Marco's Heart

[peccatore]

You find yourself in a bright white, circular room. It's nearly empty; too bare, almost clinically so. But the bareness of it means that what is visible here stands out:

A podium in the center, where a familiar figure sits, head buried in his hands. Three paths running from the podium to three different spots near the edges of the room - not corners; circles don't have corners - where three doors leading seemingly nowhere stand with no regard for their complete lack of structural support.

It doesn't take you long to figure out where you are, does it? You only have to decide where to start.

Comments

[peccatore]

It doesn't seem like Agnes is here - if she were, she'd surely be dwarfed in the sea of journalists. Intrigued whispers surround Mal; nobody seems quite sure why they're here. An announcement, Marco Evangelisti had said. Nothing related to current or upcoming products; what is it for, then? Apparently, he'd been vague.

But he's stepping up to the podium now, with a perfectly diplomatic smile on his lips and something distant in his eyes.

"Thank you." That's how he opens. "Thank you all for coming, on this... very important, very non-standard day. Thank you for the trust you have placed in me. I hope I may continue to rely on your trust in the coming days. I expect them to be... unprecedented. Unprecedented, I think, is the word."

[queenamongrooks]

[Mal weaves her way through the journalists to get a closer position to Marco. She's examining Marco intensely, there's something troubling him clearly, but without a guide, she's a little lost as to what could be going through his head in the moment.]

[peccatore]

After a pause, he continues.

"But that is probably enough beating around the bush. You didn't come here to listen to a rich man say nothing of consequence. I'm sure you get enough of that in your job." His smile is a convincing facsimile, from a distance. It may not fool Mal. "My announcement is as follows:"

The room is utterly silent, awaiting Marco's words.

"From today on, I, Marco Evangelisti, vow to make the public aware of a threat that has menaced mankind since its inception. For centuries, all manners of inhuman creatures with supernatural abilities have lived among us in secret, and they pose a danger to us all."

[queenamongrooks]

[Mal goes pale, her jaw slack as she listens to the announcement.]

Marco... you couldn't truly believe that...

[peccatore]

Already, this memory is blurring at the edges even as the journalists begin asking questions - hesitantly at first, then slowly but surely fighting to be heard over one another - but Marco does look at Mal, beyond apologetic.

"... It's... complicated."

[queenamongrooks]

[Her brows furrow as the memory starts to dissolve around her.]

I hope you realize you'll have to answer for this one, Marco.

[peccatore]

"... I know. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

And when this memory is gone, Mal will find herself back in the main room, with only one door left to explore.