interstellar5555 | ☆TRACK V: I WILL TWIST THE KNIFE PT. 2

Who: Everyone in the last part of the log.
What: Everyone has a terrible night.
When: December 7th, 2054
Where: Naomi's ocean side mansion, followed by a secret Pride laboratory.
Warnings: Violence, blood, and at least one murder. Vague gore. NPCs being unhinged in a threatening way, though it's possible to have your character avoid ended up in the ballroom if you don't want to see this mess.

☆I WILL TWIST THE KNIFE

The bubble has burst. The chaos of the night’s violence has finally boiled over into something uncontrollable – blood has been spilt, screams have been heard. No matter where you are in the mansion, you know by now that something is acutely wrong. Multiple members of Pride have been hurt – possibly killed – and you may still have no idea why.

Some will try to escape. Some will try to fight back. Yet, as any rebellion starts to descend, a piercing note - a melodic cry - will summon you towards the ballroom. It can be resisted, in part - but only as far as you find yourself frozen in place instead of moving forward, at least while this spell holds. It's drawing you to the source...if you follow it, maybe you can stop it. The compulsion is strong for members of both labels.

The cry seems to echo long past its termination point, to be heard wherever you are. If followed, it will bring you to Naomi Rivers in the center of the ballroom, her expression creased with strain. Though you may desperately want to strike her, something intangible is holding you back.

"No!" she shouts at any Virgo nearby. "It isn't done! You need to...you need to finish this!" She'll point desperately at the nearby Pride, rendered unable to flee. "Get them now!"

You don't want to.

"Do it!"

The compulsion weighs heavily on you - for Virgo, to act, and for Pride to surrender themselves. All subtly has disappeared. This last effort is unconcealed and nearly hysterical. You feel yourself slipping beneath the soundwaves. Power rolls off of her, the energy thick in the air, like something you can taste and smell.

You can't do this.

"I command-"

The fabric of space-time cracks like a peal of thunder. All at once, the spell shatters.

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[And there's Luce, gently kneeling down in front of him as she looks upwards. There's a handkerchief in her hand, which she raises up to wipe at his face.]

Tsuna?

[Tsuna doesn't even really notice her until he feels the handkerchief on his face, and hears his name. He opens his mouth, tries to say something, but his throat just closes up around a sob.

Almost without conscious thought, he kneels as well, and then buries his face in her shirt. Can he... can he just have a hug?]

[He can have all the hugs he wants.]

[Luce welcomes him into her arms easily, almost as if she were waiting for it, and she squeezes him tightly while pressing her face into his hair.]

There there, my dear... I know. Let it all out.

I... I tried to.... I couldn't....

[Tsuna is trying to form a coherent sentence, but it's just not coming together right now. He's also making a mess of her shirt with his gross tears and runny nose. Sorry.]

Ssshhh. Sshh. No one could really do anything. It's not your fault.

[The state of her shirt is of no consequence. After what she's done tonight, Luce is fairly sure she'd burn it to start with. So she just hugs Tsuna tighter, stroking through his mess of hair.]

Let it out, as much as you need to.

[He takes her up on that offer, and there's several minutes of quiet sobbing before he's collected himself enough to speak.]

L- Lesedi.... she said she was going to....

[He swallows uncomfortably.]

Do you think she'll really kill us?

[And after what they did, could anyone blame her?]

I'll...

[put a bullet between her eyes if she thinks about it]

...make sure she doesn't, dear.

[He doesn't need to be scared more. He doesn't need to be scared by how natural that line of thinking seems to be- traditional, sensible somehow, in the context of the image of standing before a corpse...]

Blanche is clearly in for his own interests, but at least he'll be the one she goes after if anyone.

[Just possible at the expense of any of them. She doesn't say that, either.]

You can come to our penthouse anytime you want, you know that, don't you?

[Yeah, he's scared enough right now. Best not to think about shooting anyone or Lesedi's revenge. Tsuna is certainly wise enough to realize that Luce can't possibly stop Lesedi or Blanche if it came down to it. But for right now, he's just going to accept the comfort she's offering.

And he does agree that Lesedi's focus is likely to be on Blanche for the time being. And on her own people. So they'll probably be left alone for a while at least. So he nods. But doesn't stop clinging. Not quite yet.]

Th-thanks... Are you sure your band won't mind?

Of course not.

[Petting him, she pulls back to smile down to him. It's a bit more steady now. This, she has more confidence in.]

I'm sure Ivan would adore not being outnumbered by Rei and Pao-Lin.

In that case, I'll definitely come by.

[It's comforting to know there's somewhere he can go when he needs advice. And there's something about Luce that's so motherly that just having her around makes him feel calmer. Actually, he's not the only one who could use that kind of comfort...]

Would... would it be a lot of trouble if I brought someone with me?

Of course.

[She runs her fingers through his hair as if that can tame them.]

Who is it?

Nia. She joined Surviving Friday at the same time I did.

[He looks down at the floor guiltily.]

She got dragged into my...

[He can't say murder plot. Then he has to deal with it all over again.]

That is, I asked her for when help when I...

[Still can't say it.]

I think things have been just as tough for her as they are for me.

[Ah. She sees.]

Of course. Any friend of yours is a friend of ours.

Thanks.

[He smiles gratefully, glad that he doesn't have to elaborate.]

You know, you're pretty amazing. You're so calm, even when....

[He gestures back toward the room at large.]

stuff like this is happening.

[He wishes he could be like that.]

Don't tell anyone, but I'm only like this because I have something to do.

[The key to her success.]

If I make myself focus on something, then it keeps me from getting overwhelmed by other things like panic. [At least until she's alone.] And I feel useful as well, knowing that at least I'm doing something no matter how small.

Something to do...?

[So just focus on one thing, on whatever you have to do right now, and don't worry about anything else? Tsuna doesn't know if he could do that.]

I don't think there's much I can do that's useful to anyone.

You can get up and help me look around the mansion, if you'd like.

[Gently, carrying him up with her, she starts to stand up.]

To see if there's anyone who got into trouble and couldn't witness... This.

[Well, that is something he can do. And it's better than standing in a corner feeling sorry for himself. Tsuna stands up with her and wipes his eyes with the back of his sleeve.]

Yeah. We should check on people.

[And he has to find Nia. To make sure she's okay.]

There we go.

[Guiding him with a gentle hand at his shoulder, Luce hums.]

Earlier, I helped someone over to one of the bathrooms... So I know where one other person is, at least. Perhaps there are other people in the rest. Do you want to go check?

[He nods.]

I'll go take a look.

[He takes a step in that direction, then pauses and looks back.]

Um, Luce? Thanks...

[For being nice to him. For offering advice. For calming him down and for giving him something to do. For a lot of things.]

Think nothing of it, Tsuna.

[Pausing, she smiles over to him.]

If we don't help each other, who will? Take care, and come find me if you need me!

[He nods again.]

I will.

[And off he goes to check on people. He miiight also go check the freezer. Just in case.]

☆TRACK V: I WILL TWIST THE KNIFE PT. 2

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