I'll open the door to Heaven or Hell
Jun. 19th, 2022 10:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
giddyundertakerSeems our Undertaker has been hiding something...
A few documents are pinned to the corkboard; The names and heights of the dead, some crudely drawn maps with makeshift graves and other points of interest marked and labeled...
On the desk are some scrawled notes pertaining to Fontaine and his situation. It seems his current theory is that maybe our "mayor" has strong-armed his way into New Rapture and took control? There still are huge question marks about the alternate worlds and the teleporting, but there is a paraphrased quote about "sufficient technology is similar to magic..."
On side table is a Nisse. That is a friend. Under the bed are several spears for protection. The window curtain has been pulled to one side, like he had a habit of sitting there and staring out into the ocean... Apperently with those cracked spectacles sitting on the windowsill.
... Oh! And it seems he's also gotten into the habit of leaving audio diaries everywhere like a true New Rapture-ite! The first audio diary is in plain view on the desk, but the others... You'll have to look around. Under the bed, in the side table drawer, behind a curtian...
Audio Diary1. A Final Request
[CW: Home Invasion, Child Trafficking, HUGE Black Butler spoilers]
"Ah! Blasted device..." [ He taps his nails against the side of the Accu-Vox ] "... Suppose that light means it's recording, now...
"I don't know if I'll be able to get my hands on any more of these, so I may as well use this for a final request... A last resort, if you will. Mind you, I don't plan on killing or being killed, but in this sorry state my luck may well run out. No doubt you'll have learned my true nature by this point, but if you haven't... I'll be taking that to my grave, thank you very much! Heh heh heh...
"But that's beside the point! As you may have seen on the profiles, I consider myself rather close to the Phantomhive family. I've worked with the current earl, and the current earl's father, and that man's mother... Several generations now, actually. And I've told each and every one of them to take good care of their souls, for a soul is the one thing you can never replace...
"Alas, along with being nobility, the head of the family also carries the burden of being Queen Victoria's watchdog. Aristocrats of Evil, they call the earl and his associates, always being called upon to keep the seedy underbelly from disrupting polite society or covering up the royal family's dirty work. It's dangerous work, I tell ya... Terrible, dangerous work."
[ He clicks his tongue. ] "You how exhausting it is to have to bury a family friend time and time again? They always die young. The last Earl Phantomhive was only in his 30's when he and his wife were attacked in their own home... They burned the whole estate to the ground, took the children... Sold them to a cult that tried to kill them both...
". . . One got out alive. I've been trying to save the other one, but..." [ Soft gulp. Sigh. ] "In this place? With no powers or resources? I'm afraid I can't do anything now... Which leaves... Young Ciel Phantomhive. A child. Thirteen years of age, and he's already doing his father's job. Not that he's incompetent, mind, the boy's a brilliant strategist and businessman, but he had to sell his soul to save himself.
"That brings us to my request. There's a demon in my world currently serving as the head butler of the Phantomhive Estate. Goes by 'Sebastian Michaelis', 'bout six feet tall... Pale, black hair, fiery red eyes. He's poised to devour Lord Phantomhive's soul once the boy takes revenge on his family's murderers, and that would surely bring an end to the Phantomhive family.
"What I need you to do, if you feel up to the task, is to find Sebastian and get him out of the picture.
"Kill him, neutralize him, send him back to the pits of hell if you're able. Do whatever it takes to ensure the safety of the young earl's soul... But be warned, Sebastian is a powerful demon who could easily shrug off normal human attacks and repay the damage tenfold. I wouldn't be asking this of anyone if I didn't know some of you might be capable of defeating him if you had your full strength and worked together. Just be sure you don't kill Lord Phantomhive in the process, and all will be well...
"Ah! And if the reaper who's cleaning up Fontaine's mess finds this tape, I want them to tell the London Dispatch to call off their search! They'll never find their deserter now! Eh hee hee hee--"
[ The message abruptly cuts to a scene from some serialized adventure in progress. The Undertaker must have taped over something. ]
Audio Diary2. The Reaper's Job
[CW: Mention of suicidal ideation]
"... It's been two weeks since that Fontaine bloke pulled us into this deadly game. Only two dead so far, thanks to a hostage situation. A boy who got desperate to save his friend, and a bloke who let himself be killed to save them all...
"Mr. Harker didn't take it well at all. The fellow tried to get himself executed in the boy's place... I understand he was only trying to help, but when our gracious host would rather kill us all than accept a willing scapegoat it wouldn't be the best course of action...
"Hm... Would asking to be executed count as suicide...? The man seemed sure he was going to die here, so..." [ Deep, heavy sigh. ] "Nah, wouldn't chance it. He'd better not try something like that again. I won't let him.
"Harker would hate the life of a grim reaper.
"If he couldn't stand the idea of a child dying in front of him, he wouldn't be able to handle the strain of processing souls day in and day out. A reaper has to be unbiased, he can't let his emotions get in the way like Harker does. There are rules that must be followed, rules he would be willing to break... Not that I care for those rules anymore, but I highly doubt he'd be able to escape that job as I have... Much less survive doing it...
"Better stop him from doing something foolish before he suffers for god knows how long... But how do I get through to him? He's still horribly affected by today's deaths. Haven't seen him at the memorial I held... Must have gone into his room. Would he be in a right state to be reasoned with or... Would I..."
[ A moment of radio silence. The distant sound of the ocean from outside his window. The shifting of fabric... An unhappy sigh. ]
"He'd better be willing to keep a secret. I might have to actually tell him what I am if I'm to knock some sense into him."
[ The message abruptly cuts to a scene from some serialized adventure in progress. The Undertaker must have taped over something. ]
Audio Diary3. An Open Letter
[CW: implied human experimentation, viruses]
"It has come to my attention that your organization has been known for 'creating zombies' by infecting the living with some sort of virus and letting it destroy their bodies. Not only is this a poor business practice in the long term, but that's the most ridiculous method I've ever heard of!
"I mean, it's not even proper revival of the dead if your methods require killing a living subject! You're supposed to preserve the body of one recently deceased, reconstruct their internal body systems, and then find some way to get those systems up and running again. If all goes well, you'd have a profitable business in reuniting loved ones... Or at least one in providing cannon fodder to militias that could be easily controlled. This virus thing, on the other hand... I can only see that being useful for the latter, but a disease is significantly much harder to control and could very well infect important members of your own staff, if not end civilization as you know it.
"If you need a second opinion, feel free to contact any member of the Aurora Society. Assuming you can manage to locate a member who survived the sinking of the R.M.S. Campania, of course. Now cease this stupid farce at once or I will be forced to take matters into my own hands."
Audio Diary4. Spectacles
[ ... He sounds like he's folding the glasses up and putting them on a nearby table. ] "Well. I suppose looking at the ocean with these on will be interesting. It's not like I really need to see with my eyes alone these days...
"... Or. I shouldn't need to. I think.
"I still don't understand how Fontaine managed to disable everyone's powers in the first place. I know for sure there are a few people here missing their magic by now, just as I miss my death scythe. Where is he even keeping that thing?! I could have sworn I had it in my hand before I got here...
"... Oh well. I'll just have to manage with what I have long enough to survive this mess. It still feels strange, being on par with a human being after spending so long as something inhuman. Even though I haven't changed entirely... I still have the eyes of the reaper, after all..."
Audio Diary5. Memento Mori
[CW: implied human experimentation, HUGE Black Butler spoilers]
". . . The bastard finally found something, didn't he? I didn't see anything new, but I had a feeling I'd never get to bring any of the Phantomhives back now. It's been a month, after all. Would be hard to retrieve Ciel's body from the sea in decent condition after that long..."
[ He lets out a long, unhappy sigh. ] "Oh Claudia, why would you and your kin never listen to my warnings? Didn't I tell you lot to take care of your souls? Does that blasted queen keep forcing your hand...?!"
[ An uncomfortable moment of silence passes. ]
"... Ah. Floyd might be asleep by now. Wouldn't want him waking up to ask questions..."
[ He flops into a nearby chair... ] "... God... What am I even going to do with myself? Even if I did get out and recover Ciel's body, I've already lost years worth of progress. It'll be incredibly hard to get back on track, especially with the Dispatch and the Watchdog actively looking for me. And if I escape into someone else's world... It would be the same, wouldn't it? Those nice people I've been getting along with would simply die too soon...
"... Unless I go with Nandor, I suppose. He already knows what I am, that's a good thing... But if I did anything like that... Wouldn't that be betraying myself?
"... Whatever happens, a motive like this will surely drive someone to kill. If I am to see the end of this mess, I'll have to be on my guard."
[ The message abruptly cuts to a scene from some serialized adventure in progress. The Undertaker must have taped over something. ]
Code: To Delete Later
Date: 2022-06-20 03:05 am (UTC)