Cathedral Room
A gorgeous display, with painting coating the massive walls and ceiling. There are an incredible amount of chairs, and a podium near the front. It also gives a grand echo when anyone speaks!
Stranger: ...It's quiet. Deafeningly so.
As Stranger walks, each step echoes. He stares at the ruined, burnt scenery. The smell of ash still in the air...
...And there, next to one of the walls. He sees it.
Stranger: The feeling of hopelessness grips him again.
Stranger: The bodies of Tarnish and Firestarter, one seeming to have been blown into bits and bleeding out, and the other burned, charred...yet almost peaceful.
His breathing quickens to a rapid pace. Not one...but two of them are dead.
He can't bear the sight any longer than he needs to. He walks out, almost forcing his body to move.
Yellow Hallway
Stranger: ...
He returns.
Paradi: "They're...dead...aren't they?"
Stranger: ...He can't make words. He only nods.
Paradi: "Hah...ahah..."
The laughs start small.
But they grow. And grow.
Until, against the mood thus far, Paradi erupts into a roaring, manic laugh. They grip their own head, fingers digging into their own fur and skin, muscles twitching from the sheer force of their voice.
Paradi: "HAHAHAAHAHAHAHHH!!! ALL OF YOU! ALL OF YOU REALLY ARE SINNERS!"
MX-Z0: She peeks over, still nestled in Don's arms.
"...Paradi."
Paradi: "REALLY! REALLY...ALL OF YOU! NOT A SINGLE ONE OF YOU ARE GOOD! NOT A SINGLE ONE OF YOU ARE WORTH SAVING! I'LL...I'LL...AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHH!!"
MX-Z0: "Paradi."
Paradi: They snap their head at Mixzo, and she sees...
The look of madness in their eyes. The despair, the pain...and the love of all of it. It is something she cannot calculate. Something she cannot comprehend.
"Oh, oh...Mixzo..."
They walk over to her.
"Don't worry."
They go right past her and Don, opening the door.
"I'll make this Killing Game better then it ever was."
SLAM.
Stranger: "...Mixzo...What...what do we do?"
He speaks now, his voice sounding out of breath and hoarse. "What...what do we...why!? Why!? Why would someone do this!?"
MX-Z0: "...Stranger...I don't know. I...I've failed you all. I said I was going to protect you, and yet I did not. I'm sorry."
Hitori: ...It's quiet. Very quiet.
Nobody knows what to say, or do. It's suffocating.
...But then, Hitori speaks.
"...You didn't fail anyone, Mixzo. We...we can't give up and say we failed yet..we..."
Their voice starts out quiet, and timid...but with a sniffle, they regain their composure, putting on a brave face as they address the group.
"We need to keep going. We need to figure this out...for everyone, even those who are dead...right?"
Rue: ...
"You are correct, Hitori." Rue speaks first. Their face is the same as ever...but, if one were to look closely... a single tear had fallen from his cheek.
He walks over to them, calmly. "We can't give up, I believe. If we do, we would not be able to avenge our friends. We'll have to figure out who the killer is...and move forward, together."
Dax: ...They look over upon hearing Rue speak.
"...I don't understand. I don't understand anything. Why I feel like this...I don't know...what I'm feeling." They force those words out. "But...Hitori, Rue, dear...I will follow your lead."
Don: "I-I'll follow, too! I don't really know all of you well, but," He pauses to write something in that notepad of his, "I-I can tell thing's aren't well, and you all seem lovely...no matter what that winged fellow says!"
He looks down at Mixzo. "What about you, Mix? Despite your words, you are still the strong, cunning bot of my design."
MX-Z0: "...I am?"
Don: "Course! Right, Stranger?"
Stranger: "...You are."
MX-Z0: "...I am."
,br>She lets out a little beep, before gently leaving her dad's embrace. "I...I will keep going. We have to work together now, or we've already lost."
Seven Stones: "...I guess. We only got each other, don't we?"
He sighs. "Not in the best mood, still...but we have to figure this thing out."
Stranger: "...All of you..."
He watches as everyone comes together, still burnt and tired...but they're smiling. They were able to find the strength to smile, to converse again...he watches Mixzo take charge, assigning groups of people to go search for evidence, Hitori giving words of encouragement, Dax and Rue talking and seeming to even comfort each other...in their own strange way.
...And with it, he is able to find the power in him to smile again, too.
He has to figure it out. He has to find out who caused the trap, and who killed Tarnish and Firestarter.
For everyone still alive...and everyone still dead.
MX-Z0: "Stranger, Don," she says, getting his attention, "you two can investigate the cathedral with me, yes? I know the bodies aren't the nicest to inspect...but someone has to."
Stranger: "Hm...yeah, I can do that."
Don: "I can as well!"
MX-Z0: "Good. Let's...not waste any time."
She quickly heads into the cathedral one last time.