Atonement

Violet lands in downtown Meridian, MS looking around at the new sights. It's about the same as usual, though a bit more in ruins due to some major boss battles during the Meridian Apocalyptic Incident. The usual gaudy skyscraper piercing the blood-red skies that leads to Meridian's Solaire branch is still intact. A block away from it, however, is a massive chapel. A stained glass window faces the street, one that has a large yellow full moon and some night sky decorations on it. A nameplate near the front door declares it to be "The Cathedral of the Full Moon." It's very gothic-inspired and has stereotypical final boss vibes. Choosing not to investigate it now, Violet enters Solaire through its usual front door. Inky black darkness shrouds the entrance, but stepping through, Violet finds herself in the entrance hall.

The entrance hall is exactly as she remembers it. It's sterile and white with calm classical music playing in the speakers. A pretty woman in a flowery green dress is sitting at the receptionist desk. The name on her desk reads, "Rebecca Sienna Wright." What's changed since the last time she's been here is the flowers. They seem to be real sunflowers as opposed to the fake ones previously planted, facing the window outside to the sunny blue skies, and inviting all those who enter. A couple Hinata4U plushies watch over the hall and seem to vibe above Rebecca's seat. Violet walks up to Rebecca's desk and says, "Evening Rebecca, I'm here to see Hinata and Luna."

Rebecca notices Violet's new look. Violet's wearing a light green dress with a short white top. Her left arm is seemingly robotic. She looks up at Violet with a smile, "Ah of course!" Rebecca presses a button on her console, one Violet remembers sent people to see Jan. Instead of teleporting them away, however, Hinata's voice is heard.

Rebecca - Lady Hinata? Miss Luna? Miss Violet is here.

Hinata - Great, send her up! [The sounds of video games being played can be heard.]

Rebecca - Of course! She'll be up shortly.

After hanging up, Rebecca looks Violet over seemingly confused about some things, especially considering it's been nearly a month since she's seen Violet, "Ah, nice to see your nasty sunburn healed, oh and that's a really pretty dress!"

Violet eyes the buttons on the console then responds, "Why thank you Rebecca. I'm glad to see you're doing well too. I'll be heading up, unless there's something you need to ask me?"

With her voice full of concern, Rebecca takes this opportunity to ask Violet, "Hey uh have you heard from my father? I've not heard anything since nearly Christmas. I know he was headed back to Capital City to continue some work but uh.. I'm worried. He usually doesn't ignore me like this."

Violet looks down, "Y-you mean Toby? Oh.. uh well, I'm not sure how to say this but someone seems to have killed him." Violet feels awkward and her body language is full of genuine sorrow for Rebecca's loss.

It takes Rebecca minutes to respond, tears silently flowing for her late father. "...I guess what he told me was true," Rebecca manages to say, her voice silent and seemingly hoarse. The sunflowers in the room seem to wilt as if responding to Rebecca's sadness.

Saddened for her friend, Violet asks, "What did he tell you?"

Rebecca turns her head away from Violet, "He warned me not to get involved. To stay as far away as I possibly can from Solaire."

The elevator arrives and opens its doors. Violet asks if she needs any support, but Rebecca does not respond. The sunflowers wilt further and close up, even despite the warm sunlight coming through the windows. Violet heads up to Hinata's penthouse, realizing that Rebecca might need some time alone.

---

In Hinata's penthouse, Luna and Hinata had been chilling here for some time. Due to spending more time at [the kiss]'s house, a thin layer of dust covers parts of the room. They're playing video games together. Upon realizing Violet is on her way, Hinata gets a feather duster and cleans up the room. When Violet arrives, Luna and Hinata seem uncomfortable. They wave, but it doesn't seem like they're particularly happy to see her, especially knowing that not even two weeks ago, their lives were at stake due to an angry Violet controlled by some crystalline demon from Sisyphean Hell. Regardless, Hinata breaks the awkward silence, "S-So you wanted to see Avengers #1 right?"

Violet waves back, "Uh yea. If you don’t mind that is."

Hinata gets up and walks over to the bookshelf behind her massive wooden desk. She scans through the collection until she finds it. "Right. Luna, come over here please. You're probably going to want to see this too. Toby... left us something." Luna walks over and stands next to Hinata as she pulls out a sealed copy of the comic. Just then, a click is heard and the bookshelf opens up. "What. What is this Hinata?" Luna looks dumbfounded.

"Please follow me." Hinata walks into the room and beckons the other two to join her.

--- NOW LOADING ~ One Moment Please... ----

The room is rather small, but it contains some rather expensive looking comic books, lots of mint and near mint collectors copies, plus a box full of mint and near-mint trading card slabs. It's incredible; a nerd's paradise. On a small table in the room is a notebook. Luna's eyes widen at all of the anime figurines and cards. It's nostalgic as hell, vague memories of being at Solaire and seeing some of these in Toby’s office coming back.

Violet looks around in awe with the collection Toby had, though her attention is mostly placed on the notebook. Hinata explains to Luna and Violet, "Luna, we were like family to Toby. But uh, before we continue on with the tour, Violet, can you read the first entry in the notebook?" Luna nods while tears flow. She does not turn her head away from her friends, feeling comfortable enough to show emotion even if past instruction goes against this.

"Of course." Violet picks up the notebook, flips to the first entry, and reads aloud.

NOW LOADING.... LOADED.

Now playing ~  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xpzf6TNkp_s

Atonement of a Crescent Moon

Luna's eyes flicker purple and blue, as if fighting one another for control. Her purple hyperfocus aura is set aflame, seemingly stronger than ever before, as she cries with heavy pain and sadness. Violet is shocked. As she finishes reading the selection, her shock becomes intense sadness, "I... I don't know what to say... just... wow."

Luna's eyes eventually steady to its usual sapphire blue. "..what now? Even Jane... Krystal?" Her tears flow, and she's not quiet in the slightest.

Hinata's voice is growly. "...I'm sorry Luna. Toby was.. like a father to us. But in actuality, he was no more than one of the two ADMINs that hurt us the most! That destroyed our minds. Broke us. Rendered us unable to leave!" Hinata cries as well. She slams her fist into the ground out of frustration.

Violet is unsure if giving a hug would be the appropriate thing to do at the moment. She offers one anyway, moving her hands. "You guys... need a hug?" Without a second thought, Luna gets up and hugs Violet. The effects of her Hyperfocus aura eats away at her mana. Despite the flames, it does not affect anyone or anything in the room. Violet notices Luna's body vibrating and her body is extremely warm while rubbing her back and supporting her. Eventually, Luna's hyperfocus aura dies down and her eyes close. She goes unconscious, her body slumping down as if her invisible puppet strings were cut.

Hinata seems to be anticipating this and explains, "She’s out of mana."

From the floor, Krystal's deeper masculine voice comes from her unconscious body. They explain further, "Usually, if someone empties their mana pool, it means they're likely going to die soon. In a way, mana can be thought of as a secondary lifeforce meter. Thankfully, for Luna, Hinata, and any other LUNA model, they're designed differently. They're capable of readily regenerating their mana, as if created for this very reason. They're basically Mana Vessels. Rechargable batteries."

Violet nods towards Luna on the floor, "I see, well make sure she gets enough rest." Then, she turns to Hinata. "So now what?"

"There's another entry. Please, go ahead." Hinata looks conflicted. She braces herself for the next one, her fists clenched and her emotions doing everything in their power to stay calm.

Violet flips the page to the next entry and starts to read. The second, and seemingly final, entry reads as follows:

About the Mental Locks:

Despite what I said previously, I do have a piece of information that may help you two unravel the truth. Chandra theorized that severe mental trauma is the best way to go about unlocking someone's potential. But for most, one jolt isn't enough. So instead, they had me design a multiple step process that could break the mind into pieces multiple times over. This way, the mind is unable to get used to it and thus rebuild its wall against mana. And with Solaire and FMS’s help, we had a near limitless amount of potential subjects to work with. Was it cruel? Absolutely, but Chandra was focused on one objective: breaking through the AAA’s Magical Ban on Certain Individuals. Many subjects died due to our work. And two of them, Hinata and Luna, had the mental fortitude to stay alive and fight back against our experimentation! They became smarter and smarter, stronger and stronger. Their wills are FIERY! Regardless, they were still just weak enough to not be able to fight back head on. They were perfection in Chandra's eyes. And so we continued to try to break through. To figure out what exactly would be their breaking points. It was stupid. It was unthinkable. Horrible. To think, these two are the reason why the old sun set and the new moon rose. The lawsuit destroying Solaire's previous iteration happened solely because we were able to bring Luna out and prove to the World the evils happening within Solaire Enterprises. I went down with the ship. Jane told Luna that we had broken up, but that is incredibly far from the truth. I was imprisoned, sentenced to spend the rest of my life in jail. Years later, I was freed by January. I'll never understand his motives. I committed countless sins of non-consensual experimentation, abuse, and the murders of innocents. I have blood on my hands, and yet I was given one final chance. With that final chance, I want to come clean about everything. I want to stop Solaire and the Full Moon Syndicate from hurting others any further. It's my life's goal. Unfortunately, my time is incredibly short. Like many others, my mana does not regenerate. I am nearly out of mana. And soon, I will perish. As for who Chandra is, I have never seen them before. Never even seen their face. I know they're nonbinary and use it/they pronou--

Unfortunately, the paper seems to have been ripped. "I found the paper like that. I do not know who would even know about this room aside from Tob-- Lunar ADMIN Crescent." Hinata huffs, tears spilling from her cheeks.

Violet appears curious about many things, but her tone is filled from sadness from Toby's betrayal. "My gods. I never would have thought he'd be like this."

Krystal scoffs, still taking over for Luna, "I knew about his relationship with FMS. I mean how couldn't I? We dated for years and were married! But, to think he was responsible for the Locks. That's just." Krystal puts her hand to her head. On her ring finger lies a gem mood ring given to Luna by Bunbun. It currently shows brown.

Hinata looks over at Krystal and tilts her head in confusion. "Anyway, that's all he left us. Well, not exactly. There's one more entry but uh." She flips to that page, but it's also ripped out. "I don't get it."

Violet ponders, "That’s strange, I wonder why? Did someone break in?”

Hinata tilts her head side to side while reasoning out loud, "Impossible. There is only one entrance and exit into my penthouse. On top of that, due to us living with [the kiss], we collected a bit of dust here and it wasn’t affected. Adding on, whoever broke in would have to know about Avengers #1! This room is only accessible by pulling that comic out. Do you know of anyone who fits these qualifications?”

Violet theorizes, “Perhaps Chandra? I mean they knew Toby really well, and now that the Church is here, who knows if they could be around."

Krystal shakes her head disagreeing with Violet, "But how? As far as I know, the original Avengers refers to the four of us. Toby is Thor, I'm Iron Man, Hinata is Hulk, and Lunie is Ant Man.”

Hinata looks weirded out, "Wait what? I'm the Hulk in this relationship???"

"I'm unsure... wait-" Violet thinks for a moment. "Rebecca knows!"

Krystal's mood ring turns black. "Maybe?"

Hinata turns to Violet, "What do you mean?"

"Last time I came here, I spoke with Rebecca and she wrote something down on a Solaire Enterprises informational pamphlet. And guess what it was? 'Avengers #1, Hinata's Office - Rebecca Sienna Wright'."

"I told her about that. That's her father. It was only right that she knew about everything." Hinata explains.

Violet turns her head to the group, "Hmmm I see. Well maybe she told someone? I mean she has been sending people to see Jan. Who knows if she had to tell someone, maybe forced?"

Krystal’s mood ring returns to its normal clear state, "Hm. Guess it couldn't hurt to ask?" The three of them nod and walk back to the elevator, taking it down to the bottom floor. The flowers are back to their usual state and Rebecca is watching something on the television. The elevator arrives back down to the ground.

Violet steps out of the elevator, looks to the group, and makes her way over to Rebecca. Hinata and Krystal follow right behind. Rebecca notices the trio and clears her throat. "Can I help you? Lady Hinata, Miss Violet, Mx Luna?"

"Hello Rebecca, we were wondering if you told anyone about the comic book?" Violet looks to Rebecca with curiosity.

Rebecca leans in close and whispers, only loud enough for the three to hear them. "Never. Us four are the only ones to know of it. would've been five, but..." another tear drops from her eyes. "I trusted you with the information because I heard you were trying to help. I want to see--" her eyes scan the room, "them be defeated."

"I see. We ask because we found that a part of Toby's journal was ripped out, and we are trying to figure out who could have done so."

"I was the first to find it, even before Dad died. The three entries were all intact. It seemed Dad had a lead on Chandra's identity." Rebecca says. Hinata and Krystal both tilt their heads.

Krystal and Hinata say at the exact same time, "what... was it??"

Rebecca writes something down on another pamphlet and hands it to Violet. "Break through them."

Violet tilts her head and looks at the pamphlet. The pamphlet is exactly like the other one, except there's an advertisement for The Church on the back. In red ink on the moon, the words 'Cheated Death' are written and circled.

"Anyway, I must get some rest." she yawns. "Take care, you three, I know you can break through and beat them." Rebecca says as she walks to the hallway. The door is closed.

"I see...Thank you Rebecca." Violet looks curious to the pamphlet, wondering who cheated death.

Luna's eyes return to their usual blue. "Hey Hinata, wanna head back? I'm tired."

Hinata nods. "I need some food. I guess we'll see ya around Violet?"

"Of course! I'll see you guys later!" Violet waves them off. After they leave, Violet stays to do a little more investigation. The room is quiet, though soft lo-fi hip hop plays on the speakers instead of the usual classical music. The now vacant receptionist desk seems to beckon to Violet. It's a fairly standard receptionist's desk. There's a computer, a small tv screen in the desk, and an array of buttons. None of the buttons have labels though. Above Violet, one of the HINATA4U's seems to stare at her, but it's just a plushie... right? In the drawers, stationary. A few Solaire directories as well.

Violet reads the directories, eyeing the buttons.

It shows the locations of various rooms in the complex. The factory floor, Rebecca's chamber, various offices. Oddly enough, however, Jan's office is not found. Just then, one of the lights on the console turns red. Violet looks to the console, curious about it turning red. It blinks. As if begging to be pressed. When Violet presses it, a feminine voice speaks from the box. "Rebecca? Can you send my order to my office? I can't come out and get it. I'm stuck with paperwork.

A small box is on one of the couches. And there's a portal system on the floor which lights up when the button is pressed. It doesn't seem like it's big enough to transport a human though. Violet walks to the box, takes a claw, and cuts the box open to look inside. Inside is the office worker's meal. Great smelling chinese take-out wafts in the air, specifically sweet and sour chicken and wonton soup. Violet opened this poor girl's food. What a monster. Violet reseals the box with some tape on the desk and sends it through the portal. The feminine voice responds, "thank you! I gotta get these reports done before the next ceremony!" Then Violet leaves.

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