>[DAY 13 CONTINUED]

"Do you want i-it, Lottie?" Gil is sizing you up. "I-i-it looks like you want it."

"Er..." Yes, you do want it, but it feels uncouth to say so.

"I-I think you should take it. I-I-I just did gruntwork, really. Um, not that Claudia wasn't helpful, but..."

"Whatever," Claudia says, put-out.

What, did she want the trophy? You definitely did more than she did. You already apologized for blowing her up, so she doesn't need anything more than that, right? You wind a bit of tinsel around your finger. "Well, um, maybe we can talk to the freak— I mean, the guy who made it, and he can make us more trophies. Better trophies? Maybe you can get one that plays a song, Claudia?"

"Whatever," she says again.

"Um, okay. I guess it's settled, then."

>Acquired: Trophy of Ultimate Victory

—————————

>[NIGHT 13 CONTINUED]

"...You look better," you say. Wait. No. That's not right. "I mean, you seem, um... you're walking okay, and..."

Arledge appraises you. "I seem like I didn't break every bone in my body."

"...Yes?"

"I'm feeling better now, yes."

Okay. He's determined to make this as awkward as possible. Maybe you deserve that. "That's— that's good. I'm sorry I— I'm sorry all your bones were broken. By me."

"By your worm, actually."

"By me. Because I was controlling the worm, right? That's what Gil said. I can't remember." You were hoping it'd come back alongside the other things you did wrong, but you guess you weren't conscious at all. "Um, it wasn't really me, though."

"So I heard."

"I don't normally try to murder people with worms. I— I'm not evil. I rescued Madrigal from her kidnapping, actually— after you left— she's completely fine— and I blew up Headspace! Didn't I? Gil? I blew it up, right?"

Gil nods helpfully.

"See? And that probably saved the lives of— of thousands, didn't it? The locitis victims, and all the poor employees being experimented on, and—" You won't mention that you melted them. Even if they're fine now. He doesn't need to get the wrong idea. "Yeah. I'm actually very heroic, normally."

"Mm." Arledge rests his face on two fingers. "I don't think I know what Headspace is."

"You don't..." God! He hasn't been involved in any of it, has he? He's been off doing... whatever he does... wherever he lives. Pagan stuff. Something. "Um, okay. Do you know who Ellery is? It's okay if not."

Arledge's eyebrows go way up. "Yes."

"You do?" It was a long shot— you knew he used to live at camp a long time ago, that's all— but of course Ellery would be running around with pagan types. "Okay! Great! So, a year ago, Ellery was..."

You explain the whole thing: Headspace, Casey, the E.Z.-MANSE, locitis, Management, Real Ellery, Fake Ellery, mind exile, the assassination missions, blah blah blah blah blah. Arledge's eyebrows remain up, but he's not a very good audience otherwise— he doesn't gasp or anything. When you pause for commentary on the Ellery situation, his lips turn up at the corners. "Sounds about right."

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