voidtreckernet | backdated to fiddlesticks 24, morning

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backdated to fiddlesticks 24, morning

I need to address what happened last night. If you're tired of hearing about it, I promise I'll be fast and avoid detail.

[ He looks like he hasn't slept much. He's giving the crew a very somber expression. ]

First, Xue Yang isn't dead. The spirit going by the name of Wester put him in a penalty coma, where he's being forced to karmically experience the sensation of death. I know this because an incarnation of the same spirit dealt me the same punishment for a somewhat lesser crime, and I'm still standing.

Wester's spirit has certain abilities to uncover the past. The image they conjured was likely the truth, but it shouldn't have been shown to you all with such little warning. And I promise we're working on tracking them down to be dealt with, because however well-intentioned, it wasn't their place to be sole judge, jury, and executioner. You all shouldn't have to be afraid that every minor sin will bring wrath on your heads.

I'll try to answer any questions you have.

And...Wester, if you're listening, I still believe in you. We're both sinners, for better or worse, and you won't turn me away that easily. But we have to deal with this, delaying will only make it worse.

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[ SOUNDS GREAT ACTUALLY. You know, apart from the whole, broadcasting it, thing. She hits the button she's seen other people use to reply to this shit. ]

When's he gonna wake up?

I don't know. It took me a few months to recover, but if he has a stronger will, it could be sooner. Or we might have someone on-board who can touch minds and wake him up for questioning.

Don't wake him up! He'll-- [ think fast ] He's a scary guy. Why wake him up until you know what'll happen to him? He'll just lie to you.

That's true. Most of us are forgetting the murder in our rush to condemn Wester's vigilantism.

I know he's under tight surveillance right now. I'll keep reminding them to beef up security.

I'll back up what Kaiba-san said: We're doing everything we can to find Wester and deal with this as peacefully as possible so there will never be another repeat.

[She's not even going to touch on the whole 'uncover the past' aspect. That's. Just no and she really doesn't trust her voice not to give something away that could lead to her own, major crimes being uncovered by more people than strictly needed.]

That said, it's good to know Xue Yang-san will wake up, though, if you don't mind me saying so, Kaiba-san and it hasn't already been down, we should at least get one of the psychics on board to have a look at him too. I'd rather be safe than sorry, you know?

[There's an apologetic smile at the end. She trusts Kaiba, yet at the same time, she is on the Council and she refuses to be biased.]

Why are you condemning them for that? That guy-- [ time to twist the truth again, sorry daozhang ] --killed hundreds of people. An entire sect! Villages full of people! And my-- he killed...

If he got karmic retribution, then that's on him!

[Yugi for the most part was just keeping away from everyone, but his reasoning was more to think things over in a quiet space rather than trying to when all the commotion was going on.

He was going through the events over and over in his head. Things were too much of a coincidence, but yet it definitely wasn't him. Someone who called themselves Wester...]

Seto...Can you please meet me somewhere quiet? I want to talk about this in private.

Yeah. Quiet car.

[ Kaiba heads there immediately, and greets Yugi with a somber look ]

What is it? Some weird things happened last night, beyond the obvious, and now I'm not so sure.

...it's an idea, but I'll wait for the rest of the council before we make a decision on that.

Something has to be done.

[ He takes a quiet breath. ]

I don't think we can be in the business of punishing people for their actions before life here...but knowing these things can inform our security measures.

But murdering A-Qing was enough to deserve a severe punishment, I agree. Whatever rules we might have, 'don't kill, except during a few very narrow emergencies with no other choice' is as close to universal as it gets.

[ He doesn't know! Good. ]

Then... You should talk to Lan Wangji. He knows all about that- about Xue Yang.

I'll let the rest of the council know to ask him. We should have character witnesses to fill the gaps of our knowledge.

I did search for Wester and didn't have any success. I'm going to leave that to others.

I'm an Elvish psychic, and though my skills are somewhat specialized, I would like to see what I can do. If I can cast a vision into the mind of another, I can probably break through a vision that is already in a person's mind and not created by me.

[ That was... a lot. Whatever happened last night, it had been horrifying to the point that Luke couldn't even respond; the thought of being trapped in one's own mind, experiencing death... it may have been survivable, but no one deserved that kind of fate, even murderers. ]

[ He debated even responding, because it was too much, and they shouldn't have needed to deal with that, not after everything else that had been happening recently. There was too much going on to have to worry about their own turning against them. ]

[ When he does finally respond, his voice is soft. ]

Let me know if you require assistance. If you're familiar enough with this person... I should be able to determine where they're hiding.

For that level of familiarity...Yugi would probably know better than me. I'll ask him if we haven't found them by then.

Please do; none of us need complications like this right now.

[Yugi stayed seated, for the time being, leaning his back against the wall of the carriage.]

I'm just going over the events in my head, that's all. To figure out who it is. Yes, I know you said a name, but that doesn't help that much, but... Don't you think it's odd that something very similar to what he did happens and it's not him or me?

I don't think it's completely true that it's not him. I think...it's a different incarnation, somehow.

[ He leans forward, mindlessly lacing his fingers. ]

That night at the masquerade...it was different, but I got the same feeling I always did when I was around him. That my soul was being weighed, but this time I passed the test.

And even stranger...immediately after the broadcast, I was just outside the car trying to get in, but they stopped to talk to me. It was absolutely the same person from the dance. We talked, and I tried to calm them, but what they said was something like...

'I'm not your friend. I'm not the one who helped you up, I'm the one who destroyed you, don't you get it? I don't deserve your kindness.'

Did Atem's soul have...different entities within it?

Do you mean something like what is it called... [It's going to give Yugi a few moments to think of what he wanted to say.]

Butterfly effect? So that some choice that was made changed something. In this instance probably the case of I somehow didn't end up with the puzzle? [Which was a very strange thing to say out loud. But he sits there and listened before even thinking about the question, which he went as far as to scratch his cheek slightly.]

Well... there were apparently two souls that were sealed away in the puzzle if I remember correctly.

That's it. It's similar enough for us to recognize, and the spirit clearly recognizes us...but not the same.

[ Yugi's kind of cute when he does that. Bad time for that thought, though. Kaiba frowns in response.]

Was there a...particular dark side?

So where they are from we still have roles in that world, so that means they would know us in some way... Maybe a reverse role on my end and being on the sidelines. Though that now really makes me wonder if I am still as awkward as I was that then...

[That was not the point of the talk just now. For now, he stopped to moved his hands so that they were together, looking at them.]

A particular dark side? I assume you mean is the other soul dark in some way? If so, yes.

That would explain a lot...but I don't think this person is entirely malicious. They claim they are, but that's not what I sense.

There is nothing well-intentioned about wasting the time of the medical staff on personal vendettas.

[ Wen Qing is tired, hungry and sore after working all night, finding herself a little beyond being capable of cordiality. ]

I'm sorry. I hope you were able to recover Xue Yang. I already agreed to help Curufin assist him, in whatever capacity they need me.

[ He sighs. ]

Wester materialized to meet me once before this incident, at Minako's dance. They seemed pleased with my progress since my own penalty coma, so they likely thought it would work again. That's my fault for inadvertently encouraging them, and I apologize for my part in it.

I promise I'll advocate for Wester to be disciplined appropriately.

Good. We can't have this happening again with him, or with anyone else feeling encouraged to pursue vengeance. There are too many people on this train. It would be mayhem. There would be a circle of violence.

[ And that is something she isn't going to tolerate, though she wouldn't know what she could do about it. ]

You owe nobody apologies. Wester is responsible for their own actions.

We did what we could for Xue Yang. It remains to be seen in the weeks and months to follow what the damage will be.

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backdated to fiddlesticks 24, morning

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