[color=39b54a][i][b]Mr. Mysterious Cultist - Outside The Hull[/b][/i][/color]

[i]"It's a pile of bones! This...this could be anyone you dug up!  It doesn't prove a single thing you just said."  She turned to address the harborfolk on the hull and around the gate.  "That woman we carried in, who looks like Avery, who sounded just like Avery, I saw her...perish.  She got hit by a bullet, and blood flew out and..."  [/i]
[i]
Corrine turned back to the cultists.  "Y'all have been operating in shadow -- in Fog -- and done nothin' but antagonize, threaten, and...well, and kill, or try to kill!  Maybe this is Avery, and maybe you murdered her, yerselves, or..."  [/i]

[i]"I need more than just her trinket.  These bones don't prove a thing you said.  'sfar as I care, the woman inside Far Harbor is Avery."[/i]

There was an uneasy silence for a few moments, as the armored cultist seemed to stare at Corrine. With his face hidden underneath the marine helmet, it was impossible to judge his mood or to even guess what he might be thinking. 

A sudden voice called out from amongst the robed throng of cultists. Directed squarely at Corrine,

"How dare you question the Grand Zealot's word! He speaks for the Prophet! You're nothing but a...." 

The armored leader simply lifted a hand, and the voice immediately gave way to silence,

"I understand," He said finally, as he lowered his hand, "You have no reason to trust us. No reason to believe what I say. I can see that you're still coming to terms with what happened back in that clearing. In your eyes, you saw a member of your community, a friend, die. Perhaps in some way that even brought you closure, because even as she fell, you knew that you would finally be able to bring her home. Finally, she would be free of the terrible cult that had ensnared her."

As he spoke, the cultist made his way over to Zelda, and extend his gloved hand. Zelda hesitated for a few moments, but she finally relented, placing the locket in his open palm with a trembling hand.

"You don't want to give her back," He continued, as he walked back over to Corrine, "You think she's back where she belongs, and you'd rather fight than give her up again. That's good. The will and desire to fight for one's family is the purest emotion one can experience. Far be it from me to deny you that triumphant realization." He began to roll the locket over in his hand and then opened it up, staring at the worn and beaten image within.

"You should know, however, that I have that same desire as well...." With a resounding snap, he closed the locket and offered it to Corrine.

"Keep it, and Avery as well," He motioned to the open coffin, "I leave you to decide what you wish to believe. Either believe that your friend left your community to seek a greater purpose elsewhere with another family..and died for it..or believe that she died long before she could ever make that choice. When and if you make it, I only ask that you consider my request again. Until then...we return to The Mother."

"HOLD IT!" Yelled a voice from the hull. Standing on the parapet, was Rose, holding a hunting rifle aimed straight at the cultist, "You aren't going to leave until I get some goddamn answers." Tears were streaming down her cheeks, and she was struggling to hold the gun steady. 

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO THE SYNTHS!" She cried out, "Where's DiMA? Where's Nick Valentine? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH THEM?"

"Nothing. As I said..." Came the calmed reply from the cultist. 

"LIAR!" She yelled back, "....won't let you leave. Can't let you leave..."

Rose squeezed the trigger, but the expected shot didn't come. Instead, her attempt was met with a dull 'click'. 

"Wha..." She looked down confused, and let out an enraged scream before tossing her rifle to the ground, "I'll kill you..." She seethed, "I swear it..." 

At this, as if at a signal, one of the Fog Condensers nearest to the spot on the hull near Rose began to flicker and sputter. Within only a matter of seconds it had died with a final pop of electricity that sent a shower of sparks cascading to the ground around it in spectacular fashion. The fog that had been previously swirling around it coalesced and began to wash over the hull like a breach in an invisible wall. The thick fog rolled in, and covered the spot where Rose had been standing. No one was more surprised than she was, but she didn't move, but instead remained rooted to the spot. 

She disappeared into the Fog, and there was silence for the briefest of moments, before the Fog Condenser once more gradually spurred to life, although it was obviously barely functioning now. The Fog condensed around it once more, and then rolled back and away from the town. However, something was wrong.

Rose was gone. 

The mysterious cultist turned back to Corrine once again, unfazed,

"Your town is living on borrowed time," He said, "Tell your people that they must make their choice soon. Far Harbor can not remain as it is. Someone must make them choose..."

With that, the assembled group of Cultists turned and walked back into the fog-covered ruins of old Bar Harbor, melting back into its protecting envelopment and leaving the denizens of Far Harbor questioning what they should do.