FINAL INVESTIGATION

[whimsicalism]

No one is dead today. Why would they when the end is so close? You can practically taste it (or is that your stomach?) as the final Friday dawns. It's time to get some answers.

The Storyteller isn't talking to anyone but it's a good guess to see where she went. There's one final door that hasn't been checked, after all.

Comments

[battlestations]

[Well, this is HIGHLY UPSETTING. Nigel grips his radio, trying to think.

Neku and Oriko tried to kill her and he thought they were wrong. Nagisa advocated to kill her and he was also wrong. Nigel couldn't think of anything else, but he'd forgotten so much by then.

It just feels like things are repeating, over and over and over. Maybe this finally will break the cycle for good. But... the way it's settled on him, it still seems wrong.

It's the coward's way out. And what is the enemy, according to the Apple Court, who know the most of this world?]

If we do it like this.... we won't defeat our fear. It will doom us.

[xxxx_me]

...Fear...?

[battlestations]

We already know Alice doesn't want to die. She's doing this because she's scared for us... scared of the Storyteller. If we kill her now, for that reason... doesn't just that prove we're afraid of the Storyteller?

[ballooncaged]

I completely agree! What matters is what we believe!

[Mizuki reads the fragment out loud.]

[battlestations]

Mizuki! Is this the rest of the book?!

[ballooncaged]

Yeah! It's after parts 1 through 4! And the kids met Nursery Rhyme too!!

[Ok so this next part is WILD ic speculation that hasn't been crossreffed with the latest sources AT ALL. That said]

If we kill Real Alice and go forward from that, then Nursery Rhyme will still be sustained by Closetland! And if we kill Real Alice to make sure Nursery Rhyme runs the Glass Game for our dead comrades to live, then we'll just go back and forget everything and disappoint each other's expectations ALL OVER AGAIN!!!

[SHRIEKING TOWARDS THE END???]

What's the point of the power of believing if we can't hope Alice gets better...?!?!?

[battlestations]

We can definitely hope for it! We have the technology!

[NIGEL PLEASE DON'T REVIVE HER AS THE BIONIC WOMAN. Or do, it'd be pretty par for the course]

[imozon]

[HECK YEAH REVIVE HER AS THE BIONIC WOMAN]

[xxxx_me]

...Maybe. But...

I'm less afraid of the Storyteller and more... [He trails off, digging into those memories he's still managed to hold onto.]

...There was a girl who was trapped in the Dream. She only had teeny tiny pieces of her soul left, but she couldn't move on. She wanted to fly with the other souls, to be reborn, but she was too weighed down by the living who couldn't let her go.

I don't want Alice to be like that. She needs to be allowed to move on.

[battlestations]

I don't think Alice is incomplete. She's just... really, really sick.

[After listening to Mizuki, though, he's got a new determination.]

We still need her.

[xxxx_me]

She was supposed to die, though. Years and years ago.

[battlestations]

Mmgh.

[He heard about that, but it sounded like things were different than expected if Allen is suddenly able to pull a plug or whatever.]

Look, I don't know the situation over there. Is she actually a ghost? What do you mean when you say you'll kill her?

[xxxx_me]

She's... [Gosh, how to even begin?] She's in really, really bad shape. She's hooked up to all kinds of IVs and things.

She asked me to pull the plug.

[whimsicalism]

Allen - what - if - there - was - something - else?

[whimsicalism]

I'm - scared - what - else - can - I - do - like - this?

[She doesn't want to die. She doesn't.]

I - want - to - believe

[battlestations]

Did you hear what Mizuki said? Believing is what you can do! That's how this works.

[whimsicalism]

[She's silent then:]

Even - if - I'm - a - bad - girl?

[xxxx_me]

[...]

[battlestations]

....I never did get to invite you to our sector, you know.

[Is redemption a good thing to believe in?]

[whimsicalism]

I - would - you - let - me - in?

[battlestations]

Sure. We'd make a pretty motley crew, but we could definitely use the help.

[golden_king]

[ At some point, his voice comes in because they have radios and all that. ]

Well, I don't really have too much of a preference in how we handle this. I mean, on one hand, she's obviously already on death's door, so I wouldn't be surprised if this is just a quicker way for her to die.

[ But what did he know? ]

Though, things do change if 'killing her ends the game'. If, of course, it also happens to get us everything we want too.

[battlestations]

I thought we established that Nursery Rhyme is being sustained by Closetland instead of her master. Killing Alice now could break her spirit, but it wouldn't actually remove her... would it? How do we know she won't just try to drag us all down with her? It's already happened that way before.

[golden_king]

Maybe she would. Or maybe she'd try to drag us down anyway.

[ But he'll shrug. He didn't seem too invested in making a point here. ]

Though like I said, I don't really care how we handle 'her'...for the moment. If everyone wants to keep her around, I'm not going to argue against it. I'm just being helpful by providing arguments for either option we have because I'm feeling generous.

[ He'll smile slightly though, as if amused. ]

I'm sure that dumb Servant is going to have enough of a good reaction just seeing us with her as it is, anyway.

[battlestations]

[He's not sure he cares for the flippantness here, but...whatever.]

Let's make her squirm.