[ okay, okay... she's going to take a deep breath (or pretend to, since she probably doesn't actually need to breathe anymore) and just. deal with this. ]
... Something really messed up happened, and I need to fix it somehow. Stop it from getting worse. Or... go back and stop it from happening in the first place.
He turns around and flies off! At a moderate pace, so that Rita can follow. After a little bit, he'll check to make sure that she's still behind him and not, like, smacked into one of the floating doors or trapped on an island by skelly hands coming out of the ground ]
[ other things they pass on their way there: a floating jail! an island jungle with a giant skull cave on it! another island with a medieval castle on it! a floating high school in grayscale--which Rita will recognize as Casper High, where she died.
They go on and on, until the concentration of doors and islands and signs of unlife seem to thin out. There is very little here...except for a speck of something in the distance. Wulf points to it. ]
Se ĉi tiu fantomo estas reala... lia kaverno devus esti tia. Mi ne povas preni vin plu. Bonŝancon.
[ If this ghost is real...his lair should be that way. I cannot take you any further. Good luck. ]
[ you are so lucky Wulf is nice. he just nods politely, gives her a thumbs up, and goes on his merry way.
it takes another while of aimless floating--it's colder out here, and it feels like every inch she moves forward, the rest of the Ghost Zone behind her recedes another foot.
but the thing in the distance grows larger, closer. until she finds herself at: the Clocktower. ]
It's kind of a relief when the Clocktower actually grows closer. For a little bit, it almost felt like she was drifting off into space, never to return to solid earth.
She'll head for the entrance. Is it open? Is there a door? ]
[ ...okay realtalk i don't think they actually show us enough of the clocktower for me to know that answer so let's just say there's like. a giant cavernous arch that leads to the interior, where there are just dozens of mounted clock faces that show scenes of various worlds, realities, every possibility you can imagine, and a million more you never could. Behind them are gigantic cogs that seem to go on for far deeper than the tower can possibly have space for, and the ticking is incessant.
In one of them, the CATs go off without a hitch. After the exam, Rita and Estelle and Yuri hang out and get some ice cream to celebrate. In another, all of her friends shun her entirely. In yet another, she is back in Oceanside, standing over a corpse with blood on her hands. this one will be so fucking funny if she actually killed So on and so on, in endless variations.
[ Rita stops to take in all of those images. It's hard to say how long she spends just looking at them, imagining herself in these different realities. She's so engrossed in staring at these scenes that the sound of the voice causes her to jump. ]
I know what you're going to ask. And the answer is no. What's happened has happened. Actions were taken, and their consequences played out. [ in other words, y'all fucked around and found out. ] Why is there any reason to change it?
It was no accident. Your friends chose to cheat, and they faced the consequences. Why should I undo two people's mistakes, out of all the bad choices made by every person across every timeline?
[ he raises an eyebrow ] What makes your case so special?
[ he just stares her down for a moment...before giving a casual little huff of a laugh ]
...very well. Who am I to turn down such an impassioned request?
But. Know that this will not turn out like you hope. Come. Your friends have made a further mess of things as it is.
[ rita can snatch a glimpse of the lab back at vlad's, and the two new ghosts and their corpses, but only briefly--because suddenly Clockwork's purple cloak is engulfing her to go elsewhere... ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Jes. Ĉi tie ĉiuj fantomoj finfine revenas. La fonto de nia tuta potenco kaj kie estas niaj hejmoj.
Ĉu vi estas nova? Perdita?
[ Yes. This is where all ghosts eventually return to. The source of all our power and where our homes are.
Are you new? Lost? ]
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[ she is slowly working through a lot of emotions and most of those emotions are fear. give her a second. ]
I came here looking for something... but I don't know what it is, exactly.
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Ĉu vi havas ideon? Mi povas helpi. Mi povas konduki vin kien vi bezonas iri.
[ Do you have an idea? I can help. I can lead you where you need to go. ]
no subject
... Something really messed up happened, and I need to fix it somehow. Stop it from getting worse. Or... go back and stop it from happening in the first place.
[ Is such a thing even possible? ]
no subject
Estas... onidiroj. De fantomo, kiu povas ŝanĝi tempon. Oni diras, ke li loĝas en granda belfrido. Mi eble konos la vojon.
[ There are...rumors. Of a ghost who can alter time. They say he lives in a large clocktower. I might know the way. ]
no subject
[ rita you are in the ghost zone what did you expect ]
Okay. That sounds like a good place to start. Think you can take me there, uh... -- you got a name?
no subject
Vi povas nomi min Wulf. Sekvu min.
[ You may call me Wulf. Follow me.
He turns around and flies off! At a moderate pace, so that Rita can follow. After a little bit, he'll check to make sure that she's still behind him and not, like, smacked into one of the floating doors or trapped on an island by skelly hands coming out of the ground ]
1/2
[ but will rita actually call him by his name. it's a mystery.
she'll follow him... ]
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They go on and on, until the concentration of doors and islands and signs of unlife seem to thin out. There is very little here...except for a speck of something in the distance. Wulf points to it. ]
Se ĉi tiu fantomo estas reala... lia kaverno devus esti tia. Mi ne povas preni vin plu. Bonŝancon.
[ If this ghost is real...his lair should be that way. I cannot take you any further. Good luck. ]
no subject
Fine. I'll figure it out from here. Thanks for the help, big guy.
[ in the end, she does not actually use his name.
and now she's heading towards that thing in the distance. ]
no subject
it takes another while of aimless floating--it's colder out here, and it feels like every inch she moves forward, the rest of the Ghost Zone behind her recedes another foot.
but the thing in the distance grows larger, closer. until she finds herself at: the Clocktower. ]
no subject
It's kind of a relief when the Clocktower actually grows closer. For a little bit, it almost felt like she was drifting off into space, never to return to solid earth.
She'll head for the entrance. Is it open? Is there a door? ]
no subject
In one of them, the CATs go off without a hitch. After the exam, Rita and Estelle and Yuri hang out and get some ice cream to celebrate. In another, all of her friends shun her entirely. In yet another, she is back in Oceanside, standing over a corpse with blood on her hands.
this one will be so fucking funny if she actually killedSo on and so on, in endless variations.And then a voice echoes throughout the room. ]
Rita Mordio.
no subject
Wh-who's there!?
[ She whirls around. ]
no subject
You've been searching for me. Well, congratulations. You found who you were looking for. You will know me as Clockwork.
Now, let's just cut to the chase: no.
1/2
... Okay. Listen, you, I need to...
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[ She gestures angrily at those alternate futures. ]
I could have lived! Estelle could have lived! All of them, if not for some stupid freak accident!
no subject
[ he raises an eyebrow ] What makes your case so special?
no subject
I don't care if my case is special or not. It's my problem and I'm not leaving until I fix it!
no subject
...very well. Who am I to turn down such an impassioned request?
But. Know that this will not turn out like you hope. Come. Your friends have made a further mess of things as it is.
[ rita can snatch a glimpse of the lab back at vlad's, and the two new ghosts and their corpses, but only briefly--because suddenly Clockwork's purple cloak is engulfing her to go elsewhere... ]