[Audio]

[neverfeltthatway]

[For once, Armin sends only his voice and not his image over the network - something anyone paying attention might note is unusual, if not without precedent.]

Hello, everyone. I... I have the list of Travelers who disappeared this jaunt. Meaning they've probably either gone home, or they're stuck in a dungeon somewhere and they'll turn up again later.

It may not be a complete list, but... it's the closest I could get. [He takes a deep breath.] Here goes: Giovanni, Kain, Ravit, Ace, Shuu, Quinn, Ruvik, Souji - er, Souji Okita, that is - Tsurumaru, Annabel, and Ky.

I'm sorry.

Comments

[leftbehindagain]

Yeah. I was hoping for a chance to ask about that now that we all have clearer heads, but... well.

[neverfeltthatway]

[Armin doesn't really even want to voice this thought, but...]

...Maybe that's why she vanished.

[leftbehindagain]

I don't think it was her fault everything went south. [Actually, he's pretty sure it wasn't, at this point. But that's not his story to tell.]

And this is a different situation from what Souji-san said happened with the last failure. It didn't work because we didn't do the right thing, not because we did nothing at all. So maybe she did disappear for screwing things up, but maybe not.

[neverfeltthatway]

I didn't mean it like that. I don't know about the failure, and it is different from last time.

I meant that if this deity is as or more powerful than the Trumps, then the name may have been really important even to them. And if she had important information about it, or about their designs on it, they might have taken steps to make sure that didn't get out.

[leftbehindagain]

Ah, like that. I don't know how much she knew about what that specific piece did - I might've known... more...

oh, crap. I think it's just as well it didn't end up here, in any case.

[Feel free to ask what horrifying thought he just had! But right now, he's still trying to find the right words for it.]

[neverfeltthatway]

Probably. Well, however it happened, it's too bad she left.

[And Armin doesn't say more, though it's obvious Naoki's just had an important thought. Since it might be about the Trumps, Armin doesn't want it getting into the wrong hands (namely: theirs).

There's a lapse in the conversation, but then after about five minutes and with no explanation, a door appears in Naoki's mind with. If Naoki's sensitive to such things, he might be able to sense the feel of Armin's mind on it, though Armin hasn't said anything.

Through it will be an entirely different world - specifically, a Brooklyn speakeasy in the 1920s called the Midnight Rose. It's entirely authentic, feeling every bit as real as the real world. If Naoki walks through it, he'll be fully aware and conscious of both worlds at the same time - as well as his bodies within them, which he can control separately.]

[leftbehindagain]

[Naoki doesn't expect there's much the Trumps don't know, but that's just him. Gods are like that, and the Trumps seem to be on par with gods.

In any case, the door's... interesting, and he only hesitates a moment before taking the invitation.]

...whoa. This is a new one by me. [It's a nice place, though, and he can definitely get behind a good bar.]

[neverfeltthatway]

[Armin doesn't think they're as omniscient as they like to pretend - though certainly they want the Travelers to believe they are.

Armin also isn't usually a fan of bars - but due to the quirks of infiltrating, this place is very familiar. Nostalgic, even.]

Sorry I didn't warn you - I didn't want to give the Trumps any hint we were going to be talking here, in case they're not automatically listening in. [Even so, Armin's sticking close to Naoki and speaking quietly - leaning against the bar with a drink, dressed in period clothing and looking for all the world like he belongs.

When Naoki gets a chance, he'll notice that he too looks like he belongs in this time - though of course his outfit in the real world hasn't changed a bit.]

[leftbehindagain]

It's all right. There's nothing wrong with a little caution.

[Naoki snorts when he notices the clothes, and takes the opportunity to grab a drink for himself (not like he doesn't have some idea of how, after running a bar for a month). Once he's done, he settles on another stool.]

How much did you find out about the Name business?

[neverfeltthatway]

[Though the drink won't be real - it won't actually quench his thirst, can't make him drunk - it'll certainly taste real.]

Just what everybody knew, I think. Someone had one of the 99 names of the divine, which was powerful enough to wipe the whole city off the map. It could be used to raise your station, or get you into heaven for free.

I never found out any more... I was a little lost, this jaunt.

[leftbehindagain]

[Taste is enough to be getting on with, really.]

That's enough to cover what just hit me, anyway. As far as I found out, raising one's station was in the context of the angelic or demonic hierarchies. I don't know what would have happened if a Peregrine tried to put it to that use for themselves.

Or if it could, in theory, make someone a Trump.

[neverfeltthatway]

[Armin's eyes widen - it raises your station in any hierarchy? He hadn't realized that.]

...Are we even in the same hierarchy as they are? [The question seems more rhetorical than directed at Naoki.] I suppose we should just be glad that they didn't get their hands on it. If it could make someone a Trump, I really don't want to see what it could do to a Trump.

...That might be why they brought us here in the first place. And that might be why they think we failed. [It would not surprise Armin to find out the Trumps knew people in Hell.]

[leftbehindagain]

I don't know for sure if it would work like that, or if they'd want to use it on themselves. But... well, four of them are gone, and if part of what they're doing is fishing for replacements, who better to look to than us? [It's crossed his mind before, around the time they found out about the 'dead Trumps' thing to begin with.]

I just don't like the fact that there was a nuclear-equivalent device that close to civilians.

[neverfeltthatway]

[Armin lets out a frustrated sigh.] We know so little about what they want. My instinct is that, with this competition between them, they're not looking for others to fill the ranks. But it's just that - instinct. No basis in fact.

[Armin didn't like that any more than Naoki did - but they're past that now, and as such, barely worth thinking about. Or at least, not on the level of their current problems. So Armin doesn't respond to that part, only giving it a spare stray thought before moving on.]

[leftbehindagain]

[Naoki shrugs.] I don't think it's a war. If it were, they wouldn't care so much about finding people who suit them.

[...Well, okay, ROSE kinda... chose poorly, for the most part, and from what Naoki knows her marking Armin was more out of necessity than anything. But he trusts Sun's word over hers any day.]

We don't know what they want, but that means we can't rule out the possibility they want replacements, or the chance they don't.

[neverfeltthatway]

I don't necessarily think it's a war. Or at least, not a war as we understand it. But there's no question there's some form of competition.

[Whether ROSE chose poorly depends on what she chose them for.]

That's what I meant. I don't think they want replacements, but we don't know anything. [Instinct isn't even nearly enough reason to rule something out, or even offer it less scrutiny.]

[leftbehindagain]

Well, yes. It would've been difficult to get through the Grid and not see that. [And of course people were worried about outright war after the Devil showed up.]

We'll find out sooner or later. That or Naoto'll figure it out three jaunts before they even want to insinuate it.

[neverfeltthatway]

[Armin just nods. They don't know enough to draw any more reasonable conclusions - what else is there to say?]