[A; morning; around Mayfield]

[With most of the danger averted, the Command Spell that Rin had used on Lancer wasn't driving him crazy anymore. It had been impossible to ensure Kariya's safety as she'd ordered him to, and the resulting contradiction between what he was compelled to do and what he was able to do had resulted in what one might have lightly phrased as a 'clusterfuck'.]

[But whatever, no point in looking back now. As it was? Lancer decided it was probably a good idea to just find Kariya and check in with him before Rin elected to flip out on him as usual.]

[B; afternoon; 1335 Benny Rd.]

[When he gets home, Lancer would find something waiting for him. In the driveway a short distance away from his two very confused horses would be this sweet ride.]

...the hell?

[Having never seen it before, he was understandably confused as to who designed a car after his Noble Phantasm.]

[...Which he promptly stopped caring about, because holy shit that was cool.]

[C; late afternoon; highway]

[What's the best way to test out such a fantastic piece of machinery, you ask?]

[Going top speed down yonder endless highway, of course. If you get his attention, he might just figure out how the brakes work.]

[But be careful.]

[Dragsters can't turn.]

[ SCENARIO A / early morning / Phone ]

Rise and shine! Ain't no rest for the wicked and all that jazz. Hellooooo?

Okay, so. Can someone please give me the deets on what happened? Besides the obvious shit. I feel like I took the wrong drink from the wrong person. Anyone else feel like they puked up their stomach and NOT because of the deep fried food?

[ Roxy groans a bit, her head hurting and her limbs still numb. What happened in that other world? All she remembers was... darkness after a while.

A moment or two passes. ]

Jake? Once-ler? Nepeta? Birdy-boy? You out there in audio-land? Please be there..

[ SCENARIO B / mid afternoon / a bus stop in town ]

[ Sitting on a bench at a bus stop that seems to always one late, a particular blond is seen smacking her gum obnoxiously. You can find Roxy Lalonde looking a bit under the weather. Perhaps its the throbbing head ache or the tingly sensation in her limbs, but she makes due. She sits with a dark black cat near her lap. Upon further inspection, said black cat has 4 eyes -- wowzers! Pester? ]

A. [ACTION: 917 BILKO BOULEVARD]

[well. that was some adventure, wasn’t it? and to think, he could have stayed inside watching TV or picking up a new hobby. stamp collecting, maybe. fortunately now that the carnival is gone, Once-ler can catch up on the many exciting activities he missed while trapped in a horrible nightmare dimension devoid of food and water; he’s got a hermit quota to meet that isn’t going to fill itself. this afternoon, he’s in the kitchen fumbling with a jar of mustard, inches away from whacking the stupid thing against the wall because darnit, what kind of self-respecting sandwich doesn’t have mustard, when he hears a soft thump at the door. at first, he’s quick to brush it aside until he remembers that the mail is usually delivered at this time of the day. mostly, it’s always stupid, inconsequential stuff that he’d sooner pitch than open – fliers from the neighborhood committee, invitations to drone-hosted cookouts, water bills, etc. – with the exception of occasional surprises every now and then. the electric guitar propped against the wall in the living room is proof of that. if it happened once, it could happen again, couldn’t it?

as it turns out, it could. there’s a small box sitting on his doorstep, and he doesn’t even bother to bring it inside. plopping down with his legs splayed between the box like a kid on Christmas, he picks it up and gives it a good shake before tearing into it.]

…Huh.

[he supposes he should be a little disappointed when he feels his fingers rub against familiar soft, fuzzy fabric, but he doesn’t. he stares at it for a good minute and a half before gingerly pulling the Thneed out of the box, inhaling the sweet scent that immediately fills the air around him. not disappointed, then; would guilt be more natural? maybe. the emotion fluttering in his chest definitely isn’t a wholly positive one, but at the same time, it’s not entirely unpleasant either. hesitantly, he hugs the Thneed closer and rubs his cheek against it, inhaling that pleasant, butterfly milky smell he’s come to miss. it’s not the same as coming home, but it’s close enough.

he’s about to go back inside when something else catches his eye – something metallic and shiny and very, very big – in the driveway. he takes a few proper steps outside aaaand cue the loudest yelp EVER.

how the heck is he going to explain THIS to the neighbors?]


B. [ACTION: DOWNTOWN MAYFIELD]

[it’s not like he can send the Super Axe Hacker back in the mail – and even if he could, he’d probably have to start selling organs to afford the proper shipping – so he might as well make do with what he has. unfortunately, he’s going to need more tools to maintain its upkeep, so it’s to the hardware store Once-ler goes. he’s not too happy about it as you can plainly see, and the weather’s just making everything worse. it’s like this stupid place has two suns. how’s he possibly going to keep cool?

…oh, wait. duh.

A Thneed works well as a hood, but it makes an even better umbrella. you’ll see Once-ler holding one as he goes about his shopping today, bags in one hand and…bright pink, fuzzy parasol in the other. at least he looks a little happier.]


C. [PHONE]

So, um. Everyone is alive, right? For the most part? Just so you know, even if you’re missing an arm or leg or a couple fingers, I still count that as being more-or-less okay ‘cause at least you’re still breathing. Y’know what’s more important than fingers and toes? Lungs.

[oh wow. see, there’s a reason he never talks on the phone. he takes a deep breath to level his voice and continues.]

Since we never did find Rick Grey, I’m gonna date myself for a bit here and assume that the “other place” he talked about being in wasn’t the “other” Mayfield. And if he was there at any point, he’s long gone now. I don’t think I need to explain what I mean to the people who were around by the…the last day.

I guess…I just want to know what to do now. Did we even learn anything from what happened? Anything at all that could actually be considered helpful? I mean, if anyone was ever really, really curious about what the last sound you hear before your eardrums explode is, I guess I can answer that. I'm already a stockpile of worthless information as it is.

[pause.]

…It’s a crackly kind of popping. Then, nothing.

[339 Brady Lane]

[Shortly after the mail's arrived, Mika can be found sitting on the porch, a package torn open near her feet and she has a worn, discolored satchel in her lap. Her gaze is distant as she holds a battered notebook in her hands, flipping through the pages without really looking at them.

Of all the things she could have gotten back, she hadn't expected them to return her bag.]

[A: Action for 1650 Albright Lane]

[Esther has been trying to get it together since the Carnival. It shouldn't be that hard for her in theory. She's seen plenty of horrors in her short life. Seeing Cain like that and losing Father (or more accurately being abandoned by him) shook her. Esther can't bring herself to acknowledge it so she sticks with a half hearted routine of taking care of the family and listening to the phones. It's the same messages over and over again with different wording. (Are there answers? Was it all for nothing? We should do something!) None of it reaches her.

It's the package that starts to stir Esther back to life. She takes it inside, sets it on the kitchen table, and begins to opening it. Her side burns immediately. Esther lifts up part of her dress to see what happened (enjoy seeing her panties housemates) only to be distracted by the rest of the boxes contents. Her habit is inside. She drops her dress (you should notice there's a star shaped mark on side above her hip if you're around housemates) and runs her fingers over the white fabric.

Esther already felt more like herself.]

[B: Phone | filter to Abel]

... If you don't answer this I'm stopping by the house and everywhere I can think of to talk to you. [Her voice is soft at first. This second sentence is more Esther-like; stubborn and impatient.] We're going to talk!

[C: Phone | filter to Cain]

[She tries her best to sound cheerful. It's a mixed bag.] Hello! I'm sorry for being so quiet. If you're around, would you like to stop by for some tea or anything like that? I realized today we haven't done that in a while.

[D: Phone | Open to all]

I know we've got a lot of messages asking where everyone is and if there are any answers to be found so I won't be adding to them. I will say that I'm going to the church in a little while. I'm going to make some snacks and a fresh pot of tea. Anyone who wants to see me or enjoy that is welcome to come.

[E:  Action for Church of Salvation]

[True to her word Esther can be found in the kitchen working on making some food and tea. She's in her newly regained habit (linked above!). Esther is humming a little tune to no one while doing this. She is going to make herself be useful again regardless of everything.]

Hey, guys.

Tell me about your homes. What's the place you call 'home'? Where you belong? What's it like? I'm kinda curious.

[Yep. Someone's feeling a little introspective. And homesick but he'll try not to let that on.]

A )) 1486 Kramden – house and porch

[ He peers into the box with interest, and tilt his head to the side when he see what it is. ]

Oooh

[ And he pick out his Varia uniform from the box. And he can't help but feel pleased over the fact that the stupid frog hat Bel-senpai always force him to wear isn't there. ]

[ He's quite fast to go and change out of the Mayfiled clothes into the black, comfortable battle-wear, and when he get out on the porch to the house, he stretch; yes, these clothes are so much more comfortable. ]



B )) By a main street somewhere. After his run-in with Belphegor. (a bit bloody)

[ So he's soaked with blood. Or, soaked and soaked; he has a whole lot of cuts and stabs all over. Nothing deadly, but the deeper ones are sure to leave scars. ]

So why does he have a knife in his hand, anyway?

It's one of the knifes that were still stabbing him after he parted with Bel, and the only one he's actually bothered to pull out; because, please, do igore the knifes in his back, shoulder and leg. They don't bother him at all.

But this knife he's holding.

He is with interest – but with his usual vacant gaze – pressing it against his arm, on a patch free of wounds and free of blood – because he had wiped that part of his arm clean.

And it's with a lot of interest that he watch blood rise in the cut that don't hurt at all. ]



[ Though the smartest thing would most likely be to get some bandages or bandaid. ]



C )) Phone

Bel-senpai sure don't care about the enviromeeent. When he tried to burn me, he almost set a couple of trees on fire insteeead.

[In front of 1248 Williams Road]

[Well, that plan hadn’t worked. Somewhere along the line Utsuho had fused Virginia’s “find Caesar or Balin or these other people” ideas, to the news breaking around the carnival that there were rifts opening to strange places accessible by those trinkets people were carting with them, to the fact that she didn’t have one of said trinkets. So she stole one.

It disappeared after she went across, and then—then there was nothing but fog, suffocating and dissolving at once. Like each particle of her body had broken loose from the bonds that held them in place and scattered in every painful direction.

Okuu did not exactly think her clever plan all the way through. But then again, she never really did. Thinking was bad!

And thus there’s now a pile of an…ash-like substance in the front yard, and has been for several days. Minus the blood everywhere aspect, it could be assumed that that was similar to what the hellraven looked like just before she revived. The ash is smoldering, very warm to the touch, and seems as much liquid as powder whenever it’s disturbed. It also stays heaped up over something in the center, no matter what breeze kicks up or when the drones try and sweep the mess away. The pile either stubbornly resists extraction or flows all around the broom or rake like some bizarre liquid. Other than that, it doesn’t do very much.

Utsuho hadn’t reappeared, so her precise location was probably easy enough to guess by now.

Today, though, was a bit different.

A blue jay, emboldened by the usual blue jay hating inhabitant’s absence, fluttered down to investigate and peck at this ash pile.

—but as soon as it does, the inert heap of powder comes alive, forming into a spit of molten, red-orange slag that surges up and out and consumes the bird completely, before it can do much more than a single alarm squawk. The pile returns to being properly ashy in a moment, though it seems to…ripple, like something liquid, even as it does so. The smoldering light has grown brighter, shining through all the cracks and crevices.

Though, aside from hating bluejays from beyond the grave, the ash-pile-that-was-probably-Okuu does little else.


For the moment.]

[A - 2239 Stevens Road (Family)]

[Floyd has just received two parcels in the post, both of which are near identical to the one from when he regained his ability to detach his limbs! The boy is filled with excitement as he rapidly opens both, eager to find what he has gotten back this time!!!]

Now what do we have here... OH MY GOODNESS IT'S MY COSTUME!!! I CAN BE A TRUE SUPERHERO AGAIN!

[Not caring for anyone who could be around, Floyd promptly strips off (Casting a pair of underpants off at one of Kreutzer's dolls, unaware as to what kind of mayhem this could unfold later...) and changes into his hero outfit. He is not clad in a jazzy lavender lycra number. Commando. As all teen superheroes do.]

And what is in here... It's my Legion Ring!.. But why am I being given this, I just keep it in a display box at home, why would I need this?

[The less said about the one and only time the ring was used, the better. For now Floyd simply shrugs and waits for someone to come downstairs so he can barrage them with excitement over what he has just regained!]


[B - John Doe Park, Downtown (Public)]

[Having left the house for a stroll Floyd has found himself in John Doe Park. He is still insanely excited about his regains, though the only new one he has is his favourite, his superhero outfit, and has basically come to a stop in the park in a nice open space.

Right now he is currently standing with his hands on his hips, a proud smile on his face and, rather disturbingly, he is thrusting his pelvis occasionally. Even he doesn't know why, he just is. That is Floyd all over. Approach at your own risk!]