A vision from the distant past, an intrepid detective and her unlikely partner...A tale of crime and wits, Project Name: Noire⬛⬛⬛A beige coated woman walked the dimly lit concrete ports of the city, a flashlight in hand as brown eyes scanned her surroundings. The damp docks of Riverside surely stank with seawater, but it was where she was based, and thus she had to live with it."Heeeyy~ Found anything, Liz?~" A young woman in a white coat waved at her from the other side of the pier, her childish tone hiding what was undoubtedly the most intelligent mind she had ever come across. "I want to have some fun already~"Sadistic brat.With the same annoyed expression she sported ever since her reluctant return to active duty, the detective waved back at the black-haired woman. With her flashlight, Liz motioned the youngest coroner to ever work in this city to her location, her lips parting as if she still had the ability to speak."Okaaayyy~ Be right there in a sec!~"Sighing to herself,
Extra I: No MotiveWracked with fear, I stood still,Gazing endlessly into the void.Eyes dull and uninterested,Contemplating what I will.I fear my own mind, question my sanity.Am I insane or merely delusional?You may know, but I never will.I'll never escape my vanity.Staring down the precipice of darkness,Swarmed by thoughts of ending it all.I fought valiantly for what seemed like an eternity,Clinging to whatever shred of reason for happiness.Dangling on the edge of my limit,My conviction
WARNING: This story has extensive usage of italics and bold. Until the app achieves parity with the web version, I heavily suggest that you read this in the web browser. Sorry for the inconvenience.Thus begins this tale...⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛"Hah... Hahaha..."A small chuckle escaped her shivering lips. Cold... It was freaking cold..."Hahahahaha..."What the hell was she thinking?! Of course, it's fucking cold. It's the middle of the night and she was standing in the middle of a thunderstorm."Hahaha... Hahahaha!!"Pained laughter echoed throughout the empty rooftop. She was utterly helpless.. alone. How did this even happen?"It- It's not even funny..."Averting her gaze away from the dim city lights below, hollow eyes found themselves looking up at the raining sky, staring straight through the clouds and onto whatever metaphorical god there was."Why... Why me..."Why her? Why curse her with this kind of existence? She felt her eyes water even more, her tears mixing with the acidic rain. Wa
"We-Well.. Sorry for being worried about your well being then ma'am." He stammered, taken aback by the sudden dosage of snark that was being given to him. "I'm not exactly a trained professional. Er- I mean I'm trained but-""Yeah. I get it." The woman waved nonchalantly as she made her approach. "Though maybe next time, try cutting back on the cheese~"The man-made his way towards the attemptee, left hand shielding him against the wind. He already figured that he was talking to a girl the moment he heard her voice; it was soft, yet strained... almost as if it belonged to a small child."You should go back inside, you might catch a cold."The woman simply stood in front of him, wearing a baggy, gray sweater shirt and black shorts. Her posture was distraught, her back length hair fluttering to the howling winds. She looked really tired. He beckoned her to follow him back inside the hotel. Maybe he should-"I don't think I want to go inside just yet." What? "The rain's still pouring. Per
Athena, hearing a sharp pop from the direction of the cabinet, glanced over to Eremes's direction. She heard him mutter an expletive and assumed that something must have gone wrong with the repairs. She cast an impatient look towards him as he rubbed his hands on his head in frustration. What's taking him so long? At this rate, she might not even wait for him to finish and just go jump off the ledge and be done with it.As if that would actually happen. We both know you won't go through with it.She won't be going back inside, it'll be tonight."Uhm... You should probably go back inside. My job just became a whole lot harder, and I don't think you can afford to wait for me in this rain."He was absolutely right. The agonizing hilarity of her existence gnawing in her chest would make her lose it before he was done.Wasn't she already?Nevertheless, she calmed herself down and strode towards Eremes and the offending cabinet. She stared at the contents intently before coming to an admitte
Eremes carefully made his way back to the base of the cell tower, making sure that the delicate parts wouldn't get hit by the droplets of rain currently slamming onto him. It was a good thing he had a forgotten raincoat inside the locker; what would he have done without it?Currently, he was shielding the bundled package like his life depended on it. In retrospect, it might as well be, his job was on the line after all. Power walking back to the cabinet, he paused as he saw her just standing there, staring at him. Her face looked strained, as if trying very hard to do the exact opposite of what her brain dictated. He would question her but he's going to let it slide for now. Time to get back to work, but first..."Can you uhhm... hold this for a while? I need to unlock the cover again.""Uhm, sure?"He handed over the moderately-sized package to his assistant and proceeded to unlock the door like cover with its corresponding key. He then opened it halfway to avoid another accidental sh
Athena felt her eyes close as she mulled to herself. What a stupid answer! And he dared to ask a woman that question!? How infuriating!What did she expect? Snark begets snark~She adjusted herself once more, trying to alleviate some of the tension in her currently aching limbs. Still! It was a simple question, anyone can answer it.The fact that he thought you're a bitch is the exact same reason why you don't have friends anymore.Any kind of frustration that she was currently feeling vanished instantly. That infernal voice... Shut it. She still has friends!Really? Then where are they now?Her arms buckled.Th-they... They're busy with their own lives. She couldn't possibly let them shoulder her burdens.You're just in denial that you have no one to lean on.She almost lost her balance. That's... not true..Your attitude's too overbearing.Tears slowly pooled back into her eyes. Stop...You left the easy life for something as mercurial as dreams and morals~P-please..And even now th
"Just me and you now."Eremes reopened his unfinished work and carefully remade his previous setup albeit with Athena not being there. With the raincoat back in place, he then meticulously resumed his work, moving noticeably faster than before. The sooner he finished, the sooner he can get her back in her bed.Even as he worked, Eremes continued to monitor Athena's condition, occasionally glancing in her direction to make sure that she's still there. Her reactions disturbed him. No one can have that look of pure terror without a valid reason. Just, what happened to her that made her fear something about going back? He- Oh.His thoughts were interrupted by the smooth humming of the cell tower's mechanisms. The previously dead light now emitting a cool green signifying its status. Job well done."Finally!"He was finally done! The blasted thing was finally fixed. He closed the box for good and had begun to pack up when he saw Athena's sleeping form, her face still wet from the rain as sh
Extra I: No MotiveWracked with fear, I stood still,Gazing endlessly into the void.Eyes dull and uninterested,Contemplating what I will.I fear my own mind, question my sanity.Am I insane or merely delusional?You may know, but I never will.I'll never escape my vanity.Staring down the precipice of darkness,Swarmed by thoughts of ending it all.I fought valiantly for what seemed like an eternity,Clinging to whatever shred of reason for happiness.Dangling on the edge of my limit,My conviction
A vision from the distant past, an intrepid detective and her unlikely partner...A tale of crime and wits, Project Name: Noire⬛⬛⬛A beige coated woman walked the dimly lit concrete ports of the city, a flashlight in hand as brown eyes scanned her surroundings. The damp docks of Riverside surely stank with seawater, but it was where she was based, and thus she had to live with it."Heeeyy~ Found anything, Liz?~" A young woman in a white coat waved at her from the other side of the pier, her childish tone hiding what was undoubtedly the most intelligent mind she had ever come across. "I want to have some fun already~"Sadistic brat.With the same annoyed expression she sported ever since her reluctant return to active duty, the detective waved back at the black-haired woman. With her flashlight, Liz motioned the youngest coroner to ever work in this city to her location, her lips parting as if she still had the ability to speak."Okaaayyy~ Be right there in a sec!~"Sighing to herself,
Time moves forward. And while this tale slowly comes to an end, their story continues to unfold behind the scenes...⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛It's been a month and a half since that fateful day. A month and a half since that unassuming maintenance guy saved her from her own demise. Ever since then, Aletheia has begun to acclimatize once more to a rather, lavish lifestyle than the year and a half that she spent on the run.Not only have you acclimatized, you've already excelled~Oh shut up. She can still live off of instant ramen and chump change just fine should the need arise.Says the girl that now spends over a thousand drachma a day on food alone~The novelist chuckled to herself at the thought as she saved another word document on her laptop. Well, she was quite a hefty spender back then no? You blew a whole talent for every arcade session. You're more than a hefty spender~Come now.. Well, she did do that back in the day huh.You're clearly cut out for a lavish lifestyle~She stifled a yawn as
"Lady Mendel, I propose one more bid."Hoho~ What does he have up his sleeve to be this bold?~Aletheia's eyes widened as Eremes began his opening gambit, his left hand holding his smartphone as he stared at Mother dead in the eye. What was he planning?"An interesting proposal Mr. Patillo." Mother humored, her tone clearly not taking his offer seriously. "While we both know that you have nothing in terms of bargaining power, I'll humor you, just this once." A dangerous game, he's playing, no?Far too dangerous for her liking. Sweat trickled down her lightly make-upped cheek as Mother leaned closer to the repairman, both hands clasped under her chin as a sickly sweet smile masked the malice hidden underneath. The novelist's hands trembled in her lap as she hoped to god that Eremes knew what he was doing."Okay.." The man in front of them began as he fiddled with the phone in his hand. "I have here, a recording of everything that happened here on this rooftop that Wednesday night." Wh
Time moves forward...⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛"Where do you think you're going, Patillo?!" A deep booming voice shouted at him as he buttoned up his brown rented suit. "I've already told you-""I need to go to the rooftop now, Boss." Eremes ground out, his one hand already on the elevator panel as his boss refused to let him go. "After that, I'll be out of your hair forever.""You no longer have the authority to even board this elevator, Patillo!" Basco shouted as his one hand stopped the elevator door from closing. "I want you out of my hotel, right now!"Unemployment was the least of his worries as he took another glance at his wristwatch. Damn it, he needed to be on that rooftop by eight or he'll miss his last chance to get Athena back! "C'mon, boss!" Eremes pleaded, trying to avoid things getting a tad too physical. "Just this once-""One last chance, Patillo." The burly man spat, his patience clearly wearing thin. "Leave the premises, before I throw you out myself."Taking another glance at hi
"Athena?"Peeking behind her disheveled hair, the hunched-up daughter struggled to hide her surprise as a familiar voice called out to her old name. Hopeless eyes feasted as the comforting familiarity of the repairman's visage eased the threatening abyss inside her. Eremes? What was he still doing here?Don't get your hopes up."Take us to the ground floor, Mr. Patillo." Mother stated still in front of her, anger audibly bubbling beneath the faux politeness. "I do expect that you won't fail even that.""Yes ma'am."The elevator lurched, before slowly beginning its descent back down towards the cold unforgiving ground. Aletheia merely kept to herself, hoping that if she made herself small enough, Mother wouldn't notice her presence. Useless."H-Hey-""Don't you dare talk to me, Mr. Patillo." The frightened child recoiled at her mother's tone, learned instincts taking over rationality as the older woman berated his once companion. "You had but a single order, and yet you chose to disob
"I bid a lifetime of servitude!" Eremes bravely announced as he intrepidly stood up from his seat. His back already in a cold sweat as he felt the cold stares from around the offended crowd, not to mention the murderous intent coming directly from his chaperone. Boy did he really shit the bed now. But seeing her in such a sad state.."Athena!"If it wasn't for her tilting her head upward, he might not have recognized her behind her hair. What was she doing on stage? With a different name no less? "I don't know what's going on-" Did Athena lie to him? Why hide her identity? Was this what she meant about not going back? Why then? Why lie?"But I'll get you out of there!"Steeling his resolve, the intrepid repairman shouted out his bold declaration. Explanations can come later. Right now, he needed to find a way to get to her. She clearly needed help, like during the time he first saw the novelist that fateful night. What was this feeling, a sense of protectiveness? Maybe it's because
"I shall now begin the first trade.""Ugghhh..."The novelist woke up to the amplified sounds of a monotone announcement, groaning at the dull pain of a rising headache. Emerald eyes slowly blinked open, showing its owner a starless night sky. Where was she? How did she get here?Took your sweet time girly."Coming from my own sources, a complete detailed report on the 2015 projected 4th Quarter earnings of the Honn Maritime Company."Droning out the loud sounds behind her, the discombobulated author tried to get into a seated position, at least to get her bearings before assessing the situation she found herself in. Shaking off the last bits of sleep-induced grogginess, she willed her hands and-"Khhh!" A brief flash of pain shot up from her wrists and ankles. Huh? That was odd. "Ten billion from Alexandria. Do I hear-."Do try to remember girly~A voice echoed in her mind to try and remember. But what? And why couldn't she move her arms and feet? A dull throb beat rhythmically in h
"I'm quite surprised, you clean up nicely, Mr. Patillo." "I'm surprised myself, Miss Mendel." Eremes hooked the tight of his collar as his contractee companion for the night admired his current appearance. "And thank you for the suit.""It's the least I could do for someone that's caught my eye~." A teasing tone escaped from the older woman's lips, a tone that sent foreboding shivers through the unwilling companion's spine. "It wouldn't do for a companion of mine to not be at their best."*Ding*The elevator chimed as it opened its doors to an unlikely pairing of humble repairman and honorable vice-mayor."Shall we?"Nodding to her pseudo command, the red-suited Eremes let his equally red hanfu clad benefactor onto the waiting elevator first, the older lady's gait as regal and commanding as it could be before boarding the elevator himself. The steel metal doors closed as their vertical carriage awaited input."Whe-""Rooftop, please." Lady Mendel chirped, but from his perspective, it