Gamer4 in. Okay, I'll admit it, I was surprised by the poll results- the one I figured was a shoo-in got last place, while the one I thought might get overlooked rocketed to the top only to be overtaken at the last second- it was a wild ride, I must say. Of course, I don't put anything on the poll unless I'm willing to write it, so here we go! Shin Megami Tensei- a name many of you may be unfamiliar with. I got into Persona a while ago, only starting my journey into the rest of the series a few years ago (a rather Strange Journey, if you know what I mean,) but it honestly feels like a series tailor-made for me. If you guys don't know what the heck I'm talking about... hopefully you will soon. Let's get down to business.
Disclaimer: Shin Megami Tensei is owned by Atlus.
Episode XLVIII
Rebirth of the Goddess
"Halloween's coming up?" Ruby asked- a second later, her eyes turned into stars. "Halloween's coming up!"
"Oh, boy," Yang sighed dramatically.
"Here it goes again..." Blake groaned.
Ruby glanced away. "Heheh... I promise it won't be like last year?"
"It had better not," Weiss agreed. "Now, about this other-"
She looked towards Crazy and George, but they had both disappeared. "Now where did they go?"
"Costume shopping."
She spun around to find a new woman in the rocking chair, a bottle of beer in one hand that she started chugging once she'd made her unceremonious introduction.
"Who are you?!"
"Vanessa Paisley," she introduced herself by briefly tapping her forehead. "I'm from another world he watches over, so I know a little about how you feel right now." She had shoulder-length black hair, wearing a dark blue jacket over a white shirt with a silver cross around her neck.
"What world?" Nora asked, intrigued. "Oh, oh, does it have grimm, or something else? Do you have a semblance? Do you-"
"Nora," Ren coughed. "Breathing room."
"Oh, right! Sorry."
"This is your story, not mine," Vanessa shook her head. "Like I said, your usual hosts are out getting Halloween costumes, so they asked me to run this episode. I'd normally tell the Hand to shove it, but then he told me it was an SMT world, and that happens to be my area of expertise, so..."
"An... SMT world?" Jaune asked, tilting his head in confusion.
"That's a loooooooong story." She paused and took another drink from her bottle. "We gonna get started or what?"
"Can I get some of that beer?" Yang asked, leaning forward.
"No. No you can't."
The new world began in a rather desolate-looking area, nothing but desert for what seemed to be miles around. In the center of it all was a vast, fenced-off facility. A sign attached to the fence read
Black Mesa
Research Facility
TOP SECRET
Intruders Will Be Shot
"Not if we all Naruto-run our way in!" Ruby proudly declared. "They can't get all of us! We're gonna bust in and see dem aliens!"
"Do not do that," Weiss put her hands together and raised them to her face in an odd prayer. "Do not do that, they absolutely can get all of us."
"...Probably a bad idea," Blake agreed quietly.
There was a flutter of wings as a large black bird alit on a nearby cement pole- it cocked its head as it gazed at the facility. Next to it, in large red letters, the title formed:
Rebirth
Of the Goddess
"Goddess? Like one of the brothers, but... female? Is there a pair of sisters nobody ever told me about?" Nora chattered.
"Not that I was ever made aware of," Ren shook his head.
"I believe that Crazy mentioned this world is 'on the same level of the Tower as the world where Jaune is a thief,'" Pyrrha recalled. "What does that mean, exactly? Is this the same world?"
"Same world, different timeline," Vanessa nodded. "Like I said- long story."
"Will there or will there not be castles sprouting out of the ground where schools once were?" Weiss crossed her arms.
"...No."
The bird cocked its head as it gazed at the facility in the distance- they could see it reflected in a single dark eye.
Abruptly, alarms started blaring, red lights flashing to the screeching of klaxons, prompting the bird to take flight once more.
"That can't be good," Jaune bit his lip.
"I mean, it could just be a drill!" Ruby pointed out optimistically.
"...It's not a drill," Blake put her thoughts into the simplest possible words.
The camera moved to a residential area, where a dark-skinned woman was stepping out of a housing unit with an infant in her arms.
"Crap!" Jaune cursed. "That's Terra and Adrian!"
"Your sister's wife and son?" Yang asked, eyes alight with urgency.
"Yeah! If Terra's around..."
"We have to leave! We have to leave now!"
A young blond woman was sprinting across the ground towards them. "In the car, now- we don't have time to grab anything, we need to leave!"
"Saphron!" Jaune was gripping his hands tightly.
"What's going on?" Terra asked as the two of them dashed into the unit's garage and climbed into a sleek blue car, strapping Adrian into the back before climbing into the front, Terra at the wheel. "Where are we going?"
"Anywhere that's not here," Saphron explained shortly. "I don't know exactly what happened... everything seemed under control, until they hit the switch... all those lights... so much blood..."
"Mommy, look, a butterfly!" Adrian chirped from the back, folding his hands into a butterfly shape, clearly oblivious to the situation.
"Yes, clearly something happened that nobody expected," Blake crossed her arms.
Terra looked ahead. "Shit! The gates are closing-"
"They would be- I think they're calling a lockdown- floor it!"
Terra nodded, and put all her weight onto the gas pedal, forcing the car to go as quickly as it could- there were sparks as the vehicle's top scraped against the lowering arm of the gate. The screeching noise prompted Adrian to put his hands over his ears, letting out a childish scream as the car broke through and tore off down a deserted road.
Saphron reached into her pocket. "My scroll... gotta call Jaune, gotta call Jaune..."
"Is it something that could affect me?" Jaune wondered.
"If this is anything like what it's reminding me of, it's going to affect a lot more than just you," Blake commented grimmly.
"That's our little ray of sunshine!" Nora rolled her eyes.
Terra looked up, looking into the rearview mirror, where she could see the alarms still blaring. An aura of darkness seemed to have taken over the building, a foreboding air that she couldn't shake despite the speed with which they were moving away. "Saphron... what exactly happened back there?"
Saphron glanced at her. "I... I can't say exactly... I'll tell you and Jaune as much as I can... please, Jaune, pick up!"
As the car sped away, the camera slowly panned back to the facility. As it zoomed in, a guitar slowly faded in, playing a riff.
"Time for a musical introduction," Ren commented.
"And I think we're about to see what scared her so much," Weiss guessed.
They did- to an extent. Throughout the facility, the ground was littered with corpses. Every hallway, chamber, living quarter, and mess hall was filled with death- men and women covered with burns or blood- some corpses were missing limbs, or heads, or had been ripped apart entirely. However, perhaps the most haunting corpses of all were those that had no clear cause of death- it was as if they had simply keeled over, their eyes looking up at something only they could see, filled with sheer terror.
As the camera took in the grisly scenes, vocals joined the guitar.
"Aaaaall our times have come...
Heeeeere, but now they're gone...
Seasons don't fear the reaper,
Nor do the wind, the sun or the rain!
We can be like they are!
Come on, baby, don't fear the reaper-
Baby, take my hand!
Don't fear the reaper-
We'll be able to fly!
Don't fear the reaper-
Baby, I'm your man!"
"Dear God..." Weiss gasped, staring at the carnage.
"What could have happened here?" Pyrrha asked, her hands over her mouth.
"I've never... seen anything like this..." Blake whispered.
"E...Echo... c'mere, Echo..." Ruby squeaked. Echo was all too happy to leap up into her lap and provide some comfort by cleaning her nose.
"I've seen nothing like this, since... since..." Ren choked out.
"It's not very pretty." Even Nora didn't have anything witty to say.
And still, the panning kept going.
"Vaaaaaalentine is done...
Heeeeere, but now they're gone...
Romeo and Juliet
Are together in eternity!
(Romeo and Juliet!)
Forty thousand men and women every day-
(Like Romeo and Juliet!)
Forty thousand men and women every day
(Redefine Happiness!)
Another forty thousand coming every day-
We can be like they are!
Come on, baby, don't fear the reaper-
Baby, take my hand!
Don't fear the reaper-
We'll be able to fly!
Don't fear the reaper-
Baby, I'm your man!"
Finally, the camera left the facility and reappeared following a road through a forest, the moon in the sky to indicate time had passed. The song's bridge reached its crescendo as the camera revealed a car that had swerved off the road and crashed into a nearby tree. There seemed to be more to it than that, though- the tires were warped as if exposed to particularly extreme temperatures, and there were marks all over showing that it had been attacked. In the front seat were Terra and Saphron- dead, looks of terror on both their faces. In the backseat, it was clear that Adrian had survived- he was sobbing at the top of his lungs.
"No... not them, too..." Jaune lowered his face into his hands.
Pyrrha pulled him into a comforting hug. "It's not real... not to us, at least. It's another world- your Saphron and Terra are still safe..."
As Adrian continued to sob, a shadow approached the car- the camera panned to show a tall, pale woman, deathly white, with cracks of black across her skin, primarily around her eyes, red as drops of blood. She forced the backdoor open and reached in, undoing the infant's straps and raising him into her arms, cradling him.
"Do not cry, child... you will not die today."
The boy's eyes widened, but he did, indeed stop crying. As she began to rock him, his eyes began to droop.
She turned and set off into the night, singing quietly to him as she continued rocking him into slumber. "Hush, little baby, don't say a word... momma's gonna buy you a mockingbird... and if that mockingbird won't sing, momma's gonna buy you a diamond ring..."
"Salem!" Jaune looked up, grief replaced by anger. "Salem took my nephew!"
"I'm sure we'll end up saving him later!" Ruby declared.
"You can bet your ass I'm not willing to let her have her way, especially if she had anything to do with that clusterfuck!" Yang growled, smashing her knuckles together.
"We'll break her legs!" Nora eagerly declared.
Jaune finally allowed himself a somewhat wan smile. "Yeah... you guys are right..."
He looked up at the screen, and saw that things had shifted quite a bit, now showing an endless, grey corridor. "Er... what did we miss while we were talking?"
"You didn't miss anything," Vanessa assured him. "There was a rather abrupt change."
Indeed, the camera had panned to a gloomy grey corridor- laying upon the floor was a young woman in a black and red skirt, with similarly colored hair. "Ugghh... what happened...?" She slowly opened her eyes, revealing them to be a startling silver as she rubbed her head.
"Oh- it is me!" Ruby blinked in surprise.
"Was she in that mess?!" Yang demanded quickly.
"No... those halls don't look the same as the ones in the facility," Pyrrha shook her head, looking closely.
"Then she was kidnapped!"
"Or maybe we can keep watching and find out," Weiss rolled her eyes.
Ruby slowly got to her feet and looked around- she jumped with an "EEP!" as a large door slammed shut over the hallway before her. A face appeared within the door, glaring sternly at her. "Who is it who seeks to pass into these halls?"
"Huh?" Ruby stammered, clearly taken aback.
"None who conceal their identity are welcome beyond this point."
The face seemed to furrow its brows at her. "Very well. You may pass. Pay close attention to what you see beyond, for it will have great bearing on your future. Freedom or security, subjugation or chaos... they sit on opposite ends of the scale. Step through, and see to it that you do not let one outweigh the other."
The face disappeared, and the doors swung open.
"Okay, new theory," Yang furrowed her own brows. "Rubes ate cookies laced with LSD."
"How many times are we going to brush strange occurrences off as 'LSD?'" Blake rolled her eyes.
"Do you have a better explanation?"
"I think we're seeing a dream."
"I've never had a dream like this before, though," Ruby commented quietly.
Shaking, Ruby stepped through the area the door had just been blocking, looking around the grim corridors, until something else appeared in her path- a tall cross, strapped to which was another young woman with white hair pulled into a sidetail.
"Weiss!" Ruby squeaked. "Who did this to you?"
"I think Blake might be right," Weiss shook her head. "I think you're just dreaming this one."
The voice boomed out again. "This soul is devoted to the protection of all. Call her name, and awaken her to her duty."
An easy task for Ruby, who had known this girl since she was quite young. "Weiss- Weiss, are you okay?"
"Weiss... this is the name she bears?"
"Yes!"
Weiss's eyes creaked open. "Ruby...? Where... are we? There was... there was something I had to do..."
The cross dissolved, and Weiss was lowered to the ground.
"I'm just glad you're okay!" Ruby said emphatically, her eyes shining. "C'mon, let's find our way out of this place!"
Weiss nodded, and the two set off further down the corridor.
"Yay! We're still super besties in this world!" Ruby crowed, pulling Weiss into a hug. She sighed, but allowed it.
A little further on, they stumbled upon another young woman on the ground in a heap. The voice sounded off avgain. "This is a young woman who seeks the power to change the world. Call her name, and she shall awaken."
"Blake!" both girls said at the same time, hurrying to her side.
"Blake too! Now Yang's the only one left until Team RWBY is back together!" Ruby cheered.
"I wonder what Mr. Boom Voice will have to say about me," Yang smirked.
"Imagination springs eternal," Weiss rolled her eyes.
Blake rolled over, her eyes opening. "Ruby? Weiss? What the... where...?"
"We're trying to figure that out ourselves," Weiss admitted.
"Well, no point staying around here, then," Blake decided, pulling herself to her feet. "Let's get going."
A little further on, the corridor at last emptied into a vast cavern, in the center of which was a small pool. A woman was bathing in the pool, her long, red hair falling down her shoulders. She turned around, fixing her green eyes on Ruby. "Ah, it's you," she said, a clear note of derision in her tone.
"Wait- Pyrrha?" Ruby tilted her head. "Pyrrha? Not Yang?"
"I don't think that's it," Jaune shook his head. "She's not asleep like Weiss and Blake were, and she... er... doesn't seem happy to see you."
"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha quickly apologized.
"Know only that it is I that he will join in eternity..."
Before Ruby could understand what she was talking about, the world around her began to fade away.
When it reformed, she was rising from her bed, looking at the light streaming through her window.
"Yup, a dream," Blake nodded. "Quite a strange one at that."
"Urrrgghhh... that's the last time I eat expired cookies," Ruby rubbed at her eyes. She looked down to her scroll- she'd received a text the previous night, but her eyes didn't glance at that, first taking in the clock in the top right corner. "Oh, crap! I'm late! I'm late!"
She leapt to her feet and quickly got dressed before running downstairs and into the kitchen, where a tall woman dressed in white was making a sandwich. "Ah, Ruby, I wondered when you'd be getting up! Don't worry, I've got your lunch all ready-"
"Thanks, Mom!" Ruby nodded, quickly pulling on her red jacket and picking up a brown bag from the counter just as the woman slid the sandwich into it.
Silence fell in the audience. "...Mom..." was all Ruby had to say.
"Oh!" Summer called out, just as Ruby approached the door. "Are you planning on going to the mall after school?"
"Yeah- Weiss, Blake and I are going to see a movie!"
"Well, mind grabbing some coffee while you're out?" Summer asked, producing a ten-lien bill and pressing it into Ruby's hands. "You can use the rest however you like."
"Right- thanks, Mom!"
"I love you," Summer smiled, bending over and kissing her on the forehead.
"I love you too!" Ruby smiled. "Gotta go!" She turned and dashed out onto the sidewalk.
"Are you okay, Ruby?" Weiss asked gently.
"Yeah... yeah, I'm fine."
The camera cut ahead to that day's lunch, as Ruby sat down in the cafeteria and opened her lunch- the sandwich, strawberry juice, and cookies. As she tore into it, Weiss and Blake appeared, both looking a little ragged. Ruby smiled as she looked up at them. "Hey, guys! You look tired."
"I had an odd dream last night," Blake muttered as she took her seat- she had a tray of fish and chips.
"As did I," Weiss agreed, rubbing her eyes with a yawn.
"Oh- oh, oh oh oh! They all had the same dream!" Nora called.
"I believe you may be correct, Nora," Ren nodded.
"So... I guess I'm not around in this world?" Yang asked, sounding rather disappointed.
"I'm... not entirely sure where you are here," Vanessa admitted.
"So... have either of you seen that chain text going around?" Blake asked as she helped herself to her lunch.
"Chain text?" Ruby asked as she polished off her sandwich.
"Oh, yes- everyone was talking about it earlier," Weiss rolled her eyes. "Quite a number of students received it last night."
Ruby produced her scroll and finally looked into the text she'd noticed earlier.
Attention! To you who receive this message, the world has come into grave danger- a threat we have dubbed the creatures of grimm has been unleashed by an experiment at the Black Mesa Research Facility. Attached to this message, you will find a program I have devised- a Grimm Summoning Program that will permit negotiation with these beings- mastering such negotiation is, I believe, the key to survival in the days to come. Please, download this function as soon as possible, and remain safe. -O.
"Grimm?" Jaune asked nervously. "So it's grimm that they unleashed at Black Mesa?"
"Yes, but... not grimm as you know them," Vanessa replied tentatively. "It's... difficult to explain."
"Are they less or more dangerous?" Pyrrha asked sharply.
"It... depends on the type," Vanessa answered- again, slowly. "In general, though... more."
"And Ozpin- I mean, I think we can all agree that text is from old man Oz-" Everyone responded with nods to Yang's hypothesis- "- he says he wrote a program that lets people talk to them?"
"I'd normally dismiss such a notion," Weiss admitted, "but after all we've seen, that seems well within boundaries."
"But will our others believe it...?" Blake pointed out.
"I mean, you and Weiss are already calling it a chain text- it doesn't sound likely," Ren indicated.
"How utterly ridiculous," Weiss scoffed. "I shudder to think of the malware that- Ruby already downloaded it, didn't she?"
"Heheh... oops?" Ruby smiled sheepishly as she looked down at her scroll, where a new app labeled GSP had appeared. "I thought... maybe it was a game or something? One of those viral marketing tricks?"
Weiss sighed heavily. "One of the less ridiculous theories you've come up with, I suppose..."
Blake looked up. "So, tell us, Weiss, how's Johnathan?"
Weiss flushed. "Johnathan? Why should I know?"
Blake smiled that catlike smile of hers. "You think we didn't notice him asking you out the other day?" Her bow twitched, indicating the feline ears beneath.
"I... well, yes, I accepted, but..."
"Johnathan? Who's Johnathan?" Weiss threw her hands up in the air.
"Lucky dog..." Jaune muttered under his breath, drawing a pout from Pyrrha.
"He's your boyfriend in this world. Not much more to it than that," Vanessa answered as she slugged back the remaining beer in her bottle.
"I- wha- does he- huh?!" Weiss flapped her arms.
"To my knowledge, he doesn't exist in your home world," Vanessa answered the question she was struggling to ask.
"Y'know, I don't think I've seen him today," Ruby pondered, sipping from a milk box. "Is he sick or something?"
"I don't know..." Weiss admitted, glancing down. "If he is, I haven't heard anything..."
"I'm sure he's fine," Blake tried to reassure her. "Probably just a cold or something..."
Before she could propose any other theories, a voice came over the intercom. "Attention, students- attention, students! By order of the VPD, all schools in Vale are to close early, effective immediately. You should all return to your homes as soon as is possible. Repeat, by order of the VPD-"
"Uh-oh," Ruby winced. "Something to do with the grimm?"
"Most likely," Weiss nodded.
"We get to go home early?" Ruby asked, eyes shining brightly.
"This... isn't a good thing," Weiss shook her head, looking upwards. "Didn't you hear? 'By order of the VPD...' something's wrong. Perhaps we ought to cancel that movie."
"What?" Ruby pouted. "Come on, we've been planning this all week!"
"Weiss is right," Blake shook her head. "If this is as serious as it sounds, we should get home as quickly as possible."
Ruby's pout grew more pronounced. "Fine... but I gotta stop by the mall anyways! Mom gave me some money for some coffee."
Weiss and Blake exchanged a look of exasperation. "Well, no talking her out of it, I guess," Blake sighed. "She'll do anything for her mom..."
"Indeed. Just try to be careful, okay, you dunce?" Weiss implored.
"Ah, c'mon, when am I not?" Ruby flashed a grin.
"When are you?" Weiss asked, somewhat scathingly. "Need I bring up the Nevermore?"
"I thought we were over that!" Ruby whined.
The second she left the school, Ruby immediately noticed the increased police presence- almost every block of the city was covered in officers who were clearly looking for something- or someone. None of them seemed to pay her much mind, however- she was left to navigate her way through a maze of blockades towards the mall.
"You think they know exactly what's really happening?" Jaune asked.
"Difficult to say," Pyrrha shrugged. "The only way for us to really find out is if Ruby talks to them, and they tell her- and something tells me they're going to be very tight-lipped on what they do and don't know."
"She could flash 'em the old puppy-dog look!" Yang suggested.
"I would hope that wouldn't work on trained police officers conducting a top-secret invest...ig...ation..."
Ruby was pouting at her. "Weiss... can I have Echo for a little?"
Weiss looked down towards the small dog in her lap. "Oh, all... alright..."
"Yay!" Ruby cheered as she relocated the pooch.
When Ruby finally got to her destination, she came in through the entrance closest to the theater, and flashed it a quick pout. Ever since she'd found out the theater would be showing the Rocky Horror Picture Show in honor of Halloween, she'd been determined to drag her friends to see it- but now those plans were dashed.
"The best-laid plans of mice and men oft go awry," Ren commented.
"Oh, don't remind me of that book, it's so sad!" Nora wailed.
Instead, she headed towards her mother's favorite café, located in a food court near the building's center. Even the mall had been mostly drained of inhabitants by whatever announcement had come over the city. The stores and shops were still operating, but customers were thin on the ground.
She was almost to the food court when she spied a young man dashing by into an empty corner, looking very distressed. She paused, then moved after him.
"Oh, you duuuuunce!" Weiss groaned.
"I'd normally approve of playing the good samaritan, but in this situation..." Blake muttered.
He ran into a corner before turning around, his eyes wide, almost crazed. "Are... are you okay?"
He responded by pulling a switchknife from his pocket and unfolding it. "No... get away... get away from me!"
"Eep!" Ruby stepped back, then noticed... he wasn't brandishing the knife at her, exactly.
The true target quickly became clear as what seemed like a toy rushed from behind Ruby- a simple doll, with the appearance of a red-headed infant, but a scar ran down its face as it brandished a knife of its own.
"CHUCKY!" Ruby squealed, quickly burrowing behind her sister. "I didn't sign up for this, I didn't sign up for this!"
"Really?" Weiss snorted. "That movie isn't even scary- half the deaths are from people being morons!"
"Oh?" Yang smirked. "Doth the princess have an affinity for schlocky horror movies?"
Weiss flushed and immediately fell silent.
The boy screamed and fought back with his switchblade, but the doll won out, cutting his throat before turning on Ruby with a wide, twisted grin.
"Is this what you meant by grimm being different? A haunted doll is a grimm?" Pyrrha asked.
"One category, yes," Vanessa nodded. "But there are plenty others."
Ruby fell back onto her butt, feeling around in her pockets for anything to defend herself- there was only her scroll. She rolled out of the way of the creature's first strike, reaching out and grabbing the switchblade. She leapt to her feet to find herself in the corner the man had just been in.
She brandished the knife, hoping to scare the thing away, but, of course, it was no more frightened of her than it had been of the other man. It loped forward, licking its lips, savoring the hunt...
"Stand back!"
Ruby jumped- the voice was coming from her scroll, synced with the sound of a hiss from nearby. She looked frantically around, and spied a new oddity- a large, purple cat, standing on its hind legs, its yellow eyes narrowed at the living doll. It wore a Spanish-looking hat, its hind legs in long boots, a cape at its back- and in its front paw, a rapier.
"Uuuuhhhh..." Yang stared.
"A faunus?" Pyrrha asked.
"I have never- not once- seen a faunus with that many animal traits," Blake shook her head.
"Another grimm, then?" Nora asked.
"Really, now- have you ever seen a grimm like-" Weiss faltered when she saw Vanessa nodding. "Really?"
"I'm telling you, grimm come in all shapes and sizes in this world," Vanessa emphasized. "If you're thrown off now, I'm looking forward to your reaction when things get really weird."
The cat stood between Ruby and the doll, aiming its sword at the latter. It let out a series of hisses and growls- through her scroll, Ruby heard words. "Attacking an unarmed lady... how unbecoming. Stand down!"
"I never imagined a cat's voice to be so... deep," Pyrrha blinked.
"What exactly did you imagine a cat's voice would sound like?" Blake asked drily.
The doll did not stand down, instead lunging forward with its knife- the cat twirled its rapier, and within a second, the doll had been rent to pieces. "How barbaric," sniffed the voice from Ruby's scroll. The cat then turned to her. "It's quite a dangerous time to go alone, Miss. Not all grimm are as pleasant as I am. Perhaps you need an escort? My name is Cait Sith, of the Fae Race- what say we form a contract?"
XXXX
I always have a hard time determining where to end some episodes- it's more apparent in some than in others, I'd imagine. Apologies if this episode seems a bit short for the source material, but we've got more coming your way! Next episode, I intend to visit a previous universe that will provide suitable spoops- which one? As ever, it's time for a poll, which should be up on the profile as we speak! Five choices, and I'll give you three votes this time. You have until Saturday night to cast your votes, then we'll get started on that episode, in the hopes that I'll have time for the Halloween extravaganza I have planned for this year- the Salad Faunus. Please note that this grand finale to this year's Halloween thon will be rather more grotesque than usual, but I think there's some fun to be had with it. So, go vote in the newest poll, and until then, don't you dare go hollow! Gamer4 out.