The Storyteller 2025/10/27(Mon)22:02 No. 1115621 ID: 1c8348
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‘Bec: “...I know. Love you too.”

They break apart, her mom patting her on the shoulder.

Her Mom: “Think about that dinner request. It’s been too long.”
‘Bec: “No promises.”
Her Mom: “I’d hope not. You enjoy breaking them too much.”

You take a few wide steps away from the door, and try to look natural when ‘Bec steps out, shutting it behind her. She looks at you, but doesn’t give any indication whether she noticed you listening in or not. She just takes back her backpack, and starts walking off, letting you follow.

The Storyteller 2025/10/27(Mon)22:03 No. 1115622 ID: 1c8348
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It’s started to rain, as you reach your final stop. ‘Bec had stopped at the supermarket to stock up on drinks and snacks for the road, as well as the closed Play&Pay toy store to clean out its cash register. There’s no risk, since you know Snyder will never return to report the missing revenue.

‘Bec: “This is the last stop. I buried some of my wares out here that I wanna take with me.”

You’d gone past the plaza, and into the wooded area on the East end of town.

Clive: “...Are we going to the Creek?”
‘Bec: “Bingo. You ever been out here?”
Clive: “No.”
‘Bec: “Figured. You aren’t missing much. I mostly just come out to get away from shit, or to sell crap to the kids who hang around it.”

Eventually, you reach the lake itself, a decently large body of water with a large storm drain trickling water into it. You can see rope swings, litter, and graffiti all around the area. Nobody else is here at the moment, probably due to the weather.

‘Bec takes a travel-sized shovel out of her backpack, flips over a large rock, and starts digging.

‘Bec: “Hey, remember the other day, when you and brainy came by?”
Clive: “Yeah.”
‘Bec: “You wanted gossip on a bunch of different peeps.”
‘Bec: “That shit isn’t gonna be worth anything once I’m gone. Nobody two states over is gonna care what some random kids here have been up to.”
‘Bec: “Consider this a clearance sale. Might as well give away the good stuff before I go. Who or what do you wanna hear about?”

You pause to consider that. The offer had come out of nowhere, so you don’t have anything immediately on your mind.

Who/What do you want to ask ‘Bec for gossip on? (Two topics per person)

>>1051261

Sorry, Clive. We’ve got to run this to ground. What else can you tell us about JoJo? This is really important, but Clive doesn’t want to hear it. Last chance to make amends, Clive.

2. What the fuck is Mrs. Chamberlane’s problem?!

>>1115622
She said last time that three ladies wanted Alberts dad dead. What were her theories on that?
Also this is more about a place than a person. But anything about the recycling plant?

1. Ask what she knows about Daniel. According to an important note found by Franklin and Lilian https://questden.org/kusaba/questarch/res/1019132.html#1030996, apparently he was acting moody enough to cause some suspicion, and was recommended to ask Temmie about it. Considering he's a middle schooler just like Bec, she probably knows more about any kind of rumors about Daniel than anyone else. Does Bec know why Daniel was acting the way he did? If she doesn't, maybe she can give us some insight like what he was doing last she saw him, or some other important thing.

2. Ask about any hiding places, getaways, secret paths that she might know of. As the adults grow more suspicious, and with the new curfew rule that will make investigating a little more difficult, we might need to know these things if we want to stay hidden, or run from adults if suspicion gets too high enough to start graduating the group.

Ask her about the questions __other__ people have been asking her lately. Particularly Jhonen, or anyone else who's graduated lately. If anyone else was trying to investigate, she probably would have been unknowingly involved.

Ask her about the Butler family, all of them. Every thread in this conspiracy seems to come back to them somehow; if they're not at the center they have to be close.

Yeah. Figured it would be hard to get a consensus going.
>>1115656
Gonna change my first with the this ones Buttler question but change it to "got anything on the principle?"
And change my second one with >>1115650
's Daniel question. Since it's Chamberlains son that also fits with Donut's question.

Oh and I'm >>1115630

>>1115664
>>1115669
I might be wrong, but I don't think we need to worry about a consensus or majority vote on what gets asked, I think the prompt is just asking for two topics per person, and each will get answered (through the extent of what Bec has heard of course). You probably don't need to change your questions. Bec did say we'll be getting gossip on a bunch of different peeps after all.

>>1115682

This is correct, don't worry about voting, just ask what you wish to know about. I will try to feature all questions, save those which Clive would not ask.

>>1115687
Oh? Didn't really expect each thing to (mostly) be addressed. Nevermind then.

A general idea of which adults are more or less dangerous, and... maybe anything else about Enid or her family that would be helpful to know.
I do have a third one, which is one too many, but if it makes more sense for Clive to ask about the Hospital over the other two, I figured I'd also mention it.

Ask her where she gets her keys from. We're going to need keys to at least the high school, and likely other places we don't know about yet. Without her to source them for us we need to know where to look.

Ask her if she has info on anyone at the high school. In particular we want to know who's in charge there and if she has any dirt on them.

The Storyteller 2025/11/11(Tue)20:46 No. 1116805 ID: 1c8348
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Clive: “Anything is fine?”
‘Bec: “If I don’t wanna tell you about something, or I have nothing to say, I’ll tell you. Just ask whatever comes to mind.”
‘Bec: “Don’t overthink it. This bag is buried pretty deep, so we’ll be here a while. Give me something to take my mind off digging.”

That simplifies things. If anything is on the table…

Clive: “What do you know about the Fosters?”
‘Bec: “Awwww, did you make a friend? Are you worried about Enid?”
Clive: “...”
‘Bec: “Feh, you’re no fun. You’re right to be worried though, the Fosters are shit.”
‘Bec: “I wouldn’t trust anyone who graduates their kid early.”
Clive: “Leo Foster graduated normally.”
‘Bec: “Yeah, but Jacob didn’t.”

You pause, trying to remember where you’d heard that name before.

Clive: “...He graduated early three months ago. I didn’t think he was a Foster.”
‘Bec: “That’s because he wasn’t, really. You were probably too young to remember, but he got adopted by them.”
‘Bec: “The crock of shit they fed us was that his parents had to move across the country for work, and they couldn’t take him with them.”
‘Bec: “After seeing all that shit at the plant, I’d bet they were actually killed off for breaking some shitty rule.”
‘Bec: “The Fosters adopted Jacob, and they sent him off to the high school when his temper finally became too annoying to deal with.”
‘Bec: “So yeah, I don’t trust ‘em.”

It’s an upsetting revelation, given the uncertainty it places on Enid’s safety with them. You’ll have to warn her as soon as you can.

‘Bec: “...I’m pretty sure Lana Foster is pregnant.”
Clive: “...I’ve seen other women in town who were.”
‘Bec: “Makes you wonder, huh?”

“They’re Sterile. Everyone in town, everyone affected… they were sterilized.”
“They can’t have kids…”

You shake your head. It’s a contradiction, but not one that ‘Bec can help you solve right now. Better to focus on what she can tell you.

Clive: “How about the Butlers?”
‘Bec: “Not much to say. Temmie and her dad don’t go out much, and I avoid teachers and school staff whenever I can.”
‘Bec: “Lynn Butler is one of the few people who I know has been to the High School. I’ve seen her leaving it a couple of times. She’s the only one I’m sure of, though.”
‘Bec: “Robert Butler is a stay-at-home dad, which is already pretty weird. Not many guys would be willing to watch the house while their wives go out and work.”
‘Bec: “I saw some old newspapers at the library that mention him as, like, a local councilman or mayor? I don’t remember which, or what the difference is.”
‘Bec: “That feels like a bigger deal than being principal though, so it seems weird that he’s the one out of a job. Maybe he lost an election?”
‘Bec: “Although, if he did, I couldn’t tell you who the current mayor is.”
Clive: “And Temmie?”

Her eyes narrow.

‘Bec: “She’s a fucking freak. I’m not surprised that she’s a snitch, because she’s always known more than makes sense. I don’t know where she gets her information.”
‘Bec: “When she’s not at school, she’s either at home with her dad, or going into town with him. She shouldn’t know shit about other kids, with how little she talks to them.”
‘Bec: “I don’t buy any of that clairvoyant bullshit either, she’s got a source, but she won’t tell anyone what it is.”
‘Bec: “So I don’t fucking trust her.”
‘Bec: “If you want my advice, you should deal with her before she rats on all of your asses.”

Her concern is understandable, even if you don’t agree. Temmie is, in many ways, an unknown in your investigation. What all she’s capable of and what she truly wants are a mystery.

If she wanted you dead though, all she would need to do is tattle to the adults about where you’d been today. Instead, she reached out into your mind, and helped you stay sane in the wake of Sheppard’s death.

Obviously, you don’t bring that up. It sounds insane, and ‘Bec would just write it off as you having a weird dream. Instead, you just nod along, letting the topic fall.

The Storyteller 2025/11/11(Tue)20:47 No. 1116806 ID: 1c8348
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‘Bec stops digging, planting the shovel down and catching her breath.

‘Bec: “Ugh, switch. I need a minute.”

She sits down on a log, while you grab the shovel and start digging. It takes a fair bit of effort, but you’re not surprised. It isn’t your first time digging a hole.

…You run through several more questions to distract yourself.

Clive: “Do you know any good Hiding spots in town? Or Secret pathways?”
‘Bec: “The school and hospital are pretty good spots to hide. There are a lot of empty rooms in both. You just gotta keep an ear out for doctors or teachers.”
‘Bec: “If you need a place to hunker down for a few nights, try Riley’s house. His parents work late, and he owes me a bunch of favors that I won’t be around to call in.”

She gives you an address. He lives on the South side of town, apparently.

‘Bec: “I dunno about secret paths, our town isn’t some shitty comic villain’s lair.”
‘Bec: “I did work out this one route through the facilities West of town that makes it easy to go between the cheap houses and the better ones down South without bumping into anyone.”

She breaks down an elaborate path for you, which involves passing through several stores’ back/side entrances, weaving through a few alleyways, and just a few spots where you’d have to sprint between cover.

It’s too much to really keep track of, but you don’t have anything to write on (not that you could bust out a notepad anyways while it’s raining), so you memorize the steps as best as you can.

‘Bec: “It takes way longer than just walking it, but if you really don’t want to be seen, it’s worth it.”
‘Bec: “What else have you got?”
Clive: “We found a note about Daniel. Apparently, he’s been moody?”

She lets out a hum of thought, considering the statement before answering.

‘Bec: “Yeah, he has been.”
‘Bec: “Was wondering what crawled up his ass, but I figured he just got in a fight with his mom.”
‘Bec: “He used to hang around after class to talk to her, but he’s been the first out the door recently.”
‘Bec: “Was the note you found written by a kid, or a teacher?”

You give a brief explanation about Franklin and Lillian discovering it while searching the school, what exactly it said, and how it had been addressed to Principal Butler.

‘Bec: “See, that sounds like his mom wrote it, but the implication is that she doesn’t know why he’s been in a mood.”
Clive: “Which she would, if they had a fight.”
‘Bec: “I’d wager he found out something shitty about the school. He’d have more chances, since he lives with a teacher. It could be worth prodding him for info.”
‘Bec: “Do it carefully though. He’s no tattletale, but his mom is already suspicious. Telling him too much could be a mistake.”

You aren’t sure if it’s worth the risk, but you’ll bring it up to the others at least.

Clive: “What about Mrs. Chamberlane?”
‘Bec: “Don’t do anything suspicious in front of her, she’s a hardcore bitch of a snitch.”
‘Bec: “She acts nice, and loves to tell kids that they can confide in her, but she secretly keeps a notebook behind her desk where she logs everything.”
‘Bec: “When you break a rule, what scores you get on your tests, and a bunch of little things that our parents probably asked her to keep an eye out for.”
‘Bec: “She has notes for shit like if Roger spends all of recess drawing by himself, or how often John misses homework deadlines…
‘Bec: “She even tracks how often kids talk to Temmie during recess. Try not to be alone with her for too long, at least not when a teacher is looking.”
Clive: “...Did she track anything about me and Rodney?”
‘Bec: “Dunno. Wasn’t really looking for that the couple times I did peek through it.”
‘Bec: “I usually only look at her tattletale journal if I need to be sure I got away with something..”
Clive: “I see.”

Her mention of Roger reminds you of the wallet you stole the other day, and the card ‘Bec had pointed out for you and Albert.

Clive: “Do you know anything about the Recycling Center?”
‘Bec: “No.”
Clive: “...”
‘Bec: “...What? Were you expecting more? That place has good security, and I don’t have any reason to go there.”
‘Bec: “Yeah, after hearing about the Nuclear Plant, I’m willing to bet the Recycling Center is shady too. The timetables feel like they don’t add up.”
‘Bec: “The nuclear plant started operating in 1959. At some point, they started dumping shit in the water, and sometime later, the hospitals picked up on how it affected people.”
‘Bec: “Even if we assume they cut corners pretty early on, I feel like it’d take a while for the medical junk to be found.”
‘Bec: “We’re not talking about obvious life threatening ailments, like mega-cancer or huge pus-filled boils, just people’s ability to have kids.”
‘Bec: “That would take a while for anyone to notice, and probably even longer to connect to the plant.”
‘Bec: “In the wake of all that, we manage to rebuild and fully switch over to a new brand of energy so quickly that nobody even remembers the nuclear plant ever existed?”
‘Bec: “It doesn’t add up.”

You consider bringing up the uncertainty around the current year, but decide against it. ‘Bec doesn’t know the date. She would have put numbers to her point a moment ago if she did. Enid was the same before.

“I-I think it’s still the 1960s. Um... pretty late too?”
“...Do you remember when the last time you were sure about the year was?”
“I don’t know. I wasn’t thinking about it, and I just... Huh.”
“You said 1959 was less than 10 years ago, before.”
“I did?”
“So didn’t you know the date?”
“...”

‘Bec: “Whatever the case, I don’t know shit about the Recycling Center.”
‘Bec: “Trucks go in filled with junk, and they leave empty, so something has to be happening there.”

The Storyteller 2025/11/11(Tue)20:47 No. 1116807 ID: 1c8348
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You’re out of breath, so you hand the shovel back to ‘Bec and let her continue. It had gotten darker, and the rain was pouring harder than before at this point.

For a moment, you wonder if Franklin is alright. Had anyone found him yet? What if they didn’t find him before curfew?

It’s too late to start searching though, so you push those thoughts to the back of your mind. Better to use whatever time you have left asking getting any info you can out of ‘Bec.

Clive: “What have other kids been asking about?”
‘Bec: “Recently? Early Graduation’s been a big one. We’ve never had three kids graduate on the same night before.”
‘Bec: “Saihu came to me on Monday asking about it. He was worried about his little brother, and wanted to know if there was a trend to it.”
‘Bec: “I brought up previous cases, and gave some quick theories for the recent batch. He seemed satisfied that Louie was safe, since he gets along fine with their mom.”
‘Bec: “A few kids like John asked if there were signs they could keep an eye out for, to know if they were about to be sent to high school.”
‘Bec: “I told them to be wary of cars. Haven’t heard of kids being walked to the high school.”
Clive: “That’s true…”
‘Bec: “Before that, Jhonen would pretty regularly ask me about Franklin and his family.”
‘Bec: “Lately though, he had been asking more about the Sheppards and the Butlers. Guess he expanded the range of his conspiracy.”

She pauses, perhaps reconsidering Jhonen’s questions. After a moment though, she frowns and shakes her head.

‘Bec: “I never really gave him much thought, so I don’t remember the specifics.”
‘Bec: “Other than them, it’s just been JoJo making her usual check-ins.”

Your lips tighten at the mention of JoJo.

Clive: “Usual?”
‘Bec: “What, did you think you were my only regular client?”
‘Bec: “JoJo and I made an arrangement a while ago. She pays me to keep tabs on you and Rodney.”
Clive: “What!?”
‘Bec: “You have no right to actually be surprised about that.”
Clive: “...What have you told her?”
‘Bec: “Nothing important. She doesn’t know or care about what’s going on with your parents, she just wants a heads up if either of you seem like you are in a bad mood.”

That… is fine. That is a perfectly reasonable thing for JoJo to be concerned about. You don’t need to get defensive about this. You gave her a reason to be scared, and so she is. You shouldn’t take it personally.

Clive: “...Why Rodney?”
‘Bec: “Are you asking because you honestly don’t know, or because you just don’t want to actually acknowledge the fucked up shit he said to her?”
Clive: “...”
‘Bec: “Yeah, thought so.”
Clive: “...Do you know anything else about JoJo?”
‘Bec: “Fuck off with that. Talk to her yourself, I’m not getting in the middle of this.”
‘Bec: “I didn’t tell her about your dead fucking parents. That’s all you need to know, so drop it.”

The Storyteller 2025/11/11(Tue)20:48 No. 1116809 ID: 1c8348
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You weren’t going to push it any further, but even if you had wanted to, you wouldn’t get the chance. ‘Bec drops her shovel and reaches down, pulling a duffle bag out from the earth.

‘Bec: “Finally. Was worried I missed the mark.”
Clive: “What all is in there?”
‘Bec: “Some extra cash and food, in case there was no time to stock up; some survival tools, in case I have to rough it a few nights; and a few extra helpful things.”
‘Bec: “I’m gonna double check to make sure it’s all there, and then I’m out. If you’ve got anything else, ask it now.”

You nod, thinking a bit more carefully about your next one.

Clive: “You told us about Albert’s dad yesterday. Why did you suspect the three women that you did?”
‘Bec: “Leoi, Horvitz, and Foster? Alright, let’s go through ‘em one by one.”
‘Bec: “Min Leoi is a cop. She works nights, so I don’t bump into her much. A few days before the attack though, I noticed her patrolling around the apartments.”
‘Bec: “I’m usually out late, so I can say for sure that it wasn’t normal for her to be there. I caught her car out there on a couple different nights.”
‘Bec: “Seems pretty suspicious that the attack happened at the apartments while they were under more scrutiny, yet nobody got caught.”
Clive: “The attack happened during the day though. Was anyone patrolling then?”
‘Bec: “How the fuck would I know? I was in school, same as you, dumbass.”
Clive: “Right…”
‘Bec: “Lana Foster is the least likely of the three, but she’s got beef with Albert’s mom. They bitch at each other a lot.”
‘Bec: “Albert’s mom works at the grocers, and everybody needs food, so they can’t avoid each other.”
‘Bec: “I dunno if that hate extends to the whole family, and I’ve got doubts that a pregnant lady’s busting in and kicking that drunkard’s ass…”
‘Bec: “But shit, if you’ve heard half the things I have, you’d at least consider it too.”

The thought of two women arguing with enough hate to make ‘Bec’s foul-mouth blush makes you shudder.

Clive: “And Mrs. Horvitz?”
‘Bec: “Let’s just say: If Albert’s dad wasn’t literally on the verge of death, there’s no way they’d have let him stay overnight at the hospital.”
‘Bec: “The Neddys and Horvitzes hate each other’s guts. I don’t know exactly how it started, but a big part of it has to do with Albert being smarter than Jhonen.”
‘Bec: “The Horvitzes are kind of up their own asses, so they take it as a personal insult that some trashy nobody’s kid is at the top of his class over their son.”

You wonder how aware Jhonen was of this family rivalry, and if it might have something to do with him graduating early. Unfortunately, you didn’t spend enough time with the boy to know for sure. Franklin or Roger would be better suited to answering that.

‘Bec: “Probably doesn’t help that, with Albert’s shitty health, they end up taking care of him more than his own crappy parents do…”
‘Bec: “They’ve got the strongest motive. It could be either, but Gazlene’s the more emotional of the two, so she’s the one I’d most suspect.”
Clive: “Who do you think actually did it? Out of all three suspects”
‘Bec: “What, you want a pure judgment call?”
Clive: “Yes.”
‘Bec: “Fine, then I’d say Gazlene.”
‘Bec: “I’ve seen Min’s kids, and those apples don’t fall far from the tree. I don’t think she has the guts.”
‘Bec: “Meanwhile, Lana’s still pregnant, and would more likely beat up Albert’s mom than his dad.”
‘Bec: “That’s just what I think though. Don’t blame me if I’m fucking wrong.”
Clive: “Of course.”

The Storyteller 2025/11/11(Tue)20:49 No. 1116811 ID: 1c8348
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‘Bec zips up her bag, finishing her check. This is definitely your last question…

Clive: “Which adults do you think are the most and least Dangerous?”
‘Bec: “How would I fucking know that?”
Clive: “...Intuition?”
‘Bec: “...(sigh). Fine.”
‘Bec: “All cops, all teachers, and all other school staff are bad news. That much is obvious.”
‘Bec: “I don’t know who the least dangerous adult would be. I might have said Snyder, but clearly I’d have been fucking wrong.”
‘Bec: “The most dangerous… I’d say it’s my dad, Bonnie Gaines.”
Clive: “Why is that?”
‘Bec: “Because he was the guy who stopped to listen to Jhonen last Sunday. He humored his stupid theories, and then they both got in his car.”
‘Bec: “He was the Last person to talk to Jhonen, before he graduated.”
‘Bec: “And now Jhonen is dead.”
Clive: “...Oh.”

She sighs, waving the topic off.

‘Bec: “Eh, it’s not that big a deal. He’s a cop, so you should be avoiding him regardless. But hey, at least that’s one clue you don’t have to stress about.”
Clive: “...”
‘Bec: “Hey, don’t start feeling pity. My dad’s always been a piece of shit, so this doesn’t change anything. Murder’s a new low, but that asshole always knew how to dig…”
‘Bec: “So knock it off, ‘cuz I’m not leaving on a sappy note.”
‘Bec: “We’re not gonna cry, and hug, and shake our fists at how cruel life is. You’re gonna call me an asshole, and I’m gonna tell you to go fuck yourself. Got it?”

She stands up, adjusting both her bags and staring back at you expectantly.

‘Bec: “Well?”
Clive: “...You’re an asshole.”
‘Bec: “Yeah yeah, go fuck yourself.”

She rustles your hair, before turning around and walking away. Without turning around, she waves and calls out one last comment.

‘Bec: “Try not to die, dumbass!”

You imagine that she has a bright future ahead of her as a motivational speaker.

You sit there for another minute after she goes, just staring up at the sky, before trudging back through the woods and into town.

The Storyteller 2025/11/11(Tue)20:50 No. 1116813 ID: 1c8348
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By the time you reach the morgue, you’re completely soaked, and probably ten minutes late for the meet-up time Albert had suggested. If everyone is present, your lateness will only be an annoyance, not a problem.

Unfortunately, only Lemmy, Roger, and Enid are present when you enter.

Lemmy: “You’re late! And not even a Franklin to show for it.”
Enid: “Clive! What took you so long?”
Roger: “...”
Clive: “...Lost track of the time. Where is everyone?”
Enid: “Lillian came back to check, but since nobody found Franklin… she left to keep searching.”
Lemmy: “Albert pointed out that it’d look bad if none of us are back before curfew, so we’re doing a sequel to the original sleepover. Welcome to Sleepover 2.”
Enid: “He left to tell our parents that we’re out looking for Franklin, and that we’d be staying the night at the Morgue after we find him, to avoid breaking curfew.”
Enid: “He also said that if we didn’t find him, then we’d tell Franklin’s dad, and the adults could organize a search themselves. Since we’re supposed to stay inside soon.”
Lemmy: “He wanted to have Roger deliver the message, buuuuuuuut…”

He motions over to Roger, sitting over on the couch and seeming dead to the world. He doesn’t react to the attention.

Lemmy: “Do you think the warranty’s still good for him? We could trade up for a new one.”
Clive: “...Did something happen to him?”
Enid: “We’re still trying to get that out of him.”
Enid: “Do you know if ‘Bec is coming too? We haven’t seen her either.”
Clive: “No, she isn’t. ‘Bec is leaving town.”
Lemmy: “Wait, that was an option!? Why the heck are we still here then?”
Enid: “She’s leaving now? That’s so selfish! Does she even care that Franklin is missing?”

…For the sake of letting people remember ‘Bec fondly, you choose not to answer that.

Roger: “...She can’t leave. Nobody can leave.”
Lemmy: “Anywho, it’ll be a while before Albert gets back, and I doubt Lillian’s coming back without Franklin.”
Lemmy: “In Phillip’s absence, Franklin has taken up office as her temporary best boy, assuming all of the duties and obsession that role entails.”
Lemmy: “Why don’t you go take a shower, and change into something dry? Franklin’s turtlenecks are surprisingly comfortable.”
Enid: “When did you try on his clothes?”
Lemmy: “It was for a gag earlier. A hilarious one, which you should all feel disappointed that you missed.”

Experience tells you that only he found it funny.

He’s right though, you do have some time. Should you take his suggestion?

Clive will…
A: Have a shower
-He could really use a rest
-There will be time to discuss everything else later
B: Hear about what Lemmy’s been up to
-Get a recap of Franklin POV
-...From Lemmy (ugh)
-You’ll be able to start combining your info and form new theories
C: Ask Enid about about her search
-You suspect she wanted to check the safe Giovanni had a key for
-She might bring this up herself later, but there’s no guarantee

A. Good God look at the poor boi he’s a wet Pomeranian.

Forget about Lemmy. Banish the Lemmy.


Enid can handle herself, Clive is having a BAD day and needs rest after taking that beating.

A.
He needs some rest, especially with what might be coming later.

A. Hell, consider making it a bath instead of a shower if you wish. it’s more relaxing than a shower. You really deserve a break.

A. Wash that awful day off.

Wonder if Bec is REALLY leaving or if this is just a way to try to get the heat off of her. Would be funny if she ended up coming to the groups rescue at some point in the future.
Though Rodger seems to echo my own sentiments earlier in the thread about people being ALLOWED to leave. Wonder what he saw while searching the outskirts?

Gonna go against the grain and say C. Cause I'm curious what she was doing and Enid is one of Clives (shockingly) few friends.

C. By which I mean...

Stare silently at Enid just long enough for it to be mildly uncomfortable, then say "... Was it important?" She's perceptive enough she'll know what you're talking about; if she brushes it off or acts confused, just drop it and go take your shower.

A) get warmed up before you get the flu

I'd say C.

Clive needs a shower, but Enid needs to share what she found soon, before everyone goes to sleep and likely forgets that train of thought.

Also, think back on Rodney and the stuff he did to start a full-blown enmisty with Jojo.
What's that about? Did it have to fo with him graduating early?

The Storyteller 2025/11/21(Fri)12:16 No. 1117396 ID: 1c8348
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As much as you’d like to check up on Enid… you haven’t felt truly clean since getting Snyder’s blood on your hands. You can’t turn down the chance to wash up. Your legs carry you upstairs.

There are a few preparations you have to make. Franklin’s closet provides a change of clothing (thankfully, while you’re taller than him, his wardrobe is a bit of a mess of sizes, and you’re able to find something that fits you). There’s also the matter of your bandages, which need to be replaced after getting soaked in the rain. Luckily, there’s a first-aid kit under the sink.

Your arm screams with pain as you unwrap it, quickly changing your plans for a shower into a bath. It’s easier to hold your arm still that way, resting it against the brim of the tub.

The thought of getting dressed without moving it makes you ache with anticipation.

Despite everything though, it’s nice. After everything you’ve been through in the past hours, lying down and letting your mind rest is the best feeling in the world. It’s difficult not to fall asleep, with how peaceful it is.

The brief respite lets you calm yourself. -5 Fear

Party Fear Level
[Clive: 55/100]

As you slowly slide Franklin’s shirt over your head, wincing with pain as you do, there’s a commotion coming from downstairs. You grab the bandages, accepting that it’d be better to ask someone to help wrap your arm, and head down.

Everyone is crowded around the entrance, and it’s immediately obvious why.

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Franklin: “...Sorry for making you worry.”

Lillian had brought back Franklin.

Enid: “Where did you go? Everyone was searching, but nobody could find you.”
Franklin: “The hospital. And then Temmie’s house. And then here… And that’s it, I think.”
Lemmy: “Temmie’s house? Did you try to go home and get confused?”
Lillian: “Oh my god, Lemmy, I will hit you.”
Lemmy: “Hey, no joke! That one was a legitimate guess! Franklin saw that newspaper scrap, right?”
Lemmy: “...Wait, is it even still Franklin, or are we supposed to start calling him Jordan now?
Lemmy: “Preeeetty I need to keep using that name around the doc, so that’d be a problem.”
Franklin: “Franklin is fine… um, for now.”
Albert: “Would any of you care to elaborate on why we would redesignate Franklin as Jordan?”

You’re curious too. What did they find while the rest of you were at the plant?

Lillian and Lemmy start explaining, but Franklin cuts them off before they can get to anything substantive.

Franklin: “Um… Does The Doctor know all of you are here?”
Lemmy: “Now there’s an excellent question, truly a magnificent specimen of an inquiry, and one deserving of an appropriately considerate answer.”
Lemmy: “...Dunno.”
Enid: “We haven’t seen your dad since we got here. He shouted something from another room earlier, but he hasn’t come out yet.”
Lemmy: “And considering that the last time we showed up unannounced, he came out packing heat–”
Clive: “What?”
Lemmy: “–not much desire to announce ourselves, y’know?”

Suddenly, you’re second guessing the choices that have led you here.

Franklin: “...Maybe I should talk to him?”
Lillian: “You were able to calm him down before, right? Think you can convince him to be okay with the sleepover going a bit longer, and a few more kids joining?”
Franklin: “I probably can, but… I was thinking of telling him about everything else too.”
Lillian: “...Uhhhhhh, what all counts as ‘everything else’?”
Franklin: “The stuff about mom and me.”
Lillian: “Okay, that’s what I thought. Are you sure about that? It’s probably safer to keep him in the dark.”
Franklin: “I know, but there are things I can’t ask him about without him knowing that I know what he knows about me.”

You don’t really understand what he’d actually be sharing, but you’re wary at the thought of telling the adults anything.

Albert nudges your shoulder, dragging you and Enid into a whispered chat.

Albert: “Franklin’s dad isn’t stable. I don’t know how connected he is to the town’s conspiracies, but we may find ourselves in peril if he’s informed of how much we know.”
Enid: “Shouldn’t you be saying that to Franklin?”

He looks over at The Alien, but doesn’t speak up. He bites his lip, before shaking his head and turning back.

Albert: “I… have not been entirely considerate of Franklin, previously. He may presume I’m repudiating his suggestion, simply because he is the source.”

Honestly, the only surprising part of that statement is the fact that he’s aware of it.

Enid: “You’re not going to suggest we kill Franklin’s dad, are you?”
Albert: “I doubt Franklin will ever approve of such an idea. For now, one of you should suggest he hold back on telling his father everything.”

He glances back at Roger, who remains unresponsive. It’s obvious that he would have been Albert’s first pick to convince Franklin, if not for his current condition. It’s down to one of you then.

Enid: “...Sorry. I don’t know Franklin very well yet, and I’ve never met his dad. I don’t think I can say anything here.”
Albert: “...Clive, how about you?”

You really don’t want to be the one to speak up here, but if nobody else will…

Franklin: “...I should probably talk to him now, before he sees everyone here and gets worried.”

Should Clive speak up?

A: Say he should lie
-Clive will suggest that Franklin not tell his father about what he knows
-Nothing bad will happen tonight, but you suspect that Franklin will want to revisit this at a later time
B: Say nothing
-Clive will hold his tongue, and Franklin will leave to talk to The Doctor
-Clive will not witness the conversation. He will only know the outcome
-If this will lead to bad things, you will know immediately
C: Say something else
-Suggest an alternative argument for Clive to make

C. Convince Albert that he should be the one to talk to Franklin, despite his worries. Let’s be honest, he knows franklin more than anyone else, and Franklin is more of a friend to Albert than to Clive or Enid. So he should be more willing to listen to Albert than Clive.

and If Albert is worried about not being considerate of Franklin’s feelings, and worries he might feel like he’s rejecting Franklin’s just because the idea came from him, that is a sign of growth from Albert and he’s more willing to consider Franklin’s feelings and think a bit more before talking

That said, if Albert needs help, maybe tell Albert instead of telling Franklin no outright, he should instead ask Franklin to listen to what everyone has to say during our meeting with what we discovered before he makes a choice of telling the doc or not. We want to all make sure what we might do next is a good idea or not based off the knowledge we gained, including having a talk with the doc

>>1117400
Honestly agree.
Should also seque nicely into Franklin fulfilling the prophecy in a nice non-lethal.

Kinda rude to give him a scare like this I know. But Alberts been a bit of a cunt this thread with him EXPECTING Clive to kill a person. He deserves some (harmless) retribution.

A.

If we spend any more time trying to hash this out with Albert, Franklin is just going to walk off, and he'll end up telling the doctor what he knows. What's more, Franklin is going to resist this suggestion; it needs to come from *everyone*, and so it doesn't really matter who speaks first. Albert shouldn't be pushing this off on you, but you can get on his case about it later.

>>1117400
Agreed!

I think I'm team B. This is one of those situations that I think its REALLY WEIRD it was presented to us, sure Franklin is an odd guy, and he saw the death of his best friend, but we've proven that he's actually somewhat smart even if its mostly following intuition.

Having someone else explain could be weird, not saying anything isnt really an option, if he tries to unalive franklin there's a bunch of them there to at least DO something.

plus, franklin's dad is unstable and weird, who would believe him that an entire cabal conspiracy of kids knows about weird shit when he just lost the weirdest kid. maybe they'd believe one or two, but 5? thats a huge portion of a class, and if thats the case why not be suspect of everyone in the class etc etc.

TLDR: B because taking a risk now might end up paying out some dividends and I think its super odd that this is even a choice we're being allowed to make, also trusting Franklin might work out.

(also gamblers fallacy we rolled really bad last time many times in a row, there's no way we roll bad this time too)

The Storyteller 2025/12/13(Sat)17:24 No. 1119061 ID: 1c8348
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You decide to say something… to Albert.

Clive: “Tell him yourself. You’re his friend, he’ll listen.”
Albert: “But–”

He cuts himself off as Franklin starts to walk away. If he’s going to say anything, this is his one opportunity.

Albert: “Wait.”

Franklin stops, turning to look back at Albert.

Albert: “...Franklin, some hours ago, Aiden’s father attempted to end our lives at the nuclear plant.”
Albert: “Among his final words, he offhandedly indicted your father as an involved party in the town’s conspiracy.”
Albert: “I understand that there are things you wish to ask him, but as things stand, I don’t believe it is worth the risk.”

The room goes dead silent, as the three who weren’t present take in the news.

Lillian: “...Mr. Sheppard? Aiden’s dad, he tried to...”
Lemmy: “Yeah, that definitely sounds like the behavior of a guy who kept dead kids in his shed…”
Franklin: “...Is everyone okay? Did he hurt anyone?”
Enid: “Um, he might have broken Clive’s hand, and…”

She swallows.

Enid: “...Giovanni is dead. He killed him.”

From there, the full story has to come out, not a single detail being spared. Enid and Albert (and occasionally you when prompted) recount it all for them.

The preparations you all made, Sheppard's appearance as you tried to get inside, how you were scattered in the dark, being hunted by Sheppard and chased down the halls, reuniting with the others, Giovanni’s sudden appearance…

…Your assault on Giovanni.

Enid tries to rush past it, but the room goes tense at even the quickest mention of your grisly attack. You can feel them staring at you, judging you.

You deserve it, but that doesn’t make it any more bearable. It makes you want to crawl in a hole and die. You’re sure that’s what they want too.

Before you know it, the story is over, and there’s a hand on yours.

Franklin: “Can I see your injury?”

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The bruise is immediately visible, since you hadn’t wrapped it back up. It had been uglier than you’d expected, when you saw it for the first time, just before your bath.

He lifts your hand up close to his face, examining it closely. He presses lightly in a few spots, and asks you things like when it hurts or where the pain is.

Franklin: “...I think it’s a Fracture. Most of your pain stems from this bone, here.”
Franklin: “If you want, we could try to find a replacement bone in the Doctor’s lab. When he isn't there.”
Clive: “...I’m good.”
Franklin: “Actually, I bet he would be willing to put it in you himself, as long as we don’t tell him how it got broken. He probably wouldn’t even ask.”
Clive: “Still no.”

Franklin seems to be taking things well at least. You glance over to the others, seeing their much more obvious distress.

Lillian: “I can’t believe Aiden’s dad was such a Jerk! What’s wrong with him?”
Lillian: “How could he do that to you guys? And to Mr. Snyder… They were on the same side, weren’t they?”
Lillian: “Even if he was involved in all the awful stuff that’s been happening, Mr. Snyder wasn’t evil like that. He was nice!”
Lillian: “He let kids play with toys they couldn’t afford. He gave out free candy and discounts when it was your birthday.”
Lillian: “And when you had to get a gift for some other kid’s birthday, he’d always help you find something they like that nobody else had come in and bought them already.”
Lillian: “How could Mr. Sheppard just… kill him? Someone like him... Did he even feel bad about it? Could he really just not have cared?”

As she winds down, Enid surprises her with a hug.

Enid: “Thank you…”
Lillian: “Huh?”
Enid: “You’re right. He Didn’t deserve to die.”
Enid: “I’m really glad you think so too.”

Lillian doesn’t quite understand why Enid cares so much, but she accepts the hug anyway until Enid breaks away.

Contrasting that sweet scene, you unfortunately catch wind of the hushed conversation Lemmy and Albert are having.

Lemmy: “-we don’t need two of them! At least when Rodney was around, it was basically a joke just how different they were. Clive making Enid into a second him ain’t funny.”
Lemmy: “...Unless she starts putting eyeliner under her eyes and dressing in all black. Then it’s hilarious, and you have my full approval.”
Albert: “Nothing of that sort will ever happen, so discard the thought.”
Albert: “Enid’s actions were driven by a combination of her own grief and a healthy sense of self-preservation, not some wicked influence of Schmidt’s.”
Lemmy: “Are you sure though? Like, I know we haven’t had a ‘Killer Clive’ incident since the first, but I don’t think he gets to lose the title for only doing it once.”
Lemmy: “Attempted murder isn’t like a library card. You don’t have to go and get your title renewed every few years, it just kinda sticks around, y’know.”
Lemmy: “Although, you might rack up late fees for not finishing off your kill. Right? Heh…”

He rubs the back of his neck and chuckles. Albert doesn’t share his humor.

Lemmy: “Enid lost her dad, and Clive’s little brother got taken. I’m just saying, from here it looks like he’s taking her under his wing and teaching her how to kill.”
Lemmy: “Never really saw him as a mother bird type, but maybe with Rodney leaving the nest–”
Albert: “Be silent.”

The command was a bit unnecessary, given Albert had already thrust his hand around Lemmy’s mouth, shutting him up.

Albert: “Think for just a moment longer. Would you have rathered that nobody acted?”
Albert: “Should Sheppard have killed one of us? Roger or Clive perhaps? Maybe Enid herself? Would you be satisfied then?”
Lemmy: “H-Hey, that’s not–”
Albert: “That is precisely what you are suggesting. What else are we meant to infer from your idiotic rhetoric? Only impure people would commit immoral acts?”
Albert: “As a group, we identified lethal action as necessary. Thus, Sheppard is dead. No one person is to blame for this.”
Albert: “His death was collectively identified as the goal, so there is no need to scrutinize any individual’s contribution to that outcome. Are we clear?”
Lemmy: “Yep yep yep, totally clear! Clearer than a window without glass!”

Albert looks back at you as he lets Lemmy go, letting the comic scuttle away back to Lillian. You nod, appreciative of him nipping that issue in the bud.

Franklin suddenly releases your hand, making you flinch. You’d honestly forgotten he had still been holding it. When you look down, you realize that he’d been bandaging it up for you.

When you look up to thank him, he’s lost in his own thoughts.

Franklin: “...Hm. I don’t get it.”
Clive: “Get what?”
Franklin: “If everyone was sterilized, how are you all here? Wouldn’t that be impossible if nobody can have babies?”
Albert: “That particular contradiction still needs to be solved. Our lived experiences don’t line up with the written records.”
Lillian: “Maybe we’re all like Franklin?”
Franklin: “That would explain a lot, but… No, Temmie already told me that wasn’t it.”
Lillian: “Aw, really?”
Franklin: “Mm-hm, because you all remember growing up, and nobody else just appeared one day like I did.”
Lemmy: “Maybe the process was similar but different? Like how Phillip and Lillian look the same, but are totally different people.”
Enid: “Um, what are you guys talking about?”

They pause their tangent to acknowledge the confused majority of the room.

Lillian: “...Where do we even start on this?”

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They end up starting from Franklin’s playdate with Temmie, which had secretly been an excuse to share information with him. Unfortunately, the story quickly hits a roadblock when Franklin tries to contribute to the retelling. His babbling about spirits confuses even the two kids who’ve been around him all day.

It’s quickly written off as some confusion caused by him misunderstanding Temmie, if mostly out of desperation to not seriously address the topic. She’s cryptic, he’s easily confused, it’s easy to pretend there’s nothing worth examining. The story does not get any more sensible from there.

Lillian has to assure everyone that she’s not making the next part up several times, as she recounts the notes they found in Dr. Stein’s bedroom. Franklin has to roll back the sleeve of his shirt to show off his stitches to silence all argument around their massive discovery. Even then, it’s difficult to truly believe.

Franklin is a Resurrected corpse, stitched together by the mad mortician himself.

Hearing it all put together, you’re forced to reflect on the boy standing in front of you, who you originally knew as Franklin. Who is this boy to you?

Truly, outside of his reputation as “The Alien”, you tend not to think of him at all. Franklin, the individual, is nobody to you. Even with this whole investigation, you’ve yet to spend more than a lunch period with him. You don’t personally know this boy at all.

In a way, he is to you what you must be to him, more an Idea, than a person. You’re sure that all he knows about you is “Killer Clive”.

That’s why this reveal doesn’t mean much to you. It’s surprising, obviously, but there’s a distance that keeps it from truly affecting you. His real friends demonstrate that difference far better than you ever could.

Albert is speechless. Enid weeps for him. And Roger…

You’d all been worried about him, sitting quietly on the couch, shellshocked by something he’d yet to share. Yet as Franklin’s identity is revealed, Roger is the first person to reach out and comfort him, his loyalty to his friend far stronger than whatever horrors he’d seen.

He’s off the couch and holding Franklin close before anyone can even comment on him joining the conversation.

Roger: “That’s terrible. I’m sorry you had to go through all that.”
Franklin: “...It’s okay. I’m okay now.”
Roger: “Are you sure?”
Franklin: “...No? I guess I could be wrong. We’ll have to wait and see, I guess.”

As Roger pulls back, he takes a deep breath. He doesn’t return to the couch, but still stands a bit away from the group, where nobody would be looking at him.

AKA right beside you.

Albert: “Hold on… is this where the name Jordan comes in? Franklin, do you remember the life you lived prior to your death?”
Franklin: “Some of it… I think. It’s still messy, and I only have bits and pieces. The name actually came in later.”

The Storyteller 2025/12/13(Sat)17:28 No. 1119065 ID: 1c8348
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Their story continued, first to Jhonen’s house and then the farm. That comes with an unexpected bit of levity, and from Lemmy of all people.

Lemmy: “The rest of Jhonen’s body was there too. His arms, legs, and torso were all in different crates near the one with his head.”
Lemmy: “You’d think that’d be comforting, but it actually really isn’t! Apparently you don’t get used to opening boxes filled with severed body parts. Who knew?”
Lemmy: “I do! I know that now! I don’t want to know that!”
Lemmy: “It was just him though. I opened every other crate in there to be sure. No Rodney, no Phillip, no cameo appearances of characters from other stories. Nothing.”
Clive: “Then we have no reason to think the other kids who graduated are dead too.”
Lillian: “Thank god.”
Lemmy: “Thank me! I’m the one who had to wade through all the trauma to find that out.”

Nobody does, as Lillian nearly collapses with relief. You feel much the same, even if it doesn’t show for you.

Franklin tells the rest himself, since nobody else was with him. Apparently he’d collapsed in town, and was brought into the hospital to rest. After waking and realizing his connection to Temmie, he went to her house to speak with her.

They talked, she answered some of his questions, and he ran into Lillian shortly afterwards.

Franklin: “And then we came here. That’s pretty much everything.”
Enid: “...You left a lot for the end there.”
Franklin: “I mean… that’s just how it happened.”
Roger: “So there was a girl named Judy in town, and she used to be your sister, but that was before you were brought back as Franklin.”
Roger: “Temmie isn’t Judy, because that would be crazy, but she’s also connected to her… somehow?”
Franklin: “Yes.”
Enid: “That’s… confusing.”
Franklin: “Yes.”

It strikes you in that moment that Temmie was absolutely playing favorites by not putting Franklin on the table as an option to pass your bad stuff onto.

You’d be more affronted by this if you hadn’t just heard all of the things he’d gone through today without piling your problems on top of it.

Albert: “As much as I’d like to address every single questionable part of that story–”
Roger: “You mean like Jhonen having found out all this stuff about Franklin before graduating?”
Lillian: “Or how his body works? ‘Cuz I swear he was moving his arm when it wasn’t attached to his body.”
Clive: “If Franklin died in November of 1969, it’s even less clear what year it is now than it was before.”
Enid: “Dr. Stein is connected to Sheppard somehow, and we’re in his house. Do we need to be worried about that? I’m worried about that.”
Lemmy: “I’m also interrupting, but can I just point out how literally none of this explains the tail? Why does Franklin have a tail? Is it just because tails are cool?”
Albert: “–All of those, yes. As much as I’d like to dedicate the next twelve hours to extracting whatever information we can out of that, it’s late.”
Albert: “We need to decide what comes next from here.”
Lillian: “What’s there to decide? We’re getting Rodney and Phillip out of the high school and leaving.”
Lillian: “We can’t wait any longer, not after what they did to Jhonen. We need to get out of town, and get help from the authorities somewhere else.”

She’s right. Even if you don’t know the full extent of what’s happening here, waiting around to find more answers could come at the cost of the kids you’re trying to save. You aren’t going to sit around and let them kill your brother.

‘Bec will definitely laugh when she finds out that you all decided to steal her idea and skip town anyways, but she wasn’t going to wait for you to bust your brother out of the high school. You were always going to be doing this part without her, as much as that hurts.

Albert: “You’re right. We can’t wait around at this point.”
Enid: “Then, we’re really going to leave–”
Roger: “Wait. That plan is Impossible.”

Everyone turns to stare at Roger.

Roger: “We can’t leave town.”
Albert: “Why not? Please tell me you aren’t concerned about abandoning your parents, after everything they’ve let happen here.”
Roger: “No. I mean, maybe, but that’s not the problem right now.”
Roger: “I mean, we Can’t leave town.”

Thinking back, you suddenly remember what role Roger took upon himself in the hunt for Franklin.

Roger: “If he ran out of town and got lost, he might not be able to find his way back.”
Roger: “I have to go now. I’m the only one with a chance of catching up to him, and that chance drops every second.”

He ran to the Outskirts of Cattenom, past where any of you have ever traveled before.

You start to feel sick, anxious of what he’s about to say.

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Roger: “Do you know what I found at the edge of town? Have any of you actually seen what it’s like outside of Cattenom?”
Lemmy: “Um… Not really, no.”
Albert: “...Roger, what did you discover?”
Roger: “Nothing.”
Lillian: “Huh? Wait, then what were you so scared about earlier?”
Roger: “No, you don’t get it.”
Roger: “Everything Stops at the edge of town. There was nothing past it.”

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Roger: “No ground, no sky, no stars…”
Roger: “It’s just darkness, as far as the eye can see.”
Roger: “There isn’t anything outside of Cattenom.”
Roger: “We can’t leave, because there’s nowhere to go.”
Roger: “We’re trapped here.”

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…

Lillian: “So now what?”

She asked the question on everyone’s minds. Where do you go from here? What should you do? What can you do?

Everything you’ve done up ‘til now… what was it all for?

Albert: “...”
Lemmy: “...”

Even if you save Rodney from graduation, what then? There’s nowhere to run away to. They’ll always find you.

Enid: “...”
Roger: “...”

It’s only a matter of time…

Until he dies.

Until you die.

Until everyone here dies.

What’s the point of struggling? What did you get hurt for? What did you hurt others for?

Clive: “...”
Lillian: “...”

Why are you even still alive?

…

Franklin: “...We keep searching, right?”

The words snap you out of your gloom.

Franklin: “There’s nothing else we can do, is there? We’ll all die if we stay here and graduate, and our friends will be killed even before that.”
Franklin: “We don’t know how to get out of Cattenom, but that’s just because we don’t know what’s going on. Maybe… we can leave if we learn more about it?”
Franklin: “Or maybe we can’t, but there could be other stuff we can do still. Probably.”

He scratches his head, considering things.

Franklin: “Even if there isn’t, it’s not like things get worse because we try, right? Bad things can happen even if we do nothing, like with Phillip or Rodney.”
Franklin: “So… It’s better to Try than to give up, I think. Whatever the reason is that we’re trapped, we should try to figure it out.”
Franklin: “...I don’t want to look away from the scary things anymore.”

It’s a very simple pitch. “Keep going, because what do we even have to lose?”

Still, it’s a rather comforting mantra. Instead of surrendering to the impossibility of escape, why not surrender to the fact that giving up is pointless? After all, there might be nothing to gain from continuing on, but there’s certainly nothing gained by quitting.

Rodney is alive. Lemmy didn’t find his body with Jhonen’s, so he’s still alive somewhere. If you don’t do anything though, that could change. Today, tomorrow, who knows how quickly?

Quitting now means giving up on him. You’re worthless in more ways than you can count, but that’s one line you refuse to cross.

Roger: “...He’s right. The adults have to know about this, so maybe we can too if we keep digging for answers.”
Enid: “Even if there’s no way out, we can decide what to do once we know what we’re dealing with.”
Albert: “Perhaps we can press Temmie for more information? Or we could capture one of the adults and force them to answer our inquiries.”
Lillian: “Maybe there’s stuff at the nuclear plant you guys missed that would fill in the blanks? Could be worth going back.”
Lemmy: “We only checked one side of the town, right? Maybe there’s more to the North? We could have a whole other city in our bubble, and just not know it.”
Lemmy: “Or maybe there are just super strong drugs in the air down South, and Roger just hallucinated the whole thing? No point losing sleep over that.”

Many ideas are thrown around, as everyone suggests ways to move forward. After some time though, two ideas stand above the rest.

Roger: “Breaking into the High School will tell us what’s going on with graduation, let us prep an escape plan, and pull Phillip and Rodney out if they’re in danger.”
Roger: “And if we can get into their record rooms, we may be able to figure out what happened to all the previous kids who graduated.”
Enid: “But the Recycling Center is more likely to have answers about why the town is the way it is, right? It was made after the Nuclear Plant was abandoned.”
Enid: “If we can figure out why the world around Cattenom is gone, then maybe we can find a way to get back to it.”
Lemmy: “Can we go somewhere that isn’t heavily guarded? I came here ‘cuz I wanted to not graduate, y’know?”
Lemmy: “Unless I’m staying behind. I’m totally on board with any search where I get to stay here while you guys do it!”

Enid and Albert are in favor of checking the Recycling Center, while Roger and Lillian would rather investigate the High School. Lemmy hates both options, while Franklin is deep in thought, not having weighed in. You have yet to pick a side, tamping down your obvious preference for saving Rodney to consider and make sure you’d be doing what’s best for him.

The Storyteller 2025/12/13(Sat)17:31 No. 1119069 ID: 1c8348
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Before you reach a conclusion, Albert nudges you, pulling you aside again.

Clive: “...I miss when you were uncomfortable touching me.”
Albert: “Ha. Be serious a moment.”
Albert: “I have respected your wishes up ‘til now, but if we’re to continue collaborating on this investigation, then I feel it would be best to elaborate on your situation.”
Albert: “Without prying too deep into your personal life, I believe you should tell the group about your parents.”

Fuck.

Oh hey, you’re openly swearing in your mind. ‘Bec would be so proud.

Clive: “Why? What good will that do?”
Albert: “For starters, it would open your home up as a secure place to meet-up and plan. The morgue is fine, but we don’t want to raise Dr. Stein’s suspicions by overusing it.”
Albert: “It would also make it easier to investigate Rodney’s situation. Without knowing that the Schmidt adults are deceased, the others may reach incorrect conclusions.”
Albert: “If we’re going to the High School, that’s a necessity.”

You swallow, not wanting to admit he’s right, but seeing few alternatives.

Albert: “Lastly, it would give the others more confidence in your skills.”
Clive: “...My skills?”

There’s only one thing he could mean. You want to cover your ears, but the words come out too quickly.

Albert: “You’ve Killed adults before.”

You haven’t. You’ve never done that.

Albert: “If the need arises again, the others will be relying on you. Enid certainly has the gusto for it, but her diminutive stature is ill-suited for the task.”
Albert: “I’m sure Roger or Lillian could find their nerve in a pinch, but it would ease everyone’s nerves tremendously knowing we have someone willing and able to do the deed.”
Albert: “I would offer myself, but my condition leaves me even worse off than Enid.”

You hate this conversation, but it presents an out. This would be a perfect moment to correct the misunderstanding and tell the truth about what happened.

…It would be so simple, but once you do it, you can never take it back.

How will Rodney feel when he learns that everyone present knows the worst thing he’s ever had to do? Something he did for you. Can you really throw him under the bus when all he did was try to help you?

Plus, all of you are taking this risk to try and rescue Rodney and Phillip. What if the truth kills their motivation to rescue him? These kids are already more worried about Phillip than your little brother, why give them more reasons? If, for some reason, you can only save one of them, does Rodney even stand a chance? Would they consider him for even a moment?

Why risk his safety? So that kids won’t see you for what you are? Just because you haven’t killed yet doesn’t mean you can’t or won’t. Everyone already knows you have the potential.

You proved it with JoJo, and you proved it with Snyder. Why keep fighting it? It’d be easier for everyone if you just accept that you’re a killer. Then everything can be the way it’s meant to be.

You can be the demon, if it means Rodney gets to be the angel. It’s not even a lie, it might as well be the truth.

It has to be.


Your decisions shall carry a deep Consequence.

What should Clive say about his parents?

1: Continue the Lie
-Let the others know that your parents are dead, and that you are responsible
-Clive will lose a substantial amount of Fear
-Clive will gain a point of Insanity
2: Say Nothing
-Hold your tongue, neither supporting the truth or the lie
-Nothing will get better, but nothing will get worse
-Let them make assumptions. They already do
3: Tell the Truth
-Let the others know that your parents are dead, and that Rodney was responsible
-Good and Bad things will come of this. Just because this is healthy for Clive doesn’t mean the results will be entirely positive


And where should you focus your efforts tomorrow?

A: The High School Building
-Focus on Graduation and what the adults are doing to you

PROS:
-There is no world where you don’t leave this building with significantly more answers than new questions (excluding those where you don’t leave at all)
-If there is any risk of Phillip or Rodney dying the way Jhonen did, you will be there to prevent it
-You’ll get to see Rodney again

CONS:
-The adults probably expect this, and have taken greater security measures to protect this building. It is the more dangerous choice
-If you’re discovered, and you leave without freeing your companions, security may be even higher when you come back for them
-There’s a chance Franklin will vote the other way, leaving Lemmy as a wildcard tie-breaker unless you make an effort to persuade either of them


B: The Recycling Center
-Focus on the state of the town, and seeking a way out of Cattenom

PROS:
-Coming here is more likely to solve the questions raised by Franklin’s story. Suggesting as much should sway him towards this choice easily
-Significantly lower odds of running into dead bodies, since you have no current knowledge of deaths occurring here
-Being caught here is less immediately suspicious than being caught at the high school.

CONS:
-The Recycling Center is a big unknown for you. It’s unclear what answers you can expect to find here, or how much danger you’ll be in
-If something happens to Rodney or Phillip while you are here, you will be powerless to stop it


C: Neither
-Suggest an alternative direction for your investigation
-You’ll have to dig deep and be VERY persuasive to convince the others to abandon either of these options

1C) At this point, any intel you omit could be the deciding factor in your upcoming life-or-death situations. Hurting your friends is necessary if the alternative is watching them die because none of you figured out a crucial exploit. You need to lay your cards on the table, especially since your enemies are playing with a stacked roguelike-endgame deck.
You don't have to emphasize Rodney's actions; expand on the details, how the other adults reacted to the death/disappearance of their underlings, what the strategy is for covering up a full disappearance, everything you can think of. Put the spotlight on how the rest of the town reacted, because you live in a pretty @#$%ed up town and should care less about your personal responsibilities when you're surrounded by sociopathic predators who lap up every single shameful mistake and pay them back tenfold with chains and scalpels.

2B) This place... this world... is it even real? What Roger found has changed the game significantly. Or maybe you're all brainwashed to see the outside as a File Not Found error.
Right now, there is a very plausible possibility that your environment could be instantly erased by whatever power holds domain over it. Or they could fire up override commands on your brains and mind-control you instantly.
The only sliver of hope you have at taking back control is to find a way out of this place. Infect the system that lords over you as god, and you become the Skynet. Who knows? If this is a fantasy simulation, there might be backups of Rodney and the others out there.

1 Tell the truth.
I genuinely do not think after everything that has happened that these people would judge Rodney all that harshly. Infact given that your parents both worked at the high school they might think better in some regards.

2. Picking option 3 to suggest the Police station.
One officer was there when Alberts father got stabbed. Another was there when jhonen was taken. They are ACTIVELY enforcing what is happening here and no doubt are well aware of all the things happening here. If we want serious answers. That's where we should go.

Also just pointing out. Yeah no. Bec is probably going to seek us out to work with us next thread. Would shock me if she wasn't given what she'll find out there.
So we'll probably have her expertise at our disposal.

>In a way, he is to you what you must be to him, more an Idea, than a person.
What an interesting musing, especially to us "spirits". I'm sure Clive's wrong about what Franklin thinks of him, though.

...The world coming to an abrupt end and/or being closed off like that reminds me of a few different stories, although I can't recall at all the movie that comes to mind.
Still, using those as a reference, they would imply that Cattenom is either in Space, or is in its entirety, a Simulation of some sort. The latter doesn't really make sense to me, given that it would imply that the adults are not in fact, in control- many things would have already been observed, stopped, altered, or otherwise if that were the case. The former, on the other hand... well, in any case, I'd have loved to hear Jhonen's thoughts on it all.

That aside, what the hell's the point of money, taxes, loans, and all that nonsense in whatever this situation is? I feel like that's a thought that'll hit 'Bec, too. On surface level, it seems like just a way to fake the normalcy of "before". Or maybe it's just as simple as repeating that one mantra or whatever you'd like to call it; "Nothing Changes in Cattenom".

--

...I've brought it up before, but Enid really is a foil to Rodney here- especially when considering Clive's thought;
>You can be the demon, if it means Rodney gets to be the angel.
Enid was Shielded for as long as possible given the circumstances of Cattenom, and ultimately, it didn't end well for Frederick. Why would it for Clive?

Continuing the Lie, ultimately, would not only render Rodney's actions meaningless, but also likely end Very Badly for Clive. The definition of Losing Him, as it were.

Saying Nothing is admittedly a reasonable, if hypocritical choice- worst case scenario, Albert says something first, and then it's entirely out of Clive's hands. For some reason though, a part of me is thinking... what if Rodney can see, and hear... what Clive is doing? What kind of consequences would that bring?

Ultimately though, I think Clive should Tell the Truth.
I'm no expert on relationships, friend, family, or otherwise, and I feel it may be overly harsh to be blunt about it- but the damage was already done the moment Rodney took action, regardless if it was for Clive or not. Even if it's not uncovered now, there's still a good chance it may still yet, even after lying either verbally or silently and shouldering that sin. Even if Clive hadn't snapped at Rodney, I still think something would have happened- such as say, collapsing from hunger, stress, or overexertion. It's hard to know, what's done is done. Clive's selflessness towards Rodney is a selfishness in its own right.

As an aside, opening up Clive's house as an option is potentially the biggest net positive for "everyone" - it's just too bad that it comes at the cost of putting Rodney's already questionable safety or rescue into further doubt.

-
Admittedly, the location I'm most curious about now that we know about Cattenom being closed off is the Ocean, especially when combined with the consideration of it being contaminated by the nuclear power plant... but I don't see a solid argument for investigating it further.
If anything, I don't have a vote for a location at all.

2 and B

I trust that Clive will open up about what happened when he is good and ready, not when we tell him when. Besides, he already made the decision to tell Roger himself without our orders before they got interrupted back in the powerplant. Maybe when he feels more comfortable enough around the other kids like he did with Roger, he will feel more ready to talk about what really happened.

If we do decide to tell them now, I recommend Clive frame the story as Rodney being a hero saving your life from getting graduated so he doesn't be seen as a murderer. Bad things will probably still happen after telling the truth, but at least they'll have context.

And I really really really want to go to the high school, so no other kid has to die, get a golden ending when we can save everyone we can. But sadly, for a horror story like this, we need to be realistic about our limitations and the high risks, even if it means another death may happen for not going into the high school right away. with how much more secure the school might become for awhile, we could be risking more deaths within our team at the moment than if we go later.

3) Tell the truth. Letting them falsely rely on your being hardened to death is bound to cause disaster.
A (rescue) or C (third way investigation). Not sure what the recycling center can teach us about the void around town. As for the building's purpose, odds are it's to recycle people into new babies. Investigating the police could give us answers to questions about people.

>>1119079
Not just people. I was thinking more Old police reports from back when the town was thrust into this void and any other thing that happened since like the sterilization or the beginning of what is happening at highschool.