s nothing for you here. Nothing to fight against. No reason to not just run away.”
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“I’m here because I was invited, that’s it. I’m done adventuring.”
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She let out a quiet laugh. “Whatever you tell yourself.” She said taking another sip of her tea.
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“Alright. Why Fie? Why’d you start with her?”
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“She was trouble, that’s why. At first I was going to just pick one off at random, but she was too clever. She found my hideout here in the gardens, had all my tunnels mapped out, figured out how I had slipped into the city, and even knew my real name—something I bet you haven’t even found out yet. And all of it was done before the end of the first night down here. I daresay if she had her Murakumo, my plan might have fallen dead in its tracks from the get go. It was the same reason I attacked Joshua, I suppose. He knew a bit more than I would have liked as well.”
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“And why didn’t you attack the detectives? We hadn’t caught on yet?”