[Locked to cognicat] Froggy Mystery

[wicked_plan]

 Ren finds that he's slowly getting settled in his new situation.

He's developed somewhat of a routine; some days, Frog or Trickster (there's a girl version of him!) mans the counter at Leblanc, other days, he does. When he doesn't, he'll go find something to do or someone to hang out with; Akechi has been his main choice, of course, but he's found many of the residents here, versions of himself included, fun enough to talk to. If all else fails, there's always the Metaverse, and he can blow off some steam fighting Shadows.

(With their fight against Joker and Crow coming up, Ren has to keep himself sharp, after all.)

His barely established routine seems to be falling apart already, though. Usually, today'd be a day that Frog mans the counter, but, as he has been since yesterday, he's nowhere to be found. 

Who he does find when he comes downstairs, however, is the Morgana that resides here, sitting on the counter (God, Boss would hate that, but he isn't here, so). Ren likes Morgana; even if he's not his own Morgana, the differences are minute enough that it almost feels like talking to his own. It doesn't quite soothe the ache of absence, but it's nice to have him around, and he can tell Morgana feels similarly.

Today, however, something's off. Even in his cat form, Ren can instantly tell the worried edge in his body language and face. Ren had a feeling, but it really looks like there's trouble brewing of sorts.

"Morgana?" Ren says, sitting down on one of the stools near the not-cat. "Frog's not here today either, huh..."

Comments

[cognicat]

Mona perks as soon as he sees Ren, ears and tail lifting in the most telling way. But then he droops again, looking at Frog's empty spot. "No. I still haven't been able to find him."

For all his waiting, all his pawing the streets, and all his roaming the Metaverse as only he can, he hasn't found hide nor hair of the strange Akechi who's always had time for him.

"I haven't been able to find his Ren, either. Maybe they were both sent home." His tail droops even further, off the edge of the counter.

[wicked_plan]

Oh... that can happen? Ren sighs.

"Just like that..? That's really sudden," he says, leaning on the counter. "Not even a goodbye."

Which is a very Akechi thing to do, mind. But... from what little they've talked, Frog didn't seem the type.

"Does that happen often here? People just leaving without a word?"

[cognicat]

"It's happened a few times, yeah. A few people have just vanished without a word." The two vampires who were there at the start, and that Maruki who showed up just briefly before disappearing. There could be others, too, that Mona never met. How would be know?

A little shiver goes through him, making his fur stand up. "Yesterday, I thought he'd just got carried away. You know, like they do. He doesn't always come home." Joker may, in fact, not know, but can probably extrapolate. "But he always comes back in the day at some point, you know. This—this is his place."

Such a weird thing to admit, after all this time. But Leblanc is Frog's place, just as much as it's Joker's. And he put so much love into keeping it alive, more than Mona had thought Akechi could have in him.

[wicked_plan]

Ren does not, in fact, know. But, he can guess, from the way Mona says it.

"... He cared a lot for Leblanc," Ren agrees. Even if they didn't know each other for very long, that much was clear. As much as Ren feels like Leblanc is his home, it felt a little intrusive, with the way Frog had clearly kept this version of it alive.

So weird. But, at the same time, it worked. Ren had looked forward to getting to know Frog better.

He wonders... "Do you think we can ask Igor or Lavenza about it?" Igor runs this place, after all, and while he hasn't seen her, something tells him Lavenza must be around, too.

[cognicat]

"We could!" Mona's ears prick forward again. "But I don't know if they'll tell us much. I have a feeling they want us to find out for ourselves. Like it's part of the point of us being here."

Morgana is, of course, an attendant, and so his "feelings" about Igor and the other attendants carry rather more weight than most. It doesn't occur to him to say that if Frog and his Ren have gone back, somebody could text them; he doesn't know.

[wicked_plan]

"Hmm..."

Leaving Leblanc unmanned feels wrong, but it seems there's a mystery afoot here. Ren trusts Morgana's intuition when it comes to the Velvet Room- that, and he's quite familiar with their vagueness about... literally everything. So! Time to investigate.

He gets up, and slings his bag over his shoulder, angling it so Morgana can jump in, if he wants.

"No time like the present," he says, "let's find out what happened, then."

[cognicat]

Just for a second, he pulls back, the words I'm not your Morgana! dancing on the tip of his tongue. Then—he jumps in, making himself comfortable. Life's too short to be standoffish, it turns out, and besides that, hope has filled him up from the points of his ears to the tip of his tail.

He leans up on Joker's shoulder, the way he used to. For a moment, despite everything, he feels harrowingly lonely. "You know, Frog never asked me to get in his bag. I mean, not that I would have said yes. That's probably why he didn't. I was surprised he even had a bag."

[wicked_plan]

He notes the moment of hesitation, but a small smile plays on his face as Morgana ends up getting into the bag, anyway. Honestly, it was more habit than anything, but he's glad. It almost feels like home.

Almost. But not quite.

"It's not a very Akechi thing to do, is it?" he hums, "but Frog's different from the ones we're used to."

Morgana's and his own, that is. The idea of Akechi willingly carrying Morgana in a bag... hah, no way.

[cognicat]

It does feel like home. Maybe that's why Mona would never do it before. As for the idea of Akechi carrying him in a bag, the real Akechi, never mind Frog....

"He wasn't so bad," he says, in a soft, wistful undertone as they head out of the door. "I couldn't forgive him for what he did. I wouldn't. But it's like Lady Ann said. He was a victim we couldn't save."

[wicked_plan]

Ren hums. He knows how Morgana feels about Akechi, and... he's not wrong to feel that way. There are things Ren hasn't forgiven Akechi for, either. He won't look past what he did to Haru and Futaba's parents, and the less said about the interrogation room, the better.

But... he'd rather have Akechi in his life than not. Maybe that makes him stupid, and callous for enjoying the company of his friends parents' murderer, but he can't help the way he feels. He likes having Akechi in his life. He likes the challenge, the thrill, the banter and the glimpses of the mask slipping, and-

"... He's choosing his own path now," Ren says, after a moment. "A better one." Ren hopes, at least.

[cognicat]

Mona hums sadly in his ear, not hearing quite what Ren meant. "Isn't that kind of spiritual for you? Oh, I mean, not that I really know you or anything..."

[wicked_plan]

"Huh?"

Ren tilts his head towards Morgana, a little confused, until he realizes... oh!

"No- no, not like that," he chuckles. "Akechi's- I meant that literally. Karasu's my Akechi, and he's alive."

He breathes out. It still feels weird, but he's glad.

"He's... alive."

[cognicat]

And Mona forgets to breathe, up on his shoulder. Akechi is alive. Akechi is alive? What does that even mean? Is Joker even safe, he wonders, mood turning on a dime.

"You mean... you mean you went through Maruki's Palace, and came out of his reality, and Akechi was still alive?" How is that even possible? Maruki had been so sure.

[wicked_plan]

Uh-oh. That didn't land well.

"... Not quite like that," Ren sighs, "I mean, yes to the first two, but... I really thought he was dead. It just... turns out he wasn't. I only found out when I got here."

He's still really pissed about that, by the way.

[cognicat]

A low, almost paternal growl in Ren's ear. "You mean he just let you think he was dead? After everything you went through?"

Wait, he remembers belatedly, again, this isn't his Joker. But still.

[wicked_plan]

"Yup," Ren huffs, popping the p. "Trust me, I'm not happy about it either. He had his reasons, but just..."

Ren sighs.

"Not even a text. Nothing. I had to find out from being transported here, and receiving an accidental text."

[cognicat]

"I would have thought better of him." Despite all the murder and betrayal, yes. "Maybe that doesn't make sense, but... he really seemed to care about Joker, somehow. Even if he couldn't show it."

He glares up at the Velvet Room door. "Joker thinks he's still alive."

[wicked_plan]

Ren sighs.

"Mine certainly thought he was doing it because he cared, but..." he trails off. "I don't know. I thought we were past this."

It still rankles, and even if they talked about it... it still makes Ren's stomach turn.

"... and he might be. Your Joker's, I mean." Ren also looks at the Velvet Room door, face a careful neutral. "If he's anything like mine."

[cognicat]

Mona deflates on his shoulder again. "I thought he just couldn't face it, you know. That he'd do anything to keep believing. And then I thought, maybe it's the bond. Maybe, if Akechi was dead, he'd know."

He makes another hollow little sound. "I wanted to lend him my tail so he could drag it along the floor. That's how bad he was sometimes."

[wicked_plan]

Ren lets out a chuckle at that.

"I can imagine." He's pretty sure Mona- his Mona, wanted to do the same thing, sometimes.

Can you blame him for grieving someone he thought dead, though? Sure, he'd hoped, but... when there was no sign of Akechi by the time he went home...

"Well... nevermind." He pushes the door to the Velvet Room open. "We should figure out where Frog went, and what happened."

First order of business... asking Igor for any morsel of information he's willing to share. Ren doesn't think it'll be much, but it might be a starting point.

[cognicat]

They should! Mona shakes himself out of his despair, standing up on Joker's shoulder. They will confront Igor, they will get answers, they will fight and they will win.

Igor stares right at them as they step inside, as if he already knows why they're there. That's not usual; Mona scowls. "Welcome to my Velvet Room," he says. That's not usual, either.

"Uh, hi, Igor," Mona attempts. He's always a little uncertain around Igor, despite his instinctive affection, because what even are they to each other? Creator, father? Mona sure doesn't know, especially after the whole imprisoning-people-in-the-Velvet Room of it. But Igor smiles.

"Greetings, Morgana," he says, looking between Mona and Joker as if something pleases him greatly, which, come to think of it, is how he looks at everything. "I believe you have a question for me."

[wicked_plan]

No matter how many times he sees it, something about Igor's smile remains deeply disturbing. You'd think Ren'd be used to his unnatural proportions by now, but... still creepy. Than again, the Igor he'd been working with for the most part was an imposter. The higher pitched voice is still jarring.

He exhales, and gets to the point.

"Igor," he says in greeting, "we're looking into what happened to Frog. Do you know anything?"

[cognicat]

"He is here," replies Igor, with that startlingly high-pitched voice. "Altered, but still here."

"Altered?" asks Morgana, ears going back. "What do you mean, altered? But, wait, that's not what we really want to know. Is he safe?"

Because if Frog was made a child, suddenly, he could be anywhere. He could be lost in the city. And that's without going into all the other things changed could mean.

[wicked_plan]

Ren, for his part, is rather worried about that answer. His expression is grim; he doesn't like this at all.

"Tell us," Ren demands, "please."

"He is not in any direct danger," Igor answers, still grinning. "The rest... is up to you."

And just like that, Igor goes silent again. Ren sighs. He doesn't know what else he expected.

"... Thanks Igor," he says. "Can you at least tell us what door we should take?"

Igor, predictably, does not answer.

"... Right." He turns around, and eyes the doors. Which one to take?