[After...party?] I would give anything, but for the grace of God I'm here and still aware

[madgiganticfeelings]

[So that... certainly happened. Christine ran along with everyone else to escape the suffocating smoke, slamming the doors behind them in the hope it would slow the flames down. She tries not to see sticky beer-stained carpet as she runs, tries to hear the voices of her newfound friends, rather than the screams of teenagers, but it's certainly difficult.

She only stops to hastily throw open the door to Steven's room and let out Lion with them, but otherwise retreats into the gardens before... letting herself watch the opera house in silence.

Thankfully, it doesn't end with as much damage as the last fire Christine experienced. In time, she can stop shaking and unfold the note still clenched in her hand. And then she looks back at the opera house with... a different kind of fear on her face.

A fear so deep that when Mephisto and Anne finally start suggesting the possibility of returning inside, she's up on her feet in an instant.]

Meeting in the woman's first floor washroom. Give me ten minutes and I'll be there.

[Before anyone can argue with her, she runs off, hoping she sounded firm enough for them to follow her request.

She and Lion move to Stephen's room first to acquire whatever notes might still be there, but she's returns to the bathroom soon enough, all the papers now collected in her binder.]

Okay. We're probably freaked out. God knows I still am. And I want to encourage you to leave when you need to, take a break if this all gets to be too much. But I think... I think I speak for everyone- [Finally, finally she can speak for everyone. Her voice is strong enough now.] - when I say this.

[Her knuckles go white around her binder and her eyes spark back to life.]

We are not letting that fucking Wizard win anymore. So let's talk time loops.

Comments

[madgiganticfeelings]

O-Oh!

[Christine moves back from Mephisto, giving a soft smile when she sees Anne. Her eyes are still faintly red rimmed, but she has some hope that she's done something to keep Mephisto pushing on. At least for the few minutes Anne is with him.]

Of course. I'll... wait outside for you?

[For whichever of them wants to talk to her.]

[likemypicture]

Ja-- or if you want to go back to the others, Nana's --- [She mimes texting--

As soon as Christine leaves the room, though, she falls backward dramatically onto Mephisto's bed. Weirdly enough, she doesn't chew him out-- or even say anything. Instead, she just closes her eyes, and lets out a heavy breath that she's been holding.]

[stagemanagers]

uh
no
sorry i thought youd know

she said to take them with you to the basement next time you go

[madgiganticfeelings]

I didn't know either. When I... When I lost Riley, and Jeremy, I didn't know what I was going to do. How I could possibly live with all those feelings pressing down on me, how I could go on knowing everyone I loved was just going to leave me behind.

[She continues unwinding the bandages while she speaks, and has to blink hard against the stinging in her eyes when she sees the damage. She looks around the room, hopeful he at least gathered some supplies in here.]

But... you know what you did. You know how you helped raise me back up, so I could meet those expectations you have for me. Why would I leave you alone when you need me to do the same?

[madgiganticfeelings]

That makes sense with the description Stephen's given me. He says he was upset about this motive in particular, and that it was sick for... for Stephen to choose this week to go back to.

And, if this is true and he didn't choose us to go through this, it would make sense that he could have sympathy for some of us. Especially... especially the younger ones. It says he wanted to be a father.

[heathencall]

[He's got a few more bandages left! They're sitting out on his desk. You're going to need them, he went to down on a grave out there. The bruising and cuts are looking pretty gnarly.]

Those that guided me onto this path are dead. [He swallows down a sound. His breath comes out with a shudder.] You are the last one that I have left. How long until this place takes you too?

[He closes his eyes, remembering that moment during Riley's trial. The desperation he'd felt as he'd called out to the Phantom. Would it have been different, if they were both alive?]

He and I made promises that we would do right by you. They're broken now. You're bound by no word, no obligation to do the same for me. Honor means nothing here.

[heathencall]

[Mephisto stands from the position he'd crumpled into on the floor. He's only on his feet long enough to lay down beside her, though he leaves plenty of space between them. His breaths still shake from time to time, and there's still a notable redness around his eyes.]

Don't keep me waiting, Anna.

[musacal]

That's ok, I'll ask around and figure it out. I might just be blanking.

But ok! We can def do that!

[madgiganticfeelings]

[Oh, hey Nana. Anne has marched off to Mephisto's room, so now you've been offered... hopefully a texting partner who is a bit more help. She's peering over Nana's shoulder and frowning at the messages from before, but eventually speaks up.]

Can you ask him when he can meet this lady next? Maybe we can find out what those presents were from her before we get to the Phantom's lair again.

[likemypicture]

Please. We both need a minute. [She lets out her own shaky exhale, her arm tossed over her eyes.]

I couldn't even make up the excuse that I had to leave to go to the bathroom, because we were already in it.

[garbageface]

[ Santana stares at the note for a long time, trying her best to focus, to actually parse the thing. She stares at the circles, at the J + C. She knows Stephen is a nerd, so maybe...

Santana sighs, and passes the paper back to Christine. ]

He was, like, an astrologer or something. So those — might be planets? The “R” could be for Riley.

[madgiganticfeelings]

[Christine just sighs quietly.]

I think we need some disinfectant, but we can do that when we change the bandages tomorrow.

['We,' just so Mephisto knows that she's not about to be taken just yet. She takes the gauze and starts almost rhythmically wrapping it around the worst of the cuts.]

I don't care about what you think I am and am not bound by. You're a father to me here. Someone who believed in me through no matter what fucking hell they put us through, and I, I honestly don't even think my real parents would expect me to save anyone in a place like this.

[She looks up from her work, with almost a manic grin on her face.]

I told you already that I would walk through hell for you. Your path can take me whereever it likes, but I'm not going to step from it. Even if you can't walk it.

[Let the torturing ensue
My soul is useless without you...]

[stagemanagers]

ok
well i hoped that helped

[heathencall]

[He doesn't laugh, simply because he can't fathom the idea of laughter right now. But there is a short little breath that comes, one that isn't shaken by emotion that he's struggling to keep down.]

We've put you through hell.

[madgiganticfeelings]

So... that means, mine and Riley's worlds merged together somehow? How could that have happened? And what does that mean in connection to everything else?

[Ugh, her head hurts already.]

[heathencall]

[Tomorrow. A new day. For a moment, Mephisto can cling to that optimism, hold it like a lifeline. He can grab it tight until his knuckles bleed anew, and maybe it will keep him afloat.

The hope is gone before he can really let it take hold. Tomorrow, he'll wake up alone for the first time in ages. Even after their squabbles, he and Stephen had made their way back to one another. But there's no crossing beyond the grave.

Briefly, the thinks of the comparison he'd made to Orpheus. He at least has the control not to laugh bitterly at that.]

I don't want you to walk through hell. I want you to live. Outside of this place. No more trauma. No more hurt.

You should not have to save me. You should not have to put me back together because he was too much of a fool to speak with us.

[His eyes are burning again. He's still not bothering to hold it back.]

I have put pressure on you since you have arrived here. My salvation. My humanity. No wonder you were so ready to crack. We haven't been fair to you.

[likemypicture]

[She lifts her hand just slightly to peer at him. She looks exhausted, and drained, in the way she had when she thought Henry was after her. But her lips twitch as if she might think about smiling. She doesn't have to smile for him. It's a relief.]

I wouldn't say we. But I do feel like--- [She doesn't want to make light of hell. She swallows it down.]

And then he tells me to be strong. Fucking asshole. [She exhales again, trying to keep herself at least somewhat calm.]

[heathencall]

[Mephisto scoffs. It scratches at his throat, which already feels raw from the simultaneous screaming and shouting. It does little to help his already aching chest.]

He left me his soul. Signed a damn contract in blood and everything. [He shakes his head. He wants to rip the damn thing up, just like Stephen said he could.]

It didn't matter how much we told him to talk to us. He wouldn't listen. I told him I was likely just as damned as he was, and he still insisted on giving me his soul.

[musacal]

A father huh...

[ She sighs, staring down with a mix of... exhaustion and frustration. ]

Be as dazzling as the sun,
Just like the blooming flowers
There's a meaning to every encounter in life...

...I was trying to talk to him at the end there. Thought maybe I could get through to him. I don't know if it worked, but with the way the chandelier fell...

...I feel like we should brace ourselves for whatever happens tomorrow.

[musacal]

Mmm, I can try but...

[ She taps her chin. ]

Last weekend he said he was thinking of walking into traffic to get her to show up... I don't know what he did this time but...

[ Tilting her head a little. ]

I'll try asking but I really worry about him, you know?

[ time to get another text out though ]

[garbageface]

I don’t know. I always figured we were from the same one, just different parts of the United States.

[ Santana starts playing with her ponytail a little, trying to think. ]

You guys were really close. Maybe — maybe that has something to do with it? [ Santana sighs again, suddenly feeling very small, and uncomfortably powerless. ] But I don’t actually know.

[musacal]

It did! A lot! Thank you <3
How did you meet here again though?
You really didn't walk into traffic right? o_o
Or anything else dangerous?
My friend is asking if or when you can meet her again but
I'm worried about you ;_;

[madgiganticfeelings]

[Christine just shakes her head stubbornly. It's a nice thought, to go back to a normal life, where trying to teach the popular kids basic acting skills and where she and Jeremy could go for their next date now that the bowling alley had banned them were the only problems she faced.

Christine may be an optimist, but even she knows that's impossible, after all they've been through together.]

What if I just make a quick detour there to gather up everyone's souls?

[Maybe she can make him laugh, a little. She finishes with the bandages as best she can, and then places her hands over his.]

You're allowed to be angry, and hurt. As much as I was the weeks before. But... that's not going to change the fact that even if I'm not supposed to, I will.

[Even if she was intimidated by it before. Even if she's really not sure what this place might throw at her to make her break down next.]

...I don't mind that it was unfair. It kept me going when I could have given in like Stephen. It kept me thinking of ways to bring everyone back.

[As long as she can keep it together a little while longer, then surely this time she can succeed.]

[likemypicture]

Oh my god. That is. So. Extra. [She scoffs with him, rolling onto her side so she can look at him, but leaving the distance-- she's not going to intrude.]

He told me we'd do this together. I told him I believed in-- I thought we had a fucking moment. Oh my God. [She's been pushed so far that she's using the Lord's name in vain!!!!]

[musacal]

You're right. Even the Phantom called him contradictory so at least even he knows that...