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

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?"

[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.

1/2

[nothingcanstop]

[ THE SUPERIOR NAME ]

Actually, we did guess that.

[ladygeryon]

We figured that out a while ago, actually.

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?

[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.

[bolderfell]

"Belong" is such a negotiable word...

[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.

[wheremst]

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

[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.

[bolderfell]

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

[ladygeryon]

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

[wickedskills]

I'll hold you to that, Birkin. VILE is our business. And it's already going to be tricky enough getting the machine working that can take you home.

[fivestagegod]

Actually, I'm going to argue that first part with you. The organization may be your business, but I'm pretty sure this guy is ours. We were the ones tortured by him, not you, so you can actually step off until we figure out what we're doing with him.

[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]

The dead are safe. I promise. They're all waiting to wake up, just like you.

And we had a hand in "taking down" one of VILE's top five already. If we trap another... it would definitely give us more of an edge.

[bolderfell]

You know, the thief that gets away for now doesn't have to stay gotten away. Especially not after our powers are restored. And we can... travel through "dimensions." Or whatever they're called.

[hardnosed]

Believe me — I'm counting on it.

[bogwife]

[OH HECK, SO STYLISH...]

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

[wheremst]

We'll get your friends back. And I'm not the expert, but if what Player said is right, we can make a way to get the people from the first round back, too.

[ladygeryon]

Really? You've got their backups?

[nothingcanstop]

Oh thank god that was really unsettling to think about.