becomemod | audience: nico di angelo

You can push yourself too far while trying to do your share.

[ they'll drop it for now. just know that they're watching. ]

Casino? [ their head tilts, but they listen in silence and wait for nico to find whatever he's looking for. when he pulls out a white paper, their mouth forms a small O in surprise. then their back straightens. business mode activated. ] You found one in this casino, then. Hand-written, I take it?

What does this one say?

[ we are dropping it!! you're not his real guardian!! (i hate him i'm so tired.)

it's fine. he does not feel like talking about the casino either because he's been hyperfocused on talking to phoenix about these things. ]

Yeah. Well, our getaway car, anyway. It was me, Hans and Whisper. Jolyne, Hung and Danny were in another part of the casino I guess? They got a note, too, and Hung let me take a picture.

[ he is unsure why he has to read it out loud but he does. the paper first: ]

"The stakes so far have been too boring. It’s no fun when all they do at the end of the day is go home, so for the next round, we’ll spice it up a bit. If they want a chance for anyone to return at all, they’ll have to take that chance from someone else.

One death each week is enough to keep the door open. Kill, or lose everything any of them have cared about. Let’s see how heroic they can be in those conditions."

And the other one...[ reading from his phone: ] "These heroes are unable to return to the worlds they call home while they have yet to win their competition. If a team loses, all those within the team, present and future, those worlds they hail from will come under the light of the moon. Those worlds will be forever changed with the loss of the heroes hailing from them. There is nothing better than a hero under distress.

By winning they will be putting their companions here at risk. By losing, their homes will be rewritten to be completely different, erasing their place within it. A dire situation indeed. A benefit no matter the outcome."

[ tell him he did good. ]

[ they're your guardian now, nico, accept it.

was he handing it over... if he wasn't they can't read it but i don't know, ty, today's trial was wild and we're tired. it's fine. ]

...That's not how I expected you to find these things, but good work finding them at all. [ frowning, they cross their arms. ] The first one explains the new rules this week. Even if they didn't come from the same place, they're still aligned. And the second gives us a more solid answer on what danger is in store for our worlds.

We're still missing a solution.

[ STOP I'M SORRY some npcs really just cannot perceive and i'd respect that it's fine, rest now. ]

Believe me, I hadn't expected it either. [ he's still not thrilled. ] I think at least understanding the core of the problem is important, so I don't feel like this wasn't worth finding. But...you can kind of see why I'm trying to figure things out.

[ sometimes you are scared of losing everything and you decide the answer is to run yourself into the ground for answers. ]

We were debating if these came from that guy in white or someone else. Though the idea that there's a door being held open so long as we play along to keep us from being permanently trapped also isn't exactly settling. [ literally why is it always doors of death somehow. ]

Any information is more than we had. It's good to have.

[ they understand, but they aren't going to call him out on it again. for now. ]

It's possible. [ they give an indignant sniff. ] That sounds familiar - paying a price to keep a door open. I don't like it, but I like the alternative even less.

I can't think of many people that wouldn't care about being erased or losing their worlds. But this makes the whole thing feel even more real.

[ ... ]

Has that happened before? Being sent somewhere else outside of the city without people knowing and having their thoughts overridden.

Most people want to survive, even when they're fated not to. Who can blame them?

...It has, but it didn't rewrite our thoughts. We didn't get anything out of it like you did, either. I haven't thought about it in months.

I don't think Argalia cared too much about surviving. [ which is strange, but he's not going to convince him otherwise. some people accept their death and that's that. but otherwise he agrees, and he's soon blinking in surprise. ]

Rewriting might be too strong of a word, but...it felt that way. Like where we were was actually where we were meant to be, with memories of things we've done and places we've been without having done those things before. It wasn't pleasant to come back and realize that. [ still. ] ...where did you go?

[ does he get to ask for storytime. ]

I didn't say it was the only motive.

I guess we did get a similar feeling now and then? [ shrugs. they didn't pay much attention to it, frankly. ] It was called the Netherworld, but we had to go to the moon, too.

[ i. see the npcs had fun in disgaea. he squints a little like he's trying to decide if the netherworld is the same as the underworld somewhere else, but then phoenix is talking about the moon and--]

Uh. You sort of lost me with the moon. Why? [ well. actually i will spare you in case mods do not have a real answer, so alternatively: ] Didn't the guy in white bring the moon crashing down a month ago? Don't tell me those were related.

I don't think so...? There were no aliens to fight, here.

Aliens. [ blankly. ] Of course there were aliens, it was the moon. [ ... ] Was it all of you who went that time?

No, just six of us. The four of us that were in trial today, along with Pink Pig and Marigold Monkey.

[ he's been to the memorial, and so he's seen the statues, but he hasn't actually heard the names prior to this. he looks curious like he wants to ask, but it's been a shitty day so later. ]

Six seems to be a key number here. Even though we weren't really together, six of us were there working with our own teams. [ but that's...hm. ] If it happened to you guys, and it happened to us, do you think there's a likelihood it could happen again to someone else?

Six is a good number, for a team.

It's been a long time since it happened to us, but if it's happened again, I think the chances are good that it could keep happening. It's not ideal, but it could be a way to get more information, too.

...I like the idea of getting information so we can figure out how to proceed. I don't like the idea of people essentially being kidnapped, again, in order to do it. [ not that this is about what he does and doesn't like. ] I guess my concerns are that the whole thing's a trap. It feels convenient that we were pulled elsewhere and were able to find this information. I want to believe it's true and useful so we know how to plan, but it was just there at the end when we finished. Waiting for us.

Like I said, not ideal. All I mean is that something is better than nothing at all.

[ tilts head. ]

What kind of trap are you expecting?

I'm not sure yet. [ he's honest, at least. but then he seems to realize he's probably overthinking and he sighs. ] ...it's not important, you're probably right. Something is better than nothing.

But this sort of thing...it's probably fine to tell other people, isn't it? [ admittedly it's a little late for him to ask now but it's fine. ]

I wouldn't say it's not important.

It should be. I doubt that the other teams would have some way of using it against you.

[ he will come back to the important vs not important part in a second, because he has also remembered something else. ]

As far as I know, most of the other teams want to also find a way to get people home. [ from what he's heard, anyway. ] I don't know if anyone from Rabbit knows yet, but I'll probably ask Temenos tomorrow.

[ this time, he pauses again. ]

...I did want to ask about something else, actually. Somewhat related to that. I know you don't want us sharing our team abilities with other teams. But can I ask for an exception?

[ nods. ]

They deserve to know, too. Thank you, Nicole.

...For Will, is it?

[ ray go to bed i'm leaving this autocorrect tag though because it's funny. anyway. yeah. he isn't particularly close to anybody on rabbit (and has only spoken to some of them once or twice), but it's weird to lock them out entirely. it's worth making sure they know the basics. ]

It's the least I can do. [ and. yeah. he kind of awkwardly pauses because he is aware it's obvious but jeez. ] ...he already told me his. And I know I can trust him more than anything, and if he knows maybe he can help me keep an eye on things.

[ don't tell me what to do Nicole.

they grin. ]

More than anything, hm? Well, he's already decided that our teams will tie somehow. You can tell him.

[ nyeh.

DON'T GRIN. now he just looks a little indignant about it but it's mostly sheepishness. ]

More than anyone, even. But that's the plan we've been working with so far. Knowing what we know now though...it may be a little harder. We're still going to try. [ he does have the manners to bow his head in thanks though. ] Thank you. I thought about using it yesterday on someone without telling anybody but I didn't want to think of how they'd explain the possible burns.

Yes, and I get the feeling you would have told him even if I said no.

Now that they've all seen me do it, it may be easier for them to accept. But I suppose you could always change yours, if it's too much of a bother.

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