Court Records

"Erm, Ivan, magic is supernatural," Brandy corrected. "Anyway, Enola, these ghosts... are you talkin' 'bout our teammates? I s'pose Carrie did stink a whole lot..."

Brandy shook her head, getting back on track. "Anyway, what Oliver said was true. We really were sent down here by the mayor. Christ it feels like so long ago... we've gotta bring you back. That was our mission. I ain't leavin' empty-handed. I never do."

"Who cares about that?! Ghosts do not exist!"

Ivan let out a frustrated growl as he remembered this world was batshit crazy.

"...And where do you think you're going?!" he screamed at Nail. "Now is not the time for one of your bathroom breaks!"

Enola watched Nail leave with disinterest. "Bye Goliath..." She muttered with a pathetic wave. "Don't split your head on the doorframe on your way out."

"...There is much to unpack in your ludicrous claims," Ivan glared. "When did you notice that your surroundings seemed to disappear..? Who is the emperor..? And what the hell is this about ghosts? I don't think I can take magic mixed with supernatural at the same time."

"I...I'm sorry. I don't have a goddamn clue...I...I remember I was following someone down here. Someone I loved...and....and--" Her face quickly contorted in pain. She let out a gasp and started to hyperventilate rapidly. She pressed her hands on the side of her head for a moment, and it seemed to calm her down. However, she turned away from Ivan as if she'd forgotten what they were just talking about.

Brandy shook her head, getting back on track. "Anyway, what Oliver said was true. We really were sent down here by the mayor. Christ it feels like so long ago... we've gotta bring you back. That was our mission. I ain't leavin' empty-handed. I never do."

"Your teammates? I don't know...I suppose I never knew them. I wish I had. They were probably wonderful people." Enola spun in place, looking around her. She reached out vaguely. "If these are your friends...I guess they never really left..."

Enola sighed and turned back to Brandy. "I still find that hard to believe, but...if you want to take me back to Earth, I guess I'll follow. But...But maybe we should track down the Boogeyman first. He's still down here somewhere, I think..."

She stared up at the sky. "I know it's not a welcoming place up there...but I guess it would be nice to see Daddy again."

"Daddy..?"

Ivan's eyes widened slightly.

"...Mrs. Gardner, your father is dead...we found him on our way here, way back up there."

He pointed from where they came from as if that was supposed to clear up something.

Oliver narrowed his eyes, looking rather confused. "The Boogeyman...? Whomever could you mean? Maybe Belphegor or Beelzebub..." he hypothesized, placing a hand to his chin in thought.

He sighed at the mention of her father, knowing the grisly fate that befell him. He was hesitant to explain, but Ivan thankfully elucidated instead.

CaptainPancakes wrote:"Who cares about that?! Ghosts do not exist!"

Ivan let out a frustrated growl as he remembered this world was batshit crazy.

"...And where do you think you're going?!" he screamed at Nail. "Now is not the time for one of your bathroom breaks!"

Nail stopped, and gave Ivan a very deadly glare. It felt like there was more to it than just anger at being yelled at... "In case you haven't noticed, Sir Ivan, we have completed our main objective. In my personal opinion, it would be best to make ends toward finding our way out in such a way that we can escape with our lives intact. Seeing as my talents are currently not useful here, I am going to go be useful elsewhere. If you have a problem with that, I suggest you, as Haley would put it, stuff it."

With his spiel out of the way, he ducked out of the house, heading back into the caverns to do who-knows-what.

"Yes, we found her, and now we should leave without parsing any information whatsoever," Ivan said, rolling his eyes. "Do whatever you want."

"How have you survived here for so long?" Seb asked, cutting past Ivan and Nail's argument.

"The Boogeyman helped me," Enola replied, briefly ignoring the canonical timeline of posts. "I'm not sure who they are though. They're just like you all...at least physically. But I haven't seen their face. We should ask if they want to leave too."

"...Mrs. Gardner, your father is dead...we found him on our way here, way back up there."

Enola stared blankly at Ivan for a few seconds too long. She was completely and totally motionless. No one could even hear her breathing.

"What...D-Dead?" Enola's expression filled with dread, "No...you're just trying to fool me. None of this is real...right?"

She sounded desperate.

"I'm sorry, but it's true."

...

"No...No no no...Not again..."

Enola began to tremble even faster. Tears started to fall from her eyes. She stumbled backward, leaning against the bookshelf.

"Everyone who ever...gave a fuck about me," she stammered between pained gasps. "They're stuck in the ground or...ashes in the wind..." She looked pleadingly at Ivan. "Why...Why...?"

She suddenly screamed and jerked away from the shelf, pulling several of the books with her. She collapsed into the pile on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.

Ivan crouched down next to Enola.

"...It's because you're down here, and everyone else is up there. They aren't in the caves."

Again, he pointed in the direction of where they came from.

"If you can show us the way out, and tell us everything you know, then you will find solace in people again. Do you understand? Can you answer more of our questions?"

"'Solace...?'"

A short laugh escaped Enola. Accompanied by her tears, it sounded deranged.

"I don't think you get it. A...After Dizzy disappeared, my father was the only asshole left who would listen to me. Everyone else in that godforsaken town treated me like a fucking animal!" She gestured wildly to the door with one hand. Her voice was growing ever more panicked. "I mean look! That tall bastard's already run off. And I know you're are just waiting for your chance to follow and let me rot like I was suppo-- ah...ah..."

Enola stopped herself and held her face in her hands. Her breathing slowed down, the intense emotion passing her by. Eventually she looked at Ivan and continued speaking.

"Sorry...I..." she mumbled, still tearing up. "I don't know how I got here. I saw Dizzy at the hole where he...died. So I followed him down, but the darkness closed in one me. I couldn't get back up..."

"Can't you just go back the way you came?" she asked, "I'm...not sure I have the answers you're looking for..."

"Nonsense. You are a Star Citizen. There are many who admire you," Ivan said gently, attempting to comfort her. His voice relayed a bit of confusion, unsure if Enola truly was involved or not.

"Anyways, we cannot escape. Our means of exit has been destroyed...a cave-in, I suppose. If you truly don't know another way out, then that's that, I suppose..."

He gave a nervous glance at the others before turning to Enola again.

"Trapped in her own world..." he said quietly to himself.

"...Alright, well, on our way here, we saw a variety of poems we assumed were written by you. They were...quite dark. Do you remember leaving any of these throughout the cave? You do, don't you?"

Planetbox wrote: "Can't you just go back the way you came?" she asked, "I'm...not sure I have the answers you're looking for..."

"Yes, it sounds like it..." Seb mumbled bluntly, thinking things over. "I'm sorry about what happened to your father, he was... killed. The one who killed him killed a lot of people, actually, including someone who came down here with us. But then he was executed for his crimes. I'm not sure if that helps you, but it's the truth at least.

"Do you have any connection to the mayor? Have you ever seen a symbol that looks like a snake and a skull? A lot of strange things have happened since we came down here, it would make sense if you'd come into contact with some strange things down here too."

"Nonsense. You are a Star Citizen. There are many who admire you," Ivan said gently, attempting to comfort her. His voice relayed a bit of confusion, unsure if Enola truly was involved or not.

...

"...Alright, well, on our way here, we saw a variety of poems we assumed were written by you. They were...quite dark. Do you remember leaving any of these throughout the cave? You do, don't you?"

Enola shook her head. "That town...it's really not as holy as you think it is."

"The poems that got me that accolade aren't even mine. They're sanitized long before the public gets their hands on them. My father made sure of that...

"I do remember writing some poems down here..." Enola explained, "I wouldn't call them 'dark' though...They're hopeful to me. Only through fear of the darkness does one begin to spark a light...and I like to feel connected to the world for a change."

"Do you have any connection to the mayor? Have you ever seen a symbol that looks like a snake and a skull? A lot of strange things have happened since we came down here, it would make sense if you'd come into contact with some strange things down here too."

"The emperor...?" Enola replied, "He met my with my dad when they were deciding how to monetize me. But I don't know much about him beyond that...and he certainly doesn't know a thing about me...

"I may have seen that symbol down here at some point...but I don't know what it means. It fills me with...dread."

"'Star Citizens' are wholly the mayor's, or as Enola calls him, the 'emperor's', invention. The same mayor who was responsible for sending us down here, and therefore might be connected to all this in some way. The entire concept of Star Citizens is called into question as a result," Seb commented.

"One last thing Enola, then maybe we should think about looking for a way out of here. What do you know about Belphegor?"

"One last thing Enola, then maybe we should think about looking for a way out of here. What do you know about Belphegor?"

Enola stopped crying. She stared at Seb for a moment, wiping her tears with her fingers. It seemed hearing that name had evoked some sort of reaction.

"Belphegor...? He's one of the princes of hell...or something He tempts people with sloth. I must have seen his name in a book once."

"I don't follow all that occult shit though. The only demons that particularly interest me...are the ones dressed as humans."

Enola looked away from Sebastian and whispered, "What a weird question...These people are crazy."

"As best I can tell, she's only as involved in all this as the rest of us are: pieces in a game. We can probably trust her, so, should we leave?" Seb asked the others. "I'm still worried about this 'boogeyman' though. We weren't told anyone else was stuck down here, but the name Enola's given them doesn't make them sound... friendly. They probably can't do anything so long as we all stick together though."

"I don't think she's our enemy at all, so-- ... Sebastian." Daniel rubs his chin. "Though, even if we wanted to leave, I don't think we can."

KamiPanda wrote:"As best I can tell, she's only as involved in all this as the rest of us are: pieces in a game. We can probably trust her, so, should we leave?" Seb asked the others. "I'm still worried about this 'boogeyman' though. We weren't told anyone else was stuck down here, but the name Enola's given them doesn't make them sound... friendly. They probably can't do anything so long as we all stick together though."

"...Perhaps we should show her what we found within the caves," Ivan suggested. "The model town of Rattlewater, the castle, the challenge rooms, the ice caverns...everything. That may stir a sense of urgency in her that something's not right."

Ivan crossed his arms. "Regardless...we cannot just leave her here."

Enola appeared to have calmed down. She slowly got to her feet, using the bookshelf to support her.

"This house is very old. I believe generations have occupied this spot before me...Sometimes at night I hear them whispering their regrets...their joys...Those souls that met a peaceful end on this spot."

"I don't want anyone here to join them," she said.

She calmly picked up books from the ground and returned them to the shelf.

“Like I said before, I ain’t leavin’ empty handed,” Brandy said firmly. “She’s comin’ with us no matter what. She don’t appear to be the enemy, so I guess she can be part of our team now, or somethin’.”

Ivan nodded at Brandy.

"...Would you like to come with us, Mrs. Gardner? We can go back to the surface together."

Enola didn't respond for a while. The other started to wonder if she'd even heard them.

"Sure..." she eventually said, "I don't really care anymore."

"Right. So it's settled," Oliver nodded, his arms crossed. "We can pass through the locations we were at before, like Ivan suggested. Although I'm not sure if we'll be able to return to the surface..." he morosely remarked.

"Shouldn't we examine the surroundings of this cottage first?" Seb said. "We haven't seen any exits anywhere we've already been, our best hope might be the places we've not yet spent much time in. Enola, did you step outside much once arriving here? Did you notice anything unusual?"

"No, not really," Enola said, sounding bored. "I prefer to stay in the house. Mostly to avoid the shadowy wraiths that sometimes streak across the sky outside...I guess they're harmless though, since the Boogeyman could still drop by. So yeah...nothing important."

"This, ah, this Boogeyman you speak of... If you can tell us, what is he like?" Oliver questioned, looking rather perplexed, judging by his expression. "And how did he help you, out of sheer curiosity?"

Enola paused for a while before answering.

"I can't describe them," she answered, "They were always cloaked in shadow and their voice was...demonic. I never saw their face."

"But they gave me food and supplies...and promised me friends and a home." Enola sighed. "I don't know if they were telling the truth. I guess the main point is that they listened. And they seemed nice enough..."

The search of the house was fruitless. No exits were found, nor any sign of the "Boogeyman" Enola had mentioned. The group reunited in the living room to plan their next move. Nail may or may not have also been there; who knows what he's up to these days.

Enola knelt near the edge of the room, humming to herself as she carved something into the wall. No one could tell what it was yet. It just looked like a bunch of parallel scratches.

"Hmm..." she turned to the others for a moment. "I'm surprised none of you have disappeared yet. Maybe I just haven't waited long enough..."

"Well...I would hope none of us would disappear," Ivan blinked. "...Why do you expect us to?"

"Far too many of us have died for the ones left to just stop now. We're not disappearing while we've still got a job to do," Seb said quietly. "...Not that we appear to have any choice in the matter. We still haven't found anything. Should we try searching previous areas? Maybe we'll find something new if we have a new set of eyes with us."

"Most of the assholes who visited me down here would vanish if I looked away for too long," Enola explained, swiping her letter opener roughly across the wall. "I guess they just got tired of me. I'm glad all of you are still here..."

"Visitors? You got visitors?" Seb said incredulously. "How? Who were they? What did they do?

"We didn't see any signs of life down here other than the poems you left. It's difficult to imagine anyone else was down here."

"Oh, I get plenty of visitors. My father, Dr. Scarface...sometimes my mother. Hordes of faceless people. Just the usual folks really. Dizzy was there too...usually lurking on the edge of my sight.

"A few of them even spoke to me. Mostly just some creepy shit though. Then they were gone. I tried to just ignore them..."

She continued working.

"...Do we even try to interpret that?" Ivan sighed to himself. "Um...what kind of things would they say to you? Can you elaborate on, er, 'creepy shit?'"

"I can certainly assure you that we will not disappear. We wouldn't do that to you," Oliver remarked confidently. "And, ah, out of curiosity, how frequently do you get these visitors?"

"All the damn time," Enola replied, scratching the wall with increased ferocity. "What's with all the stupid fucking questions? Let's talk about something else."

Enola stopped for a moment and thought silently. She didn't even seem to be breathing.

"Here's a question for all of you...what are your favorite places in the town? What do you love the most about it?" She resumed her work.

"I guess my favorite thing about the town is probably my own museum," Brandy said. "I ain't tryin' to sound narcissistic or nothin', but I did bust my ass puttin' it together n' gettin' everythin' for it in the first place. I guess I'm proud of that, but if you want me to say somethin' that isn't my own doin', I do enjoy how small Rattlewater is."

She looked around at her companions. "I mean, it's a weird place, sure, but it's got a sense of community. While it has its share of bad apples, a lot of the kindest people I've ever met are from Rattlewater. I've been 'round the globe several times over, so that says somethin', I s'pose."