day 4, with aoi

[entreats]

[ There's nothing really special about Ange's dressing room - it just looks the way it did when she first showed up here, basically. She does pull out one of the chairs though to sit down and make herself comfortable, considering she might just end up having quite a bit to talk about. ]

Well, I guess I should first ask if you've talked to that woman.. Beatrice. That's where it all starts.

Comments

[jinglebros]

She's fucking crazy is what she is. [ He sits down as well. ] Bitch keeps going on about how she wants me to bow down to her and how she'd kill our parents in front of me if she had powers here. Isn't that insane or what?

[ He has no idea. NO IDEA. ]

[entreats]

[ Oh, Aoi, you sweet summer child.. But at least by already knowing Beatrice is crazy and not that great, Ange has one less step to explain here. ]

.. She already did that back home. That woman is playing a game with Battler onii-chan by using the lives of our family.

[jinglebros]

....what?

[ He stares. He doesn't want to believe it, but with things he's seen... ]

She's not kidding here?

[entreats]

She's not kidding. If she did have her powers here, we'd be in big trouble.

[ Ange sounds serious - her tone less deadpan than usually. ]

[jinglebros]

Dad didn't seem to know she had powers. He thought Battler might be crazy. What's going on there?

[ Aoi is so very confused, and so very worried, and so very a LOT of things right now. His face is very conflicted. ]

[entreats]

.. It's kind of difficult. [ She lets out a small sigh. ]

The short version is that dad doesn't know about a lot of stuff that's going on with Battler onii-chan, and to a lesser extent with me. The long story.. Well, do you know about Schrodinger's cat?

[jinglebros]

[ Pauses and then laughs bitterly. ]

Yeah, I... I know a little about that.

[entreats]

[ Her facial expression softens a little bit, but she figures she should ask what's so bitter about it for him later to keep things from getting too confusing. ]

My family is basically the cat trapped in the box. For that incident where they died.. [ She swallows, but continues. ] The police couldn't find anything in the future I'm from. No culprit, no evidence, for most of them not even their bodies. No one knows what happened on Rokkenjima that day.

This next part is going to sound pretty ridiculous, but the witch, Beatrice, is able to exist in that cat box since anything could be true as long as no one knows the truth inside. Even a ridiculous possibility like "a witch killed almost the entire Ushiromiya family that day."

Do you get it so far?

[jinglebros]

Sure, I get it completely. Keep going.

[ None of this is confusing to him at all. He's following along perfectly. ]

[entreats]

Right, so for some reason she's forcing Battler onii-chan to play a game with her in said cat box.. something about wanting him to acknowledge her as a witch or whatever. She shows him various timelines where our family is killed in ridiculous scenarios by magic, and then onii-chan has to prove how a human could have done it. If he can't figure it out, then our family will be trapped there forever, effectively "dead". But if he manages to prove everything could have been done by a human and denies her being a witch, then he can get our family back out of there alive.

... Dad doesn't know about any of it since he doesn't know about the possibility of different timelines like Battler onii-chan, Beatrice, or even I do. I'm sure mom didn't know about it either when she was here before, since that witch only involved Battler onii-chan in the game for some reason. I only know about all of this since I went back to the past to participate in that game too.

[jinglebros]

And how did you go back into the past to do that? Why did you get involved?

[ Listening carefully and intently to every single bit of this. ]

[entreats]

I wanted to save my family. No matter what. So when a different witch involved with that game managed to reach me in the future and told me it wasn't possible for onii-chan to win without my help, I didn't even hesitate before telling her I'd come with her.

[ She pauses for a moment, staring at her shoes before looking at back him. ]

Don't ask how it's possible and all, I'm not sure either. But I do know for sure I really did go back to the past to help Battler onii-chan in that game.

[jinglebros]

And then what happened? Did you... are you okay now? Or did Beatrice make you play too? Did you have to watch?

[ He's clenching his hands together so hard the knuckles are white. ]

[entreats]

Yeah, I played the game along with Battler onii-chan. I saw dad and mom and everyone else die. That's.. how I know Beatrice is not kidding when she talks about that stuff.

[ Ange moves her hands until they're over Aoi's own, trying to hold them. ]

.. Sorry that you had to get involved with our family of all families. Things are pretty messed up right now.

[jinglebros]

No, you know what? I'm used to messed up. This is just icing on top of the already fucked up cake.

[ He takes a deep breath and turns his hands over to hold onto her hands. ]

You tell me what I can do to help from here. if anything. And I'll do it.

[entreats]

[ Her expression is almost a smile, but with something slightly bittersweet about it as she looks at him. ]

You're so strong, saying that so easily. How do you manage it?