12 | But IRO-BOT will never die, my robot will never die.

[the_vishual]

[ The camera focuses on Chase and she's quietly sitting in one of the common rooms, hands folded neatly in her lap, a pleasant smile on her face. If you look closely, there's a few art supplies behind her. ]

I've seen it. The truth. And I'm so very sorry I didn't see it sooner. To everyone who does not believes in God that I have been a petulant child to, I apologize.

[ She nods. It's firm, it's full of resolve. ]

It's going to be okay. Not for a very, very long time, but it's going to be okay. But first, there is something I need to do. So--please, don't fight. And above all else, treasure one another. I'm going to help you.

[ There's a brief pause, and Chase clears her throat. Her eyes glow a pinkish colour. ]

No key is needed, the truth will surface. The way will shine and the journey will be new, but They will not. They are watching, and Their presence will be met with red, red, red. There's a place--a labyrinth--that They will claw out of, clutching what they once where. Whispers are no longer whispers. Whispers are roars, are shouts, are screams of the damned and the dead. The murals are laughing. The network is laughing. And--

[ She closes her eyes. ]

There is something I must do. Today, I'm going to try to defy God.

[ She cuts the feed--and to anyone that can pick out what common room it is, they'll find her communicator lying on a table, along with a heavy book from her world. The one item in her possession: her version of the bible, the Ghansgraad. She's taken the art supplies. ]

Comments

[sweetmotherofgod]

Great. Then let's go.

[She doesn't wait for a response, just starts walking. She's not playing chicken, either. He's got a point; she just knows it's a stupid idea to go wandering unprepared.]

[yardbird]

...

[After getting haplessly stabbed awhile ago, Murphy knows better than to go around without expecting the worst to happen. Simple jaunts through the corridors here always have the potential to become life-threatening situations. If he didn't learn that by now, his survival up unto this point would have been nothing short of a miracle.

[Murphy just kind of makes a disgruntled sound before he turns to follow Heather. He'd suggest splitting to cover more ground, but that's just as stupid as going around without a gun.]

Don't suppose you've found anything yet? Clues 'bout where she might've gone?

[He doesn't even feel the need to elaborate on who "she" is. If they're both out here, it's a given as to why.]

[sweetmotherofgod]

All she left behind was her communicator and this damn book.

[She hefts it by way of illustration. It always seemed huge clutched to Chase's small frame; in Heather's hands, it doesn't seem that big at all.]

I kinda flicked through it, but nothing stood out. No notes tucked into it or anything. Wherever she's gone, she doesn't want us following her.

[Which, it probably goes without saying, is all the more reason to do exactly that.]

[yardbird]

Guess that was kinda the point...

[But why, though? Defy God, what's that supposed to mean, other than--?

[No, he doesn't want to think about that -- about the kind of things that sends souls to Purgatory. Makes him sick to his stomach when he's bad enough at composing himself as it is. He can't fuck this up, not this time.]

It's alright. We'll find her.

["It's alright... It's alright, I'll find him."]

[sweetmotherofgod]

[She doesn't realize it, but she's holding the book the way Chase did. Fingers curled around the open edge, forearm crossed over the cover and pressing it to her chest. Her right hand holds her knife, which flips around her nervous fingers in a learned pattern of reassurance. Blade out, flip, spin, blade in. Blade out, repeat.]

I should have known, Murph. I talked to her at the jump. She practically told me she was going to try something.

[yardbird]

[Murphy notices. He's got other things to focus on at the moment, like making sure he's got his own "knife" that he's made up to carve the walls. If they're going to be headed out this far, they don't want to risk getting lost. After he's done, he glances at Heather, quickening his pace to make sure he stays in sync with her.]

...

[Shit. Goddammit, not this...

[Suddenly, he's reminded of Annie. "I should have known," he kept telling himself. Another life he could have helped, but didn't... and no matter how many times he says that he won't let it happen again, it happens, and now Chase is--

[He hears the words, "It's not your fault."]

It's not your fault, Heather. [He rubs his forehead, feeling the ultimate hypocrisy coming on in the form of a headache.]

[sweetmotherofgod]

I know, but -

[She sucks air, anger with herself holding back the worry. Anger drives her, anger makes her fast and strong. Worry undoes her, so anger it is.]

She's a little girl with strange powers and a creepy religious upbringing telling her there's a purpose for her that matters more than her life does. If anyone should have known enough to stop this, it's me.

[yardbird]

[They're birds of a feather in that regard, though it's also that same anger that's damned him all the same. Expecting Heather to think or feel differently would be just as pointless as telling himself the same thing.]

She ever tell you what she planned on doin' ahead of time?

[sweetmotherofgod]

Sometimes. She warns me about things. And when Tillman left, she found me and told me what happened to him. It was probably the kindest thing anyone's ever done for me.

[The hallways are maddeningly bare. If only Chase was more of a CHILD, leaving a wake of mess and disruption they could follow. But there's nothing.]

This time, it was... weird. She was so calm. She called me Heather - just Heather, no miss. She's never done that before. She's been planning this at least since the jump, I think.

[yardbird]

[Doesn't sound too far out in the ballpark as far as Murphy knows about Chase and what she's capable of knowing, saying that she knows things because "God" tells her. She also knew that more people were going to die, but... that's also a fair assumption to make, given where they are.]

...

[Also yeah, it would have been a great big help if she was a normal kid and left a more obvious trail. Just because it's a useless endeavor doesn't mean that he's giving up, though.]

If she knew somethin' bad was gonna happen to her, she'd tell somebody. ["I think."] She'd... shit, I dunno. Maybe it's somethin' else...

[Of course, we know that's wishful thinking.]