Last night wasn't the first time Michael's come looking for you, was it?
Tippi
You haven't been in Wrankwood for long, and you're certainly not the type who would have meddled with something so far outside the scope your duties, if he hadn't been pestering you.
Moira
......
Moira
He came to me the day after Dalton died and I took over the prop team.
Moira
He wanted to leave without going through the normal process, and without anyone noticing.
Tippi
Without, like, telling Miss Stone or going through the contract cancellation and exit procedures?
Tippi
But he's the lead actor. Someone was bound to find out, and he'd have to pay the contract penalty anyway.
Moira
Unless... something here scared him more than paying the penalty.
Moira
He said since the prop team had access to all the tools and was familiar with the structure of the plate, he wondered if I could...
Tippi
If you could think of a way.
Moira
Yeah.
Tippi
I mean, I'm sure you could, but Michael's not done with his scenes yet. If he really got away and Miss Stone found out you helped him... she wouldn't let you off the hook easy.
Tippi
She could even end your career in Wrankwood!
Tippi
What would your sister think?
Moira
My sister...
Tippi
Didn't you say the rest of your family was against you coming to Wrankwood, and she's the only one who cheered you on?
Tippi
You have to make it, and not just to prove your family wrong.
Moira
I just don't want to disappoint my sister. I want her to be happy for me.
Moira
S-So don't be mad, Tippi...
Moira
Please?
Tippi
I'm just mad that you were hiding stuff from me.
Tippi
I know you'd never agree to Michael's demands. You just didn't know how to refuse him... I can help with that.
Yeah, babe. After we spend some quality time here, we can go and pack up right away.
Marion
Even if that prop girl really does find a way for you to circumvent the exit procedures... how do you expect to avoid the penalty for breaching your contract?
Marion
Shooting isn't over yet, and you know Greta. She'll make you pay an arm and a leg!
Michael
Who cares about some stupid contract when there's a killer on the loose?!
Michael
Dalton's dead, Shelly's dead... how long do you think it'll be before you and I are next?
Michael
We both watched and did nothing when Laura died five years ago.
Michael
Whether the killer is her lover, her dad, or some self-righteous vigilante, he's clearly after everyone who was involved!
Michael
He wants us to repent and pay for what we did!
Michael
I can take you away from this awful place, babe. We have our whole future ahead of us.
Marion
Ha, how romantic of you.
Marion
But since when has your love been so deep?
Michael
What?
Marion
So even when you were winking at Melanie, and flirting with Anna from stage design and Mila from logistics...
Marion
You're telling me you were seriously thinking about spending the rest of your life with me?
Michael
D-Does that matter right now?
Marion
Of course it does—I'm not going, Michael.
Marion
And neither are you.
Michael
......
Marion
You know how hard it was to get you a lead role in one of Greta's films? And not just one, but three at once!
Marion
Play this right, and you'll be a bona fide Wrankwood movie star!
Michael
There'll be another chance...
Marion
Look at me, Michael.
Marion
Your costume in The Death of Lady Dupont is even more exquisite and eye-catching than Melanie's, the title character.
Marion
Your perfume, what you wore to fashion week—I bought all of that with my own money. Even those fake ears and tail that let you pass as a Vulpo came from me...
Marion
Without me, the public will find out that this 'Michael' product suddenly doesn't seem so shiny anymore.
Marion
We've been together for five years. I gave up everything for you. I've spent so much of my savings, and I'm not getting any younger... I can't afford to wait for 'another chance'.
Marion
I love you, Michael. So don't let me down.
Michael
You... love me?
Michael
You were glad when Melanie publicly revealed our relationship the day Dalton died, weren't you?
Michael
To everyone else, I'm the troublemaking playboy, while you're the poor, suffering girlfriend who gave everything only to get nothing in return but mockery.
Michael
How very sympathetic, huh?
Marion
And what part of that is a lie?
Michael
You said it yourself: you're just investing in a product. Investment costs money.
Michael
You'd have invested in Dalton instead, wouldn't you, if he hadn't become a hopeless drunk?
Michael
You're just a parasite looking for a host, Marion.
Michael
This is stupid... And I'm stupid too.
Marion
......
Michael
Well, I guess that's it for us. You can stay if you want—I'm outta here.
Michael
Oh, and here's a tip: if you're looking for your next investment, try that pretty boy Lucian. He caught the entire crew's attention his first time in front of a camera. He's the real deal.
Marion
The moment you walk out of here, I'm reporting you to Greta.
Michael
You cold-hearted lunatic. Are you not afraid of the killer?
Marion
And why should I be?
Marion
Five years ago, I didn't even know why Laura fell to her death until later.
Marion
You're the one who watched and did nothing, not me.
Michael
You...
Michael
—
Marion
What are you looking at, Michael?
Rage overcomes the 'Vulpo' like a tidal wave. He sees a fire axe in a corner of the makeup room and clenches his fists.
Why would they go down into the power deck?! Sure, there were mannequins all over the surface, but there had to have been a better plan, right Molly?
Moira
I agree.
Moira
There's nowhere to run from the Wraith in the tight spaces of a nomadic city's underground structure.
Moira
In the end, it found them one by one and hung them from the ducts to await a slow death in the endless darkness...
Tippi
I went to one of the cast's interviews, and they said it was inspired by the rituals of certain Columbian wasteland tribes. Something about atonement and judgment...
Tippi
Well, how they got there was kinda dumb, but I did like the segment in the power deck.
Moira
Why?
Tippi
Because it was all shot on location!
Tippi
Rumor has it that they ran out of cash, so they snuck into another film's studio plate and finished the shooting there... Exciting, right?
Moira
Wait... but I've seen this movie in theaters. Why don't I remember any of these scenes?
Tippi
Because we're watching a copy of the original reel that was sent to the ratings agencies!
Moira
How did you even get your hands on something like that?
Tippi
I...
Tippi
It's, like, a basic skill for a true horror fan!
Moira
You're hiding something, Tippi...
Moira
You know so much about the industry and all the ins-and-outs of Wrankwood. How does a background painter get so much insider knowledge?
Tippi
How can you do this to me, Molly?!
Tippi
I share my super-secret treasure with you, hoping to make you happy, and all I get is an interrogation? *Sob*...
Moira
Aw, don't cry, I won't ask anymore, alright?
Tippi
Let's just focus on the movie... so stop looking away from the screen!
Moira
Heh, you noticed.
Moira
Sorry, there's just been so much going on with the film crew lately, I'm... I'm a little nervous...
No matter who I am, one thing's for sure: I'm your best friend on this crew.
Tippi
So if there's a killer on the loose, I'll protect you!
Tippi
And if work's not going well, we can do it together. We'll make our names as Wrankwood's golden horror duo, Tippi the spray-painter and Moira the prop-maker!
Tippi
And when we're really close, I'll take you to meet my family... Although I don't know if you'll be scared or surprised!
Moira
Well...
Moira
Then I'll introduce you to my sister too!
Moira
We'll share stories of Wrankwood while she peels us apples. She can peel one without breaking the skin in under half a minute! I know you'll love her!
Tippi
Now there's an offer I can't refuse!
The old TV lights up both the darkened room and their faces. Terrifying sounds echo throughout, but take nothing away from their smiles.
They cuddle up against one another, fighting their fear with a much more familiar 'fear', and dreaming of the future of their budding friendship.
*Sigh* I should've asked Moira. She's always here early, and she knows where all the switches are.
Unlucky Stagehand
The prop room isn't that far, is it? Have I been going around in circles? ...Something doesn't seem right.
Unlucky Stagehand
Huh? Am I hearing things?
The sound of water dripping echoes through the empty set as though answering Hautin's question, but such 'response' serves only to increase her confusion and fear.
She knows there are no water pipes above her, but the sound she is hearing is definitely coming from nearby.
Unlucky Stagehand
Wh-Who's there?!
Unlucky Stagehand
Is this another one of those stupid pranks you'll laugh at me over drinks after work for?
Unlucky Stagehand
C-Come out now and I won't hold it against you! Or don't tell me Moira's in on it too? She's just a kid, how could you make her—
Hautin falls backwards to the ground. Only then does she realize that she is wearing a flashlight on her belt. But she barely has time to laugh at herself before she smells a strong, sweet scent accompanied by a tang of iron.
Frightened, she stands up and turns on her flashlight—
A breeze sways the ropes. Hanging down from them are two familiar and strangely quiet figures.
The two lovers, Michael and Marion, subject of much of the crew's gossip, have met their deaths with their backs against each other.
Through the faint light, Hautin sees their faces, their expressions, the way they sway through the air, and the dancing specks of dust...
It is indescribably eerie, and somehow... sacred.
She remembers what Tippi said when she joined one of her movie sessions...
In the rituals of certain Columbian wasteland tribes, hanging represents both judgment of the dead, and a warning for the living.
Until the scorching sun cracks their corpses open, until all believe they deserved their punishment, until the ropes can no longer bear the weight of their sin—
Thump.
Unlucky Stagehand
H-Help! Somebody! Anybody!
The unlucky stagehand runs outside. As she does, a thought flashes through her mind—
