GRADUATION

[descentinto]

[ There’s a spark in the darkness outside the dome, somewhere. The pale rainbow of some kind of bio-luminescent jellyfish. Then another. Then two more. Then ten more.

Within moments, the seafloor around you is illuminated by jellyfish, shining brighter than nature should allow, and you find your surroundings changed. Statues, piles of gold, paintings, all of them lie scattered around for as far as the eye can see in any direction. Just a disgusting amount of wealth.

The frosted glass box in front of all of you just… vanishes. And standing at a podium that doesn’t at all match the previous silhouette, you finally get to see The Professor, in all his slightly ghoulish glory.

Honestly? This might be exactly the kind of man you pictured he would be. ]

Allow me to introduce myself properly, boys and girls. I am Professor Gunnar Maelstrom, one of the five sitting members of the Faculty here at VILE. I suppose, one way or another, this is where it ends.

[ You’re getting close, gumshoes! Don’t give up! ]

Comments

1/2 ???

[wickedskills]

[Just as strangely as it vanished, the frosted box around your Professor's desk returns. Something the man inside does not look to be entirely happy with, judging by the opaque figure.

But there's not much time to watch that, as a screen opens on the side of the box facing the group. Like a window, but releasing a burst of static before the visual settles in on...]

KSSSSSH-wow, admin privileges? You wouldn't mind if I just nabbed those away from you, just for a sec?

[A boy at a desktop?]

Hey everyone, Ghostworth here! Sorry, but I'm going to have to make this quick. Maelstrom wants you to make one choice, but while he's in digital time out, I've got a friend that would like to offer you some other options.

2/2

[wheremst]

[ The screen changes to... a woman you've never seen before. She's currently uh. It looks like she's hanging on a rope from the side of a lighthouse? But she smiles and waves. ]

Hey there, uh... survivors. So we've been talking to your friend with the good taste in font colors, and we've come up with a slightly different final choice for you.

Maelstrom's sort of right - if you kill him, the backup's still going to be around. But there's a couple other things you guys can do! Your first option is, well... it'll let Maelstrom get away, but using this system, Player can completely bankrupt VILE and tip off a government task force to their base's location. No satisfaction, but he'll never be able to hurt anyone ever again.

Option two is... well, courtesy of Red Text, you guys can kill him in the simulation and she'll keep his backup company in a computer back for the next... well, however long it takes to recruit and train a hacker better than Player. Which uh... isn't happening for at least ten to fifteen years, trust me. But we can't hold him here long enough for both.

[nothingcanstop]

[ OH. OH, HELLO TEENAGER AND WOMAN IN A STYLISH COAT. HELLO. ]

...Which choice gives us that shot at helping our friends you were telling us about, "Ghostworth?"

[bolderfell]

...Maybe I'm alone in this, but I like that first option. Just one question. Where would the money... go.

[wheremst]

Well, anything from this world's going to charity, but... we're going to requisition that Lutece machine to get the rest of the stuff back to the worlds they belong in.

[mouflon]

[ well, uh. sorry, Birkin. ]

No matter whose idea it was, the syndicate responsible is bigger than one guy. Besides, you say no satisfaction, but I'm not going to get a lot of it from just knowing he's trapped in some computer prison, either.

I say we go with first option.

[fivestagegod]

I'm here for the first option as well, actually.

[...]

And I promise I will not try to drag the guy back with me anywhere, hilarious though I think that would be.

[hardnosed]

[ cannot believe she isn't taking the blindly murdering side on this and is honestly kind of furious with herself that she is!! ]

... If we get rid of him, there's still four more with reason to keep running these things.

What about the dead?

[wickedskills]

[HOLY FUCK IT'S A DUCK]

Honestly? Whichever one you choose, I think we still have everything we need to bring your friends back. Thanks to them, and a lot of help from Red Text. Actually, you wouldn't guess this, but Red Text is the backup data for Angel.

[bolderfell]

"Belong" is such a negotiable word...

1/2

[nothingcanstop]

[ THE SUPERIOR NAME ]

Actually, we did guess that.

[ladygeryon]

We figured that out a while ago, actually.

[bolderfell]

Actually kind of enjoy the thought of him going back to your world.

2/2

[nothingcanstop]

B-but you can really help them?! ...They've been talking to you?!

[philoxenia]

[ oh thank god. ]

They've been doing their own thing, too, then? ... I'm not surprised, but I am relieved. You can really bring them back, then?

[mouflon]

[ ... ]

Yeah, don't we deserve some kind of compensation after all of this?

[ladygeryon]

Actually same. Especially if he starts at the bottom of the ladder.

[bogwife]

[OH HECK, SO STYLISH...]

What Della said. Our first priority needs to be helping our friends.

[wheremst]

[ She chuckles. ]

If you guys promise to use it for non-criminal purposes, I think you can each take a cut. I'm sure some of that stuff isn't exactly going back to reputable people.

[wheremst]

I think he might even like real prison a little less.

[fivestagegod]

[...]

...Is this seriously what we're doing. I mean, I'm not saying no.

[wickedskills]

You did? Wow, cool. [Teen sounds impressed.] You guys are just as on this as we are, even without a data screen in front of you.

Oh yeah, I saved everyone from getting brainwashed. They're waiting in a backup simulation for when it's safe to come out.

[ladygeryon]

Can't really believe I'm saying this either, but at least this way we'll have a better idea where he is.

[bolderfell]

[He opens his mouth, closes it, and seems to consider whether or not "my own personal enrichment" constitutes a criminal purpose when he's, you know, a criminal.]

...Sure.

[hardnosed]

Take a backup or something. I'm going to destroy him — but not where it won't last.