confrontation.

[cancrymods]

It's time.

Esme has been doing her level best to make sure everyone in Invidia knows about their little competition, so it shouldn't be a surprise to see that the mall is absolutely overflowing with devoted fans today, all eager to see the outcome of this "friendly" competition between performers. Thankfully, Esme has been unusually sportsmanlike and deigned to release a schedule of the event beforehand, so you're not just going in blind. Esme and Idol-ON will perform two songs each and then hold a question and answer session with the audience, after which a vote will be held – and whoever has the most votes by the end of the show will be declared Invidia's newest top idols.

Sounds simple, right? Right.

You've all been given a private room out of the way of the crowds, with some time to spare before the event itself starts. Time for some last minute rehearsal, some last minute panicking, some last minute... sabotage? Well, Esme's probably not going to play fair, so why should you?

Comments

[pride_of_amarcia]

We can do this... As long as we stop whatever Esme's planning.

Anyone else think we need to be ready in case she tries to just straight-up attack us or drop monsters on us or something???

[seasharp]

It'll probably be sneakier than that.

[emberserker]

That is why we've got the traps.

[She holds up fishing wire for emphasis.]

I do hope you remember where I'm leaving them all, because if she's got something back there, so ought we.

[daughterofthemark]

[meanwhile: oblivious]

[pride_of_amarcia]

... R-right. Traps.

Hopefully I'll remember all of them?

[Why does she feel like glue traps would be better?]

[seasharp]

Mhm, I won't forget. No matter what, we won't lose to her.

Especially not because of any of her underhanded moves.

[emberserker]

We've got things she doesn't know about, too. On that, we've got to be even.

[seasharp]

To beat someone devious, you have to think deviously... Or something like that, hm?

[emberserker]

It's good advice in any event, I would venture.

[daughterofthemark]

I doubt Dame Esme will attack us. Monster seem a more likely outcome.

[emberserker]

Unless she... no, never mind. We've got no evidence for that. Regardless, she'll have something up her sleeve that'll take the lot of us to overcome.

[daughterofthemark]

That does seem nearly inevitable. We'll not be able to progress without some encounter of that nature.

[emberserker]

Keep your eyes out on stage. We'll handle the rest.

[phantasmagorial]

Unless she what...?

[ Don't think she didn't hear that. ]

[emberserker]

Rei. I know it's conjecture, we've got no evidence that anyone can do it on command. But Esme seemed dissatisfied, didn't she? Unstable? Afraid of the natural progression of things. The sort of mindset where you're just on the brink of ruin.

Revenants were all once Spectres, weren't they?

[mementomoritz]

Oh! [Medic looks utterly fascinated by the idea.] We've been working on the theory that it's simply an issue of time, but if mental state is also a factor...

[emberserker]

Like I said, it's only a theory. But a floor's guardian must have a great deal of power.

[phantasmagorial]

[ Rei goes quiet for a moment and mulls that over. What Anna's saying isn't wrong, but she has no way of knowing for sure if she's right about the rest of it. It sounds plausible enough, but...

Eventually, Rei shakes her head. ]

Mm. I see where you're coming from, but I don't think it's something we have to worry about. Esme might not be in her right mind, but she knows who she is. In fact, I'd say she's more sure of her identity than anybody else here – she's had years to put it all together. A Specter becomes a Revenant when they start losing that. The missing pieces hurt them so much they end up consumed by it and they start consuming anything they can find to fill it.

So I don't think Esme's close to becoming a Revenant. Not any more than you or me or anyone else here is.

[ But then she looks troubled. ]

Unless...

[emberserker]

Unless what, Rei? Is there some power she's got?

[phantasmagorial]

N–no, it's not a power, exactly, but... Esme's been Invidia's idol all this time, hasn't she? It's part of her identity now. So...

What's going to happen when we take that away from her?

[emberserker]

...If you're asking me to pity her, I'll remind you that she tried to liquefy us. But if that happens, don't worry. We'll be prepared.

[phantasmagorial]

Of course I'm not. But think about it – if a Revenant is created once they lose some part of themselves, what happens to an Authority holder when it gets forcibly taken from them?

[pride_of_amarcia]

Would make showing off a lot easier, so that's fine! I hope.

[daughterofthemark]

Yes, I'm very confident in our skill at fighting monsters.

[pride_of_amarcia]

And with pretty lightshows!

It's probably too late to make the shots from my staff match my color, though...