Flashing back to their flight up to the roof, the party discusses options. Merlin suggests as a last resort, he could connect himself with Morris to draw on his abilities and magic. She thinks it’s possibly a risky idea and that he should go for it – after she asks if Morris is ok with it – but be really careful. When agreeing, Morris’ voice is all weird and has the bad vibes.
Their game plan besides that is to 1: try to get through to Ella, 2: take out her target and then revive it, so the mantle may pass, 3: the Merlin Morris plan, and failing that, 4: try to incapacitate Ella.
Nora splits hem into pairs. She says ‘Ursa and Alkahest, you’re together.’
Alkahest says ‘Yes we are. It means a lot that we have your blessing.’
(Actually Ursa and Alkahest are on support and she and Merlin are on offense/Morris plan)
They get to the roof and immediately the Auditor goes to attack Pyrite. He uses the Beholder’s true name and has it interpose itself, but the Auditor still cuts through it and removes Pyrite’s head. He glitches and is fine, and we see in Paris, France, a workplace accident leading to the same injury killing a random construction worker. Again, the auditor punches a hole in his stomach, and the injury is transferred to someone in America being shot in a mugging.
Carinae freaks out and assumes the party is all after him, shifts to his draconic form, and chomps Merlin in a big way. In response, Merlin Witch Bolts his esophagus. Nora shoots him with her new gun, making him drop the gnome, and Ursa Charms Monster to ask Carinae to chill the fuck out. Carinae insists Merlin will be fine, and goes to inspect some eyes.
Meanwhile, Pyrite can’t seem to get a solid hit in on the auditor. He flings her away to another roof, and the party uses that time to plan further. Merlin has figured out Pyrite’s defense; how attacks against him are transferred to someone else with the Human Genome. Ursa is extremely pissed, but then is like ‘wait shit that means our original plan of killing Pyrite won’t work!!’
The Auditor leaps back to their rooftop, and just goes to town. Pyrite says he’s going to strike back as soon as he has an opening, and so the clock is ticking. Nora gives Merlin her watch.
Merlin puts it on and is confronted with a vision of the Morris Worm himself. He asks if Merlin swears to cooperate, and Merlin says he does if Morris promises not to cause any harm to him. ‘We’re both trying to help Nora. She’s our friend,’ says Merlin.
‘Of course she’s our friend,’ says Morris. ‘In fact, she probably cares even more about you than she does about me.’ He promises not to cause any bodily harm to Merlin in particular, and proceeds to try and pull out every volt of magic from Merlin’s soul.
Merlin has 9 of Order’s spell slots left, but when Adam rolls he gets a 10 – the Worm tries to pull more magic that he has, and Merlin is dropped unconscious.
After this, Nora tries to get the Auditor’s attention with a shot to the leg. It turns and begins advancing on her. Nothing she says seems to be reaching it. Alkahest steps in to try and buy time, but just gets his head kicked in.
Ursa pulls him to safety but before she can heal everyone, sees Pyrite sneaking up. She charges up to stop him, but he Sapping Breaths her unconscious. Semi-delirious Alkahest sees this, roars, and tackles the dragon off the edge of the building.
Ella has reached Nora, who, tears building, goes to fire her gun point blank… but it vanishes, along with the internal well of power she pulled it from. She can’t bring herself to hurt her sister.
‘Fine,’ she says. ‘Fine. You can kill me. You just have to fight it.’
Ella’s face comes back, slowly. She’s in a dreamy state, thinking she’s in some coma, hallucinating. She says ‘Nora… don’t just offer yourself up like that. You’re worth more than that.”
‘Then fight!!’
‘I am. Why do you think I’m imagining you’re here? You were always the tough one, ha.’
The Auditor’s grip on Nora’s shoulders grows painful. Ella is crying.
‘I don’t know what to do for you!’ shouts Nora. ‘But tell me what it is and I’ll do it! You’re my sister, we can fight it together!!’
‘I don’t know how to wake up,’ says Ella. Her face is fading back to its audit-smooth state.
There’s a thrumming and a heat. Suddenly the gun is back in Nora’s hand. The wire is very visible in her chest.
Morris’ voice is in her head. ‘Nora,’ he says. ‘I can Wish this away, Nora. I know we used it recently, but all I need is some magic to get the motors running again. Fuel for the furnace. And I’m already connected to Merlin. I’d never do anything like that without your permission, but just say the word and —‘
‘Get out of my sister.’
‘…what?’
‘Get. Out. Of my sister.’
The Morris Worm is confused. ‘But… the program is all that’s keeping her together…’
‘Out!! Out of her, and out of Merlin!!’
‘…….fine.’
Merlin wakes up, and the watch is burning his wrist. He whispers ‘you’re going to regret this’ and tosses it aside.
Having refused Morris’ offer, and feeling his program terminate, Nora stares into Ella’s eyes, and hefts the weight of the gun in her hand… and brings the butt down on Ella’s head. It bursts, and Ella slumps down unconscious.
Her face looks normal. And slowly, the colours are fading back into her clothes. She snorts, and coughs up an SD card, which Nora chucks to Merlin, telling him to destroy it. She also asks if there’s any trace of Morris in Merlin?
He probes his soul with arcane senses, and all he can think of is the word ‘Malware’. He tells her ‘It’s fine.’
She marches over to the watch and stamps on it, grinding it beneath her heel. There’s a burning as the silver wire in her chest burns up, disappearing. There’s also a memory in her head, of her prophecy with Morta when she first joined the institute: ‘you’ll die after a suspicious malfunction’.
Her phone vibrates. There’s a popup on it.
Ella is waking up. She looks up at Nora blearily, and asks ‘did I get the job?’
Roll History 