see right through your beautiful lies ( semi-open )

[dolosa]

[ When you awaken, you're in what seems to be an abandoned warehouse; it looks like the place hasn't been used for its original intent in ages, though the smell of copper permeates the area. The carcasses of corpses lie around here and there - some dismembered, some completely intact - along with creepy, oversized masks of rabbits.

The warehouse itself isn't that big -- there's two floors, and many doors. However, each door is locked, and the only way through is to find a key.

However, you're not alone. There's a girl who seems to be panicking nervously, fiddling with her skirt anxiously as she sits on her wheelchair, glancing every now and again at you, not all that certain as what to do. At least, that's before you awaken, which is when she gasps in sheer surprise. ]

You're-- you're finally awake.

Comments

[dolosa]

She won't listen to you, Wright-san. After all... I got her wrapped around my finger. Go ahead and get him, Mitsuki.

[bystandering]

['Not your father'. Her head throbs at that. It's so much like the newspapers she had seen. Claiming that her beloved father was dead. It was a lie. It had to be.

She had stopped for a brief moment while they spoke. She gritted her teeth, moving in front of Rei.] ...Papa wouldn't do anything to hurt me. He's not like you. I'll--yeah. I'll get him.

[wright_idea]

[Ugh... She's definitely got a hold over her. But... I don't think she's as tightly wound as Rei says she is. And I think I know what the link is.]

Mitsuki... you love your father very much, right? What sort of a man is he?

[dolosa]

There's no need for you to answer, Mitsuki.

[bystandering]

Of course I love him. [What kind of man was he...? It's a strange question but--]

I--don't need to answer? But..Papa is a good man. He was a police officer for as long as I can remember.

[wright_idea]

I see. How does he feel about people who kill other people?

[dolosa]

I said you didn't have to answer to a liar who's soon to become a dead man.

[bystandering]

[She winces. Her head hurts even more. It makes her stop--why...]

But... if he's trying to prove you're a bad person, shouldn't I say something?

[wright_idea]

I just need to know, Mitsuki. What is your father's opinion of those who kill for no reason?

[dolosa]

[ Rei remains silent, deciding to listen to the rest of this. If things go wrong, she has a back up plan. ]

[bystandering]

That it's not right but this... this isn't for 'no reason'. The world's a horrible place. If the law won't stop the liars then--then, I'll just do it again and again.

[She steps forward but it's not exactly with confidence.]

[wright_idea]

So are you saying that your father would support the execution of people simply for telling a lie? Is that the sort of justice you think would make your father happy?

[dolosa]

[ She has to stop this. She has to shut this down before it gets worse. If she can somehow-- somehow-- ]

Don't say any more, Wright-san. I may not be able to hurt you myself, but I will hurt the people you care about the most if I have to.

[ Rei is absolutely furious. She's in a panic, but that won't stop her from angrily yelling at Mitsuki. ]

If you don't kill him for the one that you love, then go ahead and leave! He's trying to fool you with those words of his! Can't you see?! He's a lawyer, after all!

[bystandering]

[That seems to make her indicesion leave. Her father's right. She has to. She has to do it now.]

Yu-kun thought he could trick me, too...and I showed him. This--this really isn't any different.

[She won't disappoint. She can't. Even if it means ignoring the throbbing in her head. She'll...handle it later.] This isn't the courtroom. Your fancy words don't matter here.

[She'll ready her axe before swinging. The intent to kill is definitely there but in her eagerness two things slipped her mind: that she's not in top form and the fact that Phoenix is quite a bit larger and stronger than her.]

[wright_idea]

[Shi --!]

[He dives out of the way. Which, in some respects, reveals HIS backup plan:

He was right in front of the control panel for the machinery.]

[dolosa]

Wha-- Mitsuki, stop! Don't destroy the panel!

[ She cries out for a moment, reaching out to her without moving before she stops herself, laughing innocently as she twirls around and sticks her tongue out playfully. ]

Just kidding. ♪ Mitsuki, keep on going. There's no need for you to stop unless he manages to escape the building. There's only two more sets of doors he has to go through, anyway.

[bystandering]

[She's about to laugh until she realizes that when Phoenix dodges, she's headed straight for the panel. It's not important other than the fact that her momentum was working against her. The weapon buries itself deep into the machine.]

Damn--!

[wright_idea]

[! She's distracted! Now!]

[He shifts momentum, tackling her in an attempt to knock her down and away from the axe.]

[dolosa]

Mitsuki, watch out!

[ Rei is truly a sidelines character as she yells. If she's out, then there's nothing else she can do. Which is why she's frantically running towards the doors. ]

[bystandering]

What?! [She notices him charging her at the last possible moment. She lets go, trying to hold her ground.

That doesn't mean she's successful...and is knocked away from the weapon.]

[wright_idea]

[Not taking any chances. Phoenix grabs at the axe and gives it a really good hard yank. It takes a couple of tries, but it's out.]

[dolosa]

Stand your ground, Mitsuki. Don't try anything right now.

[ That's an order. Rei's still going to be blocking the door with her body to see what he'll try. ]

[bystandering]

[She'll try to stand her ground. There's no point in trying to get the weapon from his hands but she braces herself.]

[wright_idea]

[Ugh... What can I even do? One person doesn't care whether she lives or dies, another is so programmed that I can't even reach her... the door's blocked, nothing I destroy will have any impact... but I can't die here! I just can't! Not when everybody else I know is in danger!]

...I know you will never believe me. I know you've branded me as a liar, just like you've branded everybody else. So nothing I say will make any difference at this point.

So allow me to speak into the void for a bit. Whether you believe it or not, Rei, we're fighting for the same thing: the defeat of falsehoods. We just have different approaches. You want to destroy the world. I want to rebuild the truth. And I will continue to fight for that truth. Even if I die, I can only hope others will take up the mantle.

I will also say this. A single lie does not make a person evil. A thousand truths do not make a person good. Some of the best people I know could tell me lies and still be the most authentic people I've ever met in my life. My only regret right now is that you've focused so much on lies that you no longer know what the truth looks like.

Mitsuki... I hope, at some point, you will realize. Your father is a good man. And therein lies the contradiction. This person who says is your father wants you to perform terrible acts for him. So how could that person possibly be your father? Even if you don't believe me personally, at least believe in logic.

And believe in the hope of the truth!

[He turns suddenly towards Rei, dashing towards her as if to strike her with the axe... before instead sweeping his foot down at her legs.]

[dolosa]

[ Rei's definitely caught off guard as she manages to get tripped and fall on her legs, though she's still infuriated with these turn of events.

He hurt her. He physically hurt her. ]

Wait right there, Wright-san. I won't stop you from escaping, but I will tell you this: you still haven't solved the message of the note I gave you to its entirety.