[hr][hr][center][img]https://s8.postimg.org/vanwock1h/ch2.png[/img][hr][img]https://i.giphy.com/11y9UBjLh2Rs40.webp[/img][hr][@Nallore][@Witch Cat][@Pundii][@FantasyChic][@BlueSky44][/center][hr][hr][i][b][color=9999ff]December 28th, 2016[/color] - Coventry Horrors, Fifth Floor[/b][/i] 

	Aloise took the keys from Emmie and put them in her jacket pocket for safe keeping. She was fortunate that the camo jacket had so many pockets, allowing her to keep important possessions on her at all times--things like holy water and her lore journal. She then took the wallet from Emmie as well, putting it in a pocket with the keys. 

	She hesitated slightly before responding to Emmie. It was four in the afternoon, and in a few hours, the police were due to conduct door to door searches. Hanson and Keenan, the former a fugitive and the latter an agent for a corrupt organization, had gone in pursuit of Sera's killer. Liam, to the best of her knowledge, was trapped inside a wardrobe, along with Eudora. Andromeda was upstairs, investigating that wardrobe, and here was Emmie, having just lost someone close to her, asking what was next. 

	[color=00ffcc]"We're going to figure out what's going on in this town,"[/color] Aloise said finally. [color=00ffcc]"It's all connected, somehow...And our best bet of finding out how is probably in...is upstairs."[/color] She caught herself just in time. Looking through Sera's notes would have been a good idea, had she not just been killed in front of Emmie. Aloise wasn't sure if Emmie could handle looking through Sera's things just yet. 

	[color=00ffcc]"We can start by looking into the wardrobe with Andromeda."[/color]

[i][b][color=9999ff]December 28th, 2016[/color] - Cirque Anomaly, Storage Tent[/b][/i]

	As Eudora flips through the pages of the book, she finds that it is largely a detailed family tree. Little symbols next to names take the reader to further pages in the book, filled with stories about the individuals. At the very bottom of the tree, Eudora reads the names [i]Boris Valeska [/i]and [i]Fiodora Valeska[/i], with a neat line connecting them together to show marriage, and another line showing their child, [i]Folly Valeska.[/i] Interestingly, underneath Boris' name is another, written in a messy script and crossed out. At first glance, it looks like the author simply misspelled Boris' name the first time and had to rewrite it, crossing out the mistake. Under closer inspection, however, Eudora will be able to make out the name [i]Jack Fairfax[/i] underneath Boris'. 

	"Miss, I have been utterly fascinated and enchanted by this portal of sorts," Fairfax began, putting his goggles on his eyes. "I am a man of science. It is both my duty and my pleasure to join you." He smiles kindly at her. "And I served in the Great War, miss. I'm no stranger to combat." Nodding at Eudora, he then followed after her into the wardrobe, for them to turn up this time in.....

[i][b][color=9999ff]December 28th, 1929[/color] - Coventry Horrors, the Attic[/b][/i]

	...the very place Eudora first found herself when she jumped through the wardrobe, the location where she had met Fairfax and lost Liam in the first place. There seemed to be little logic as to where one would appear, beyond the time changing with each trip through the wardrobe. To Eudora, a witch, she will notice that the magic of the wardrobe has increased exponentially. Something happened to increase its power, and even Fairfax, a man of science, was aware of the oddities. 

	"John!" 

	Before the man has much of a chance to regain his footing, he found himself dragged by the ear away from the wardrobe, with Folly looking at him, entirely frustrated. Her garb has changed from what it was before, as she wears a simple purple dress for the 1920's. It doesn't give her much of a figure, the flapper dress, but she manages to pull it together regardless. Her hair has been tucked behind her ear.

	"Amiyra!" Fairfax called out happily, clapping his hands together. 

	"What the hell were you thinking?" Folly asked, frowning deeply at the man. "You could've been killed!"

	"But I wasn't," Fairfax countered. "I was perfectly safe with Miss Eudora." 

[i][b][color=9999ff]December 28th, 2016[/color] - Cirque Anomaly, the Grounds[/b][/i]

	Strong may have been a bit daft and naive as strongmen went, but he wasn't entirely stupid. He knew when he was being made fun of and ignored, and while some may think he could tolerate that behavior from Lilith, it cut deep. "Yeah, best be ready for call," Strong grunted before excusing himself, and walking off in the direction of his tent. He looked almost menacing from behind, mostly due to his muscles. 

	True to Thalia's words, of course, the performance call time was in about an hour. Off at the main tent, the fires had been put out, and groups of performers were working quickly to disguise Boris' handiwork, or at least, make it appear to have been intentional. The show must always go on, of course. Thalia will need to find Boris at some point that evening, as she works as his assistant. Lilith has more freedom to decide as to what to do--and to seek out any assistance with her act that evening, if needed. 

[i][b][color=9999ff]December 28th, 2016[/color] - the Police Station[/b][/i]

	[color=red]"Nothing? That's a pity,"[/color] the nerd sighed, clasping his hands behind his back. He walked over towards where Liam had stood, grabbing the stapler that he had used in an attempt to free the hooded figure. The hooded figure raised her head ever so slightly, her face still shrouded in darkness, as the man threw the stapler at her. It was much like a child throwing a peanut at an animal in the zoo, all in an attempt to make it do something. 

	"You...won't..." the hooded figure spat, her breath sounding shaky and painful. The nerd tilted his head slightly, watching as the figure's back arched and the loudest scream yet tore itself from her lungs. A purple light engulfed the room, blinding everyone as the nerd shut his eyes, turning away. By the time the light faded, the cloak was crumpled on the ground in a heap. The wall she had been chained to had a gigantic hole blown through it, allowing a glimpse of the fallen bodies of police officers behind it. 

	It would then become clear where they were. They were in the records room of the Coventry Police Station. If Liam craned his neck, no officers would appear to be conscious to him that he could see. He couldn't make out, however, whether they were merely knocked out--or perhaps even more troubling, dead. 

	[color=red]"Prayers won't help you, Prophet,"[/color] the man replied with a bit of a sigh, as if disappointed once more in him. [color=red]"The fabric of reality was already torn...And with the kumakatok dead, that hole is only going to widen."[/color] He chuckled slightly, looking like he was congratulating himself. [color=red]"After all, there has [i]always[/i] been three of them--and now, there isn't."[/color]

	The man then shook his head and walked through the hole blown in the wall, eventually vanishing from Liam's line of sight.