Working With Phantoms

Dispelling the Lies

July 1st

It was the beginning of the new month, and to Madran, school seemed to go by in a blur due to what was going on in the Velvet Room. Once Madran got back home, however, she decided to spend some time with Elia.

"So, mom, how was work today?"

"Oh, kinda stressful. There's been these handful of clients that, despite my every effort, get themselves in more and more trouble."

"This sounds familiar."

"Yep. Like, if I told you several times, 'don't do that, that'll get you into deeper legal trouble,' then would you do that?"

"It depends on what you're telling me not to do."

"Ok, well, say, for instance, swiping candy bars from a store. Do it once, then you will get a small fine. Do it more, and you'll eventually get banned from the store. Say that my client's in trouble for stealing, yeah? Well, I tell them to not steal anymore, and they do. Then, their excuse is something like 'oh, I just couldn't resist,' or 'nobody was looking...' and it's driving me mad."

"I wonder how much it takes for someone to actually listen, huh?"

"Good question. Well, go have fun with those new friends you found, I have some stuff to do."

"Gotcha! Hey, Chicory, over here!"

Madran and Chicory then went to the Velvet Room, where she found that Isabeau and Flynn both had their COMPs back and were chatting amicably with the two attendees.

"Hey, we're back!"

"That wasn't that long at all."

Elizabeth cleared her throat.

"Here, time is much different. Things that happen inside here when the group has business that needs to be done don't take up any time, but when they finish, time resumes."

Isabeau nodded.

"Wow, that's neat. Hey, also, thanks for fixing our COMPs."

"You're very welcome, Isabeau."

Madran waited as everyone else arrived, and she began to brief them.

"Ok, so, today, we begin helping these two poor, lost people by assisting them in the calm and safe removal of The White from a living plane."

"So, we kill them?"

"Yeah."

Flynn nodded.

"I like the sound of that. Let's get moving."

The group then went back to the Universe door, where they entered to find that it was still the Monochrome Forest.

"Well, we're back! Let's start finding a route..."

"Don't worry, Madran. I can do this."

A female voice rang out from Flynn's COMP.

"Eh? Who are you?"

"I am Burroughs. I am the AI within the COMPs that handles all of the various interactions within it. I can also scan the area, so you don't have to worry at all. My functionality was lost right up until the two women back in the Velvet Room restored me."

"Ooh, what if we combine our scans?"

"That... would be better."

Madran then summoned Dharma, who pressed her hand to the COMP and closed her eyes. Then, after a few short moments, Burroughs spoke up again.