forgot i was doing ts

MISSION THREE — EPILOGUE

(The main hall is a riot of voices. Some are whispers; some are shouts. The air still tastes faintly of confetti and singed curtains from Jevil’s death. Pale King stands on a crate and straightens his tiny crown; Virian sits nearby, moon-shaped lights flickering around them. Entries cluster in groups — some angry, some scared, some excited. Skrunkly is damp and keeps glancing longingly at the water tank by the wall.)

Pale King (calm, cold):
“Listen. We traced the sludge smear on Steamton’s detonator. The only way that sludge could get there during Mission Two is if the smearing happened while the team moved with the button. In other words — the mole was on that mission.”

Virian (soft, eyes distant):
“Right. The only people who touched Steamton’s detonator in the window were Kitsune, Cassie, Jotaro, Steamton himself, and Skrunkly.”

(A low collective intake of breath ripples through the crowd.)

Kitsune (snapping, nine tails flicking):
“You’re narrowing suspects to us? That’s convenient. Pointing fingers at blades and tails now?”

Cassie (flat, arms folded):
“If you think I smeared sludge on a detonator to make your bombs fail, you don’t know me at all. My rituals would leave a signature. This smear was physical — crude. That’s not on me.”

Jotaro (hands in pockets, deadpan):
“Don’t act surprised you’re suspects. You were on the ground. Be adults and cooperate.”

Steamton (clutching his hat, defensive-cough):
“ME? SULLY MY BUTTON? I WOULD NEV— cough —NEVER TOUCH MY OWN BUTTON WITH SLUDGE. WHOEVER FRAMED STEAMTON WOULD HAVE TO BE A FOOL OR AN ARTIST.”

Skrunkly (small voice, teary):
“I— I like water. I— I clean things with water when I’m nervous. Maybe… I washed my paws… I didn’t touch any button, I promise—water is nice. I like water.”

Rewrite (grinning, circling):
“Oho. Drama. Accusations. Look at how pretty everyone gets when their backs are against the wall.”

Ducc (floating hands idly clapping):
“Observe. A mole won’t last long with this many eyes. Or it will. That’s the terrifying option.”

Vadrina (quiet, calm):
“We don’t lynch on suspicion. We audit logs, check patrol footage, question timelines. Quick, surgical. Not screaming accusations.”

Kira (soft smile, clinical):
“Logically: start with who had unsupervised access to the detonator before deployment, then who had motive. Motive grows from opportunity.”

(Pale King steps forward to continue. He starts to outline the timeline — who was where, when — but mid-sentence, two figures step from a shadowed doorway and simply stand in the room. Entries blink; some don’t notice at first. They feel like they were always there.)

Madame Odius (voice like silk-and-razor, addressing Pale King as if correcting him):
“You meant to say ‘and the time gap between the control-room blackout and the button check was eleven minutes, yes?’ You missed the eleven-minute window, sire.”

Pale King (eyes narrowing):
“I— what? Who are—?”

Endogeny (a huge white bulk with six legs, wagging like a happy bus, body humming with contentment; it makes a small happy sound that gurgles) —no words, only presence.

Madame Odius (smiling coldly at the room):
“Madame Odius. I believe we arrived... ages ago.”
(She is enormous in presence — kitsune-patterned, regal, and wrong in all the best ways.)
“We are unregistered, ostensibly. Yet here we are. A shame you didn’t check for unlisted anomalies earlier, Pale King.”

Pale King (surprised and offended):
“You insinuate—?”

Madame Odius (tilting her head):
“I simply point out facts, darling. The blackout was timed to coincide with Cassie’s ritual window — a window you noted, but you didn’t account for the three-second phantom echo on camera seven. That echo indicates an external interference used to cloak manual contact. Manual contact implies someone physically present during the bloom: which narrows suspects further.”

Cassie (cold, eyes flashing):
“You’re trying to pin this on me. That cloak could be produced by—”

Madame Odius (cutting her off with a flick of a gloved hand):
“I’m not pinning. I’m observing. But you’ll allow me the courtesy of not implicating me in your internal theatrics.”

Reactions — fast & loud:
Rewrite: “Ooh, new villain energy. I like you already.”
Big D Randy (grinning): “Oh? New puppeteer? I smell power.”
Gebrix (eyes narrowed): “You appeared out of nowhere. That’s sus.”
Fellow-D9 (cold): “We don’t need more hands that can betray us.”
Diolson (mechanical): “UNREGISTERED ENTITIES: security breach. Flag for purge? No—investigate.”

(Suddenly — a small comedic beat — Herbert, nervously clutching his notepad, waddles up to the massive Endogeny with a trilling “Fun fact!”)

Fun Facts with Herbert (eager):
“Hey! Fun fact—did you know that—”

(Endogeny turns like a truck that just remembered it has mass. It sniffles, then, in a single fluid motion, flicks Herbert like a thumb flicking a bug. Herbert sails across the hall — higher and with surprising grace — and sticks to the ceiling like a startled moth. Silence. Then a few scattered claps from the more chaotic entries.)

Skrunkly (wide-eyed):
“WHOA— THAT WAS AWESOME!”

Herbert (from the ceiling, muffled and indignant):
“HEH—THAT WAS NOT WHAT I MEANT—FUN FACT: YOU SHOULDN’T THROW PEOPLE—”

Madame Odius (dryly):
“Noted. The pet is not one for small talk.”

Endogeny (bleating happily, drooling a little froth of contentment) — then plops down and vanishes into a loaf-shaped, contented mess, making everyone uneasy about how much room it takes.

Big D Randy (suddenly launching into a wild, sanitized rap — beats of bravado.):
“When are you coming to stop me? I’m not tryna sound cocky—
I’m movin’ like a storm, runnin’ circles round the lobby.
I’m havin’ fun, we throw down, meet me at the park—
Eight o’clock when it’s dark, we’ll turn up the spark!
If you win, fine—disappear like a shadow in the night,
But if I win, I take the prize, then I take flight—
Call me Big D, yeah I get the crowd hyped,
These entries talk big, but I bring the bite.”

(He finishes with a big, toothy grin. Some laugh; others scowl.)

Rewrite (whoops of approval):
“YEAH RICK-RACK! LET IT RIP, RANDY!”

Cassie (unmoved):
“That’s childish.”

Madame Odius (applauding delicately):
“Such vigor. Could be useful. Or could get you killed. We shall see.”

Diolson (interjecting, voice clipped, scanning):
“Priority: validate these two anomalies. Odius—Endogeny—are you with their group externally? Are you agents of the other base? Why were you not on the manifest?”

Madame Odius (with a sly, amused bow):
“Excellent questions. I enjoy tests. I am not your enemy today; I seek opportunity. I arrived by means you wouldn’t credit and I brought a companion who eats fear and leaves footprints. I do not require registration when the right political strings are strummed.”

Vadrina (hands on sword):
“That’s not a reassuring answer.”

Pale King (coolly):
“You slipped past our checkpoints. That implies either an internal lapse — or collusion. You’re either an asset, a spy, or someone clever enough to be both. Which is it?”

Madame Odius (smile that doesn’t reach eyes):
“Why limit yourself to one label, tiny crowned insect? The world is more delicious when you keep options open.”

(Chaos swells. Some entries shout suspicion. Others beg for calm. Skrunkly pads over to the water tank and dips a finger in, smiling like a child.)

Skrunkly (happy, oblivious):
“Water… nice… I like water… it makes my feathers sleepy.”

Kitsune (forceful, glaring at Skrunkly):
“And yet your little paws were on the mission with the button. Don’t think being cute absolves you.”

Skrunkly (blinking, offended):
“I DID NOT TOUCH BUTTON—WATER ONLY! I LIKE BATHS—AND BUBBLES!”

Cassie (to Kitsune, low):
“We’ll do a quick crosscheck. Logs, footage, who had the bag with the detonator. Quietly. Now.”

Kitsune (snaps):
“Do it. Or I will.”

Momo (soft, to the circle):
“We’re spread thin. We just killed a dangerous unit. Now two unregistered entities step in and a main piece of evidence points at us. We need order. Please.”

Fellow-D9 (grim):
“Right. People who were on Mission Two: speak the truth, now. Who touched Steamton’s detonator between briefing and lift-off? Hands up.”

(A ripple of nervous shuffles. A few raised hands: Steamton, Skrunkly denies. Kitsune keeps his hands to himself, tail tense. Cassie remains folded. Jotaro just stares.)

Steamton (offended and trembling):
“I pa— I guarded it. I kept it close. I opened the little latch to show the light—someone had smeared it after that. I put it down only for a split second to adjust my hat. That is when it happened.”

Kira (approaching in the background, calm):
“You said you adjusted your hat. Who else had proximity at that exact slot?”

Diolson (tapping on his head, mechanical):
“Reviewing timeline: Steamton removed hat—00:01:13; Cassie used a ritual—00:01:35; Kitsune checked machinery—00:01:40; Skrunkly distracted workers—00:01:05. The smear appears between 01:05 and 01:40.”

Pale King (cold):
“That leaves a small window. And inconveniently narrows the suspects back to those five.”

Madame Odius (sly, suddenly cutting in):
“Conveniently narrows the suspects to exactly the most dramatic people. Are we sure we want to play whack-a-mole theatricality, or should we—oh, I don’t know—use a more elegant solution?”

Big D Randy (thumping a hand on his chest):
“Elegance ain’t my style. Smash, rap, repeat.”

Rewrite (leaning in, eyes bright):
“This is getting good. I hope you don’t mind if I keep snacks.”

Tiger Cub (squeak, then fiercely):
“ENOUGH. VOTINGS OR NOT? WE HAVE MISSIONS TO PICK. THIS IS NOT—”
(She pauses, one tiny paw raised, glaring at Odius and Endogeny.)
“—AN EXCUSE TO STALL. THE MOLE WILL NOT WAIT. VOTINGS WILL PROCEED. BUT I WANT EVERYONE AWARE: ODIUS AND HER…PET…ARE UNREGISTERED. THEY WILL BE ON TRIAL STATUS UNTIL PROVEN OTHERWISE.”

Madame Odius (purring):
“Delightful. I adore trials. They make for such interesting narratives.”

Kitsune (snarling, to the hall):
“You can’t just let unknowns wander in and treat our home like a guest room.”

Gebrix (quiet):
“We should quarantine them. Watch their movements. No access to gear, no access to logs.”

Fellow-D9 (nods):
“Agree. Isolation until cleared.”

Diolson (mechanically):
“Flagging Odius/Endogeny: restricted. Begin manual sweep of entry points. Cross-reference recent feed: who let them in, or when did their presence begin on internal cameras? If there’s no record, then physical bypass occurred.”

Momo (soft):
“I can help with warding. Keep them near me; I’ll draw a small non-invasive containment circle.”

Madame Odius (smiling):
“Oh, how adorable. A child’s ward. I’ll oblige your theatrics—briefly.”

(Herbert slips down from the ceiling, rubbing a bruised spot, furious but oddly impressed.)

Herbert (to Endogeny, scowling):
“You fling a guy once and I won’t tell the story? You could at least offer a tissue.”

*Endogeny (happy pant, drooling), then wags and licks Herbert’s notebook, smearing ink. Herbert screams and chases after the smudge with a wet rag. The room half-laughs, half-scowls.)

Scoop Dog (blaring music to drown the tension):
“ICE CREAM FOR ALL! ICE CREAM FOR ALL! BUY ICE CREAM—NO MOLES IN OUR TREATS!”

Fork (solemnly falling over):
(sound effect.)

Tiger Cub (clapping twice, squeaky authoritative):
“ALRIGHT! VOTINGS WILL CONTINUE. I WILL NOT LET CHAOS EAT THE SCHEDULE. MISSION FOUR IS AN ASSASSINATION MISSION. REMINDER OF RESTRICTIONS: VADRINA, GORDON, KIRA, DUCC, AND SUE CANNOT BE VOTED FOR THE NEXT TWO MISSIONS. KITSUNE, CASSIE, JOTARO, STEAMTON, AND SKRUNKLY CANNOT BE VOTED FOR THE NEXT THREE MISSIONS. AND BIG D RANDY, DIOLSON, MOMO, FELLOW-D9, AND GEBRIX CANNOT BE VOTED FOR THE NEXT FOUR MISSIONS. VOTES, NOW.”

(Murmurs — a mix of protest, resignation, and grim focus.)

Kira (to the group, quietly):
“While you vote, continue the sweep. Whoever smeared a detonator tried to stop a mission. That’s a wartime-level sabotage; whoever did that is not just a leak, they’re a killer.”

Vadrina (unsheathing, calm):
“Then find them. Quietly. Precisely.”

Cassie (breathing slow):
“I’ll help with the ritual signatures. I’ll prove my hands were clean when needed.”

Kitsune (to Cassie, low):
“If you did this, I will end you for it.”

Cassie (meeting his gaze):
“If you try to end me without proof, I will make your life very loud.”

Steamton (shaking, holding hat like a shield):
“LET IT BE KNOWN—STEAMTON DID NOT SLUDGE-UP HIS BUTTON. I LOVE MY HAT AND MY BUTTON.”

Skrunkly (sits by the water tank, toes dipped in, happily):
“Water is nice. I will help by being super wet. That helps, right?”

Pale King (watching the room, voice like silk):
“We will not tear ourselves apart here. Not yet. But we will watch. And we will strike the mole when we find it.”