Afterparty 4: Finding Home Meeting is Now in Session

[breakingthrough]

[Although she had wanted to do it from the start-- in Eruna's honor-- Edna enlists Recette and Zack's help in preparing for yet another meeting for the group.

The message instructed everyone to meet at the restaurant. It also told them to leave their phones behind.

There was no telling if they were being monitored that way after all.

There is a difference in Edna, when they all gather for the meeting. Edna now has Eruna's guitar strapped around her, the orange instrument set against her back. It also appears at though anything even remotely resembling a screen or potential listening device has been thoroughly smashed. It... might have been a stove or an oven before. W h o o p s.

...wonder who did that.

Nonetheless-- Edna, Recette, and Zack are all there waiting when people start arriving.]

Comments

[breakingthrough]

I still have mine.

[Edna's been carrying it with her everywhere since she found it.]

Even so... they're still keys. You would think they'd have to open something else. How many are there now?

[zackthekiller]

Same here. Though I'd rather not have it get lost if I...


[Oh shit. That's something he didn't think about. He had kept it on his person since last meeting... Right?]

[He checks his pockets for the key, nearly nicking himself on something in the process, before sighing in relief as he finds that stupid key.]

Hey! Crown! Come here a sec, I got something for you.

[The deerling, expecting a treat, trots over to Zack... Who is currently undoing some of the bandages on his right hand, cutting the fabric halfway up the forearm with his teeth. You can now see the burn scars covering the skin of his hand...]

[What is he doing...?]

[breakingthrough]

[...???]

Don't let him eat it.

[But no really, what's he up to? Edna tilts her head and watches. Those burn scars though... Nasty stuff.]

...what are you doing?

Can we imagine both the 21 and the 30 key are on Crown now?

[zackthekiller]

I won't, I won't...

[Zack twists the length of bandage until it forms a sort of rope, then kind of threads the key through it. He pauses for a moment, then decides to put the key for room 30 on it too.]

[Crown was sort of disappointed by the lack of food at first, but he still let Zack tie the bandage with the keys loosely around his neck.]

There. Now we don't end up loosing those two if I end up croaking for some goddamned reason.

[Crown gets some lettuce for his trouble. Yum!]

Got it!

[breakingthrough]

That's not a bad idea. For the record, mine's on here.

[She points to the head of the guitar on her back. It seems to be threaded on a ribbon-- the one that used to be around her neck, actually. Now the locket and the key are dangling together, tied to the guitar.]

[buylowsellhigh]

Oooh... this is a really good idea!

[she'll pull out her Key too.]

Hey Zack and Lady Edna? can you guys help me put this one on Slinky or Dragon?

[They'll probably survive longer.]

[zackthekiller]

Uh... Sure. Where's Slinky?

[At least the fire pig has a neck.]

[buylowsellhigh]

Right there.

[Slinky is chilling under a table with Dragon.]

[zackthekiller]

Okay...

[He uses the bandages on his other hand to fashion a key necklace for Slinky.]

[pleasedontburnhim]

[buylowsellhigh]

[Slinky... has kind of run out of fucks to give at this point. Truly amazing, I know. She'll let him do it and resist the urge to snort out a few flames just to fuck with him. Truly she is an kind soul.]

I think she's starting to warm up to us.

[crossingout]

If they open something else, what exactly do you think they open?

[breakingthrough]

Maybe they open up a different location entirely.

It was easy to tie them to the other rooms in the hotel, but have we seen any other locked areas in the town? It seems unlikely, but it's possible there's something else they could go to.

[crossingout]

Maybe...

There's that door in the back of the dollhouse, isn't there? But it looks like the thing that opens it is egg shaped rather than key shaped.

[breakingthrough]

Egg shaped... maybe we should look for something like that while we're at it. At this point, if anything is locked... big or small, we have to find a way to open it.

[crossingout]

Well, the phones are egg shaped, for one.

[Besides eggs being egg shaped.]

[breakingthrough]

But I don't think any of our phones would be able to unlock something like...

[Edna blinks.]

...what about Joshua's phone? Do you think maybe it could have gotten in there? He was working with M after all...

[crossingout]

Did anybody take his phone before he... died? Or maybe it's on his body at the morgue?

[breakingthrough]

I don't think so. We should check the morgue later. I want to try it as soon as possible. If we wait, she may change the lock somehow now that he's gone.

[crossingout]

We can do that, then.

[buylowsellhigh]

Maybe we should do it now? Or do you think his body's not there yet?

[Pause.]

If it's not... do you think we could wait for it? I mean... how do they get there in the first place?

[crossingout]

We could do it now. And if his body's not there, we'll check again tomorrow.

[And she shrugs at the other question.]

Maybe they carry it, maybe it's magic.

[buylowsellhigh]

Right! Let's go check now then!

[Pause.]

Though uh... I... don't think I'll be searching his body.

[She's only corpse touched once and that was traumatic enough thank you very much.]

[crossingout]

I don't mind doing it if someone has to.

[zackthekiller]

Hey! Wait up!

[Zack wants to touch corpses too!]