Continued from here.
Epilogue Part Two
"Just a Memory Now"
There was a cry from somewhere distant. It seemed to come from somewhere ephemeral. Air shifted as a boy phased into existence and dropped to the ground with a yelp.
"What... even...?"
Having appeared next to Tommy, Pietro held his hand out to the boy to help him up.
"Whatever insidious thing took over my sister thought it best to isolate us specifically for our connections to Wanda and Billy."
"Is that so..." After standing with Pietro's help, Tommy groaned.
"I feel like I was hit by a bus."
Meanwhile, Jude approached Kyoko and Makoto, holding up his hands.
"Believe me, I have about as much idea what happened as you, Kyoko. Makoto and I, we got a letter from Wanda, just like you guys did. You can imagine what we ran into."
Makoto looked to Billy, who seemed to have fallen sleepily into Teddy's arms.
"Mother was behind this, working from the dark place. That girl, Eveline, worked as her agent from this side, but I don't know exactly how. The Diver didn't say much. He just... Whatever happened here, he had to sacrifice himself for it to occur. I think Mother won't be a concern for a long time."
Jude nodded, but after a moment, he looked concerned.
"That's all well and good, but what about Lucas and his game? As far as I can tell, he wasn't directly involved with whatever Eveline was doing."
Nearby, Owen tapped at his codex.
"Seems to have turned off..."
"Before we continue... it's time to end this night's drama." Rising to her feet, Wanda glowed brightly. She wiped tears from her face and stared down Six and Black Adam.
"We are finally free of what burdens us, and I shall not allow this to continue any further. Through my actions, controlled or not, I have caused the deaths of far too many. Here and now, I shall prevent all further bloodshed until we are free for good."
Wanda's magic flowed throughout the room, cutting everyone off from their powers once again. In this case, she gave a condition:
their powers would return once they had left this twisted place for good. Considering the fighting, many in the room had no problems with this.
"That's right," announced a voice over Lucas' intercom.
"Enough of this nonsense. You've left one matter hanging, so proceed through the elevator to complete this night's events."
It was not Lucas' voice, and whoever they were, what they said was intriguing. Makoto exchanged a glance with Kyoto. It couldn't be...?
"We're paying my dear brother a visit," said Zoe, who activated the elevator in the barn.
"That's right." Makoto nodded and moved to join her.
"Once we've seen to him, we can look into getting a way out of here."
"Indeed. I think I've seen enough of this place to last several lifetimes," Kyoko simply said, attempting to take the codex off as she spoke, following the group into the elevator once it appeared before them all. She found that, unfortunately, the codexes had not yet detached yet.
With the prospect of bringing Lucas to justice on the table, Wanda made sure that everyone was made to follow into the elevator. It wasn't exactly safe to leave anyone behind. Teddy carried Billy, who had passed out in exhaustion.
Makoto explained as best he could to the others what he had been able to ascertain. At the very least, it was clear an entity from a dark realm called Mother had been the cause for what occurred. When Makoto explained that Eveline had been working for Mother, Zoe spoke up, telling the group that Eveline was some kind of parasitic human. As far as she understood, Evie had been a weapon that infected the minds of others with some kind of mold, allowing her to take them over. It was this fate that fell upon Zoe's family and Wanda.
"There was a storm," Zoe was explaining. There was little else to do in the elevator.
"A ship washed up in the nearby swamp, and my father rescued a woman and a little girl. That girl was Eveline. Everything changed that day, but somehow I..." Zoe sniffed.
"Before she disappeared, that woman told me what she knew. That she had been guardin' Evie, a bio-weapon, when everything went wrong. She told me what Evie could do and how to make the serum that'd cure the infected."
"That's what you were having me find," Bullet said.
"Yes... but that woman disappeared, and Wanda soon arrived. It was too hard then for me to leave my trailer. There was nothing I could do."
"So then... Wanda was affected by the bio-weapon, Evie? If she was driven mad by whatever was afflicted upon her, I suppose that connects a few dots."
Wanda looked down at her feet, unable to speak.
The elevator came to a stop. With a heavy sigh, Zoe led the group into the next room, where a hidden door continued on to a narrow hallway.
"His damn control center is just this way."
When the group arrived at a room filled to the brim with monitors and electronic equipment, they didn't find Lucas. Instead, when the male sitting in the swivel chair spun around, only a few in the group recognized him.
"Brennan?" Owen gasped, looking confused at his own memory recall again.
"Brennan" sighed.
"No, my name is not Brennan. It is Byakuya Togami. Don't forget it this time, Damien."
"My name isn't--"
"Byakuya!" Makoto stepped forward, confused.
"How are you here? Where's Lucas?"
"I think you can afford to wager a few guesses, Makoto," Kyoko said, crossing her arms as she glared at Byakuya, masking her surprise surprisingly well with her gaze,
"I know I can. I'm not in the mood for coy games right now, Byakuya, so I'd appreciate it if you speak very directly from here on out, lest you want to test my patience," she spoke boldly, as though passively flaunting the authority she held over him. The authority as the leader of the Coalition.
Byakuya did not look particularly pleased with what Kyoko had to say, but he did not speak out against her. Instead, he went to answer the most simple question first.
"Lucas is gone. He ran the moment Eveline appeared in the barn. I am here because I knew you would come to this point eventually. I watched Lucas on the monitors until he was out of sight, but I knew there was no point in going after him."
"Well, why not?!" Teddy exclaimed.
"Because he was always going to get away. At least, if things went the way they were supposed to. And, of course, they did."
There was silence for a moment, but eventually, Bullet broke it.
"... Who is this guy and why should I trust him? As far as I can tell, the motherfucker is in the right spot to have been helping Lucas all along."
Makoto stepped between Byakuya and the group, holding his hands up to everyone.
"Listen, Byakuya is a respected member of a private organization dedicated to protecting all our worlds! I trust him with my life... and so should all of you!"
Byakuya didn't seem touched by Makoto's sentiment.
"... I would like some protection while I explain the situation. The last thing we need is an angry mob forcing a situation to remain unresolved."
"Very well," said Captain America. Byakuya nodded to him.
"Makoto is right to put his trust in me, for if it was not for what I have done, we would all already be dead. The dark place would be open, and all the entities that lurk within would have been free to cause chaos across all of reality."
"... The hell do you mean?" Bullet asked. She gestured in frustration with her hands.
"I don't understand any of this shit at all. Who the fuck is Mother? Why should I care?"
"Of course you don't understand," Byakuya said,
"it is probably beyond your understanding." Bullet looked angry at that, but Byakuya talked over her, saying something that quickly shut her up.
"You died once, within the dark place. So did Damien, or whatever his real name is, and so did Klim. Twice." The trio exchanged strange looks. "
The dark place is a realm where certain entities lurk. They are trapped by a seal, and so try to lure victims inside their realm to use as hosts. You three are just a few of these victims."
"But what does this have to do with your involvement?" Makoto asked.
"And here I thought you were a patient one, Naegi. I'll do as Kirigiri asked and cut to the chase. You'll soon see how it all connects." He gestured to Lucas' equipment.
"I had no hand in Lucas' game. However, I am indeed at fault, for it was I who sent out your invitations."
"... W-What...?"
"You son of a bitch--!"
Wanda threatened both Byakuya and the group with her magic.
"Let him finish."
As yelling began to rang out, Steve hesitated. He wanted to be angry as well, but he had promised to let the boy explain. He stood as a black against any threats.
"We need to listen to the end!"
"That you do." Byakuya looked momentarily at odds with himself, but he eventually managed to continue.
"Wanda, of course, was already infected by the bio-weapon. She was forced to write the letters in order to grow the 'family,' but Wanda resisted in sending them. I completed the task to facilitate the events of this night, thus leading Billy Kaplan in achieving a sort of destiny that had been laid out before him."
"Destiny? What are you...?" Kyoko inquired in confusion, wondering what Billy had to do with this plan. Even being as direct as he could, Byakuya continued to mystify even the Ultimate Detective, up until he further elaborated.
Teddy, holding Billy just a bit closer, let out a deep breath.
"Is that what was going on with the orb?"
"A future instance of Billy Kaplan, known as the Demiurge, planted a seed in a man. This man became the Diver, who fought against the darkness until this day, where the present instance of Billy Kaplan germinated the seed, creating the seal on the dark place. The seal that has always existed, since, presumably, the beginning of our reality and the dark place."
"You're saying..." Teddy tried to think of the rights words for this.
"... You're saying that, if the events of this night did not occur, that seal would cease to exist, because it was created on this specific night?"
Makoto swallowed roughly.
"And... how did you know about this, Byakuya?"
"I found a report within our records of this very incident. All the details were there. At some point, we will write a new report and through some means, send it to the past."
"The Bootstrap Paradox..." Sigma said aloud.
"..."
Kyoko could only try to deeply ponder the implications of Byakuya's words, taking into account that it must have been the truth considering all the effort he must have gone through to orchestrate this chain of events. There came a point where she couldn't even bring herself to be that angry with him; if it was all destined to happen, then for all intents and purposes, he didn't do anything "wrong."
Still, the implications of the binds of fate were uncomfortable ones. Implications that not even Kyoko would have liked to entertain. That was a debate for another time.
Byakuya shook his head.
"It could have been a trap, or a joke, or an error, but I, Byakuya Togami, was not about to leave a possible threat such as this."
"But... you could have told someone! One of us!" Makoto exclaimed.
"Hmph." Byakuya scoffed.
"Not with our leader involved. Someone not mentioned in the report had to make it happen. That someone was me."
"So that's what happens when I put you in charge. Whether it's a business or an organization, you run these things like it's a game, don't you?" She spoke in a neutral, yet lightly perplexed tone, as though even she was unable to tell if she was irritated or impressed with Byakuya's foresight. Regardless, she let out a sigh, brushing aside some stray hair.
"I guess the three of us seem to have different approaches when we're in the position of leadership."
"Perhaps that is so. But we all do what we must, in the end. The Togami bloodline does not shy from necessary action. On this night, a group had to arrive. Their combined despair brought Mother to power, spurring Billy Kaplan toward his fate. Those who were killed had their souls drawn between Wanda's illusionary world and the dark place, but Billy anchored them back to the living. From this point on, no one knows what the future holds."
Byakuya looked to Black Adam.
"The private organization Makoto speaks... We do not abide by mass murderers. However, in this particular case, you and any others who may have committed a crime upon being manipulated by Mother and trapped in Lucas' game are exempt from such concerns. You were under duress, obviously. However, someone must be brought to justice for this night, whatever that justice may be."
Byakuya held out his arms.
"I, Byakuya Togami, submit myself to the Coalition for arrest. Kyoko, Makoto, you will find the tools necessary in removing the codexes within Lucas' belongings, as well as a multiverse communications device. It would seem that Lucas Baker had been in contact with a powerful organization, one that we likely consider an enemy. With it, you can contact headquarters and update them on your condition. As for the survivors..." Byakuya nodded to Wanda.
"The invitations were cleverly designed. They only allowed for those who agreed to come to travel via its magic. All it would take to send everyone home is for Wanda to make it happen.
There was a somber mood in the air for a moment.
Wanda nodded.
"Very well. Now that I know, it should be easy to figure out. Everyone, come to me when you wish to go home."
Bullet, Owen, Sigma, and so many others were simply exhausted. It was time to finally rest.
Cast List
@Takumi as
Amir Halgal [Otoyomegatari]
@Kaykay as
Beatrice Waltrud von Kircheisen [Dies Irae]
@Gummi Bunnies as
Kiyohime [Fate/Grand Order]
@ShiroKiyoshi as
Klein Ullyr Green [OC]
@Verite as
Kyoko Kirigiri [Danganronpa]
@Leon Moretti as
Leon Moretti [OC]
@Mason Moretti as
Mason Travis Moretti [OC]
@Krieg as
Nancy Wheeler [Stranger Things]
@Yun Lee as
Noembelu [Street Fighter]
@Crow as
Nono Morikubo [The Idolmaster]
@LuckycoolHawk9 as
Phil Connors [Groundhog Day The Musical]
@York as
Reiner Braun [Attack on Titan]
@Minerva as
Saeko Busujima [Highschool of the Dead]
@Otto as
Shen [League of Legends]
@Glostechk as
Six [Little Nightmares]
@Jeremi as
T'Challa [Marvel Comics]
@J A Y F R OM T H E 6 I X as
Teth Adam [DC Comics]
@The Batter as
The Batter [OFF]
@thatguyinthestore as
Toffee [Star vs the Forces of Evil]
