27 (shortly after the ending of the Feast of Fools)

[takethat]

[Staring at the empty door, sans nameplate, Phoenix can feel his throat burning with the effort not to cry.

Someone, some ethereal shadow of a memory, had once told him that the only time a lawyer can cry is when it's all over. Now, defeated, he stands there with tears leaking from his eyes anyway. He'd taken Maya's presence for granted, just assuming that since she'd been such a staple of the castle when he arrived, she would always be there.

He stands for a long time, silent and heartbroken, before leaning heavily against her door and clumsily thumbing open the journal.

These kinds of announcements never get easier--especially not when they're about one of his closest friends in the world.]

For... for those who knew her... Maya Fey went home.

[What else can he say? He will be leaning on the door there in the hallway for a while yet, tumbling into silent thought.

After some time, he writes a filter in the journal.]


[Trucy Wright]

Trucy--I want to talk to you. I can tell you've been avoiding telling me a few things I would really like to know.

Comments

[wheatdos]

[His voice seemed less directed towards Phoenix... as if he had dictated before he could think of the proper response.]

O-oh no...


...


...

[And in a voice uncharacteristically small for such a bumbling idiot... he murmured..]

A-are you sure?

[takethat]

[Wheatley's voice startles him out of his reverie.]

...I'm sure.

[His own voice is strained, though he tries to keep it in check for Wheatley's sake.]

And I'm... sorry.

[wheatdos]

I...
I-I... It's okay. Isn't your fault, You-you didn't do anything. You... you didn't... you didn't make her leave or anything like that.

...

Y-you know what? I'm sure she's happy. She-she wanted... she wanted to leave, you know. Always did. She did. that's... that's why we made the uh... the... that's why we became partners anyway. So we can find a way out. That's what it was all about. That's what it was always about. Wouldn't be right to... to...

[There's something strange about the way he's rambling, because the moment he trails off, Nick might hear a noise that seemed very uncharacteristic. A sniffle. A choke. A deep inhale.]

...to want her here. Wouldn't be right to keep her against her will. Wo-wouldn't be right.
She... she's free and happy now.

...

...And I'll never see her again.

...

...

Oh god I'm leaking.

[takethat]

[At Wheatley's outburst, Phoenix, too, coughs out a small, soft sob, pulling in a shaky breath immediately thereafter.]

It's okay, Wheats--it's okay, I'm leaking, too.

[He tries to still his breathing, but somehow, Wheatley's openness with his emotions is giving Phoenix some silent permission to do the same, and he can't quite manage to stop crying now that he's started.]

You're right, she... she really wanted to go home. More than anybody else I've met here. She's probably happy to go back to Kurain.

1/3?

[magicalwright]

[ She's sat in her room when his message appears. With a soft sigh, she begins to speak, to comfort him about Maya's disappearance.


... ]

[magicalwright]

[ And then the filter appears.

Oh. She knew she hadn't been the best at hiding anything, maybe she hadn't even really tried but this was not a conversation she wanted to have. Not with Maya gone, not with him already upset.

They were not doing this today. ]

done! (written!)

[magicalwright]

[ So she casually ignores that filter, before writing back to him. ]

I'm sorry about Maya, Daddy. :(( At least she's back home now?

[ Writing means he can't hear the tension in her voice. Magician's trick. ]

written

[takethat]

[Their reasons are similar--he's writing to avoid having her notice he's been crying.]

I bet she's happy to be with Pearls again.

[He'd been expecting her to dodge the question again, so he doesn't waste any time in adding to that.]

I want to know how you ended up a part of my life, Trucy. Please tell me.

written 1/2

[magicalwright]

Who's Pearls?

voice

[magicalwright]

Now probably isn't a good time, Daddy. Besides, you should do something fun to get your mind off everything!

Or you could do something in honour of her!

[sawadeertoday]

[ She's been holed up in her room, not wanting to do anything after the terrors of being trapped in such a strange Mirror world... but she hears that dictation from her journal.

Her voice sounds oddly flat. As though she's trying to keep it that way. ]

Maya left...?

[ She clears her throat, hesitating. And her voice comes out a bit softer. ]

She was a rather amiable human.

If you want to talk, I'm in my room.

[ Strange. GLaDOS frowns... she hasn't kept in close contact with the girl lately, but she remembers how present the girl was throughout her stay. And how she had decided to help her, before she even became slightly cordial... and how they had eaten together... and how she had accompanied her on the rooftop that one time...

Why was everything coming to mind now? Either way, she was going to say more, but she stopped herself, clearing her throat instead. ]

[takethat]

Okay.

[In his current state of mind, that's all it takes to get him on his feet and moving toward GLaDOS's room. How she can help him, he really doesn't know, but a friendly face will be much appreciated right now--and he has a hunch she might need someone, too.

He should be arriving within a few minutes.]

[sawadeertoday]

[ She waits by the door, unsure of why she's so... suddenly lethargic. And as soon as he would knock or anything, she would open the door, standing there, hesitant. Why did she invite him here? She wasn't sure. ]

Um... Come on in.

[theabjectauthor]

A friend of yours, Mr. Wright? .... I'm sorry....

[takethat]

Yeah.

...one of my closest friends, from back home.

[theabjectauthor]

[he stops to think how lost he'd be without Violet here, without his touchstone to home - without knowing she's here, and safe. when he speaks again, he sounds ... well okay, there's no roundabout way to say it. the adult man is crying. yep]

I'm so sorry ... I can't even imagine how horrible you must feel, right now ...

dictated;

[likethetragedy]

Thank you for letting us know.

dictated

[takethat]

No problem.

Just sorry I had to bear this kind of news.

dictated

[likethetragedy]

No one wants to. It's a necessary evil.

dictated;

[gottaknockhard]

[Surprisingly, that bit of news manages to get a reaction out of Spike. (It's like he has feelings...) But Maya was the first person to welcome him to Paradisa, so. Makes the end seem a little nearer.]

Huh.

dictated

[takethat]

[Phoenix isn't even sure from whom the "huh" came, but he's not letting anyone go unanswered if they're missing Maya as much as he is.]

...you knew Maya, too?

dictated

[gottaknockhard]

[Who he is isn't important. Just one of those weird guys Maya hung out with.]

She'd been around a long time.

[silentrunning]

[Chell had been wandering along the hallway when Nick's message came through the journal. She'd known Maya. Only briefly...but known nonetheless. And it breaks her heart, just a little too. But not as much as it does Nick's.

Thumbing open her journal, she writes a message.]

Where are you?

[takethat]

[He's beginning to recognize that handwriting.]

I'm... just outside her room.

[He winces when he says it, knowing how ridiculous he sounds right now.]

[silentrunning]

[Chell has never been to Maya's room. So she doesn't know where it is. Quickly she writes back.]

Where is that? I will come stay with you?

[Don't mind her. She'll be combing the halls searching for you, Nick.]