Episode 5

*Talk Page*

Maelstrom Round 2!

The storm is trashing the city, and Pezci gets caught in a net ripped loose by the currents. After a moment or two of deliberation, Scypho and the Mirror free her. While she's flustered, he grabs her wrist and drags her away to safety. The Key lights up, reminding them of her situation. Scypho asks what's next, and she says she doesn't know, now that the Light Tower had fallen. Scypho figures out that she didn't know the Light Tower is halfway around the world. While she carries on about her failures, he notices Madam Louv and her bodyguards, and he boggles, expressing his disgust with her surviving the storm.

## Cast of Characters

* Pezci
* Scypho
* Mirror
* Madam Louv
* Madam's bodyguards

## Synopsis

The sounds of destruction echo through the streets as Pezci tries escaping from the city, staying just ahead of the killer maelstrom. With Scypho trailing not too far behind her, Pezci tells herself she's gotta outswim this, knowing she'd done it before. She continues her monologue as she races along, saying she'd really thought the storm was way behind her last time. The stress is telling as she questions why this is happening to her, and holding her head, she thinks she just can't handle all this.

Nearby, a fishnet awning stretched across a pair of beams is creaking under the strain of the turbulent water. With a final loud crack, one side of the net breaks loose, and it gets caught up in the current. Distracted by her thoughts, Pezci isn't paying attention, and when she finally looks up she sees the net rippling right in front of her. Too late to stop and caught up in the current, she becomes entangled and starts flailing about in a panic. She cries out, tugging uselessly at the mesh, and she moans as she manages to get completely snarled up in the netting.

Scypho is swimming away from the maelstrom with a grim determination, when he hears Pezci's panicked screaming. He turns to see her trapped in the net and struggling to get free. He clearly gives thought to whether or not he'll help her, then he huffs a deep sigh. Meanwhile, Pezci is losing hope, crying out in her frustration. She stops fighting the net, watching wide-eyed when she sees Scypho approaching. With a grim expression, he reaches back and takes ahold of the Mirror by the haft, releasing the catch on the carry strap at the same time. He takes a firm grip on the Mirror's staff, and seeming to understand his need, a scythe's curved blade springs from the mirrored surface with a *Shinggg.*

Believing he intends to kill her, she begs him to spare her, apologizing for screaming in his ears before. Pleading for her life, she turns away in dread. The sound of the scythe cutting through the water silences her, and she is surprised to discover that, instead of killing her he's freed her from the netting. The Mirror shows off a Red Cross symbol as Scypho slings it back over his shoulder, then he grabs her by the wrist, telling her firmly to go. Nonplussed by the sudden rescue, she hesitates, but he drags her away from the crumbling city, the maelstrom hunched over it like a ravening beast.

Clear of the danger zone, Scypho stops and turns to look back at the continuing disaster, commenting that the storm is enormous. The Mirror takes the opportunity to turn and face Pezci, and it sends out an eyestalk to stare at her. Still showing signs of her most recent misadventure, Pezci pulls forlornly at the shreds of netting hanging off her arm. Looking up, she thanks him for saving her life instead of killing her, and he shrugs it off, saying he's not desperate enough for murder just yet.

Suddenly, the Golden key on Pezci's hand, which had been quiescent up until now, lights up with a golden glare, causing the Mirror to put on a pair of sunglasses and flattening Scypho's flippant mood. Looking unhappy, he asks her what she's going to do about it, and she stammers that she doesn't know. She tells him she never meant to become a Keyholder, it was just by chance. She admits she would gladly give it to someone else if there was a different way. She explains that she traveled to the city because the Key pointed her in that direction, and she wanted to reach the Light Tower as soon as possible. She startles Scypho when, with a disappointed look, she claims the Tower's been destroyed by the maelstrom. Concerned, he tries to confirm that she knows the Light Tower is on the other side of the world, telling her it's not in the city. Her mind goes blank, then she lets out an embarrassed little laugh. Suddenly, she goes into a full-blown panic, shouting there's no way she'd be able to make a journey that far. The Mirror puts on a pair of fuzzy pink earmuffs and starts whistling to itself. Scowling at her in disgust during her self-incriminating monologue, Scypho can't help but think she's kind of hopeless, even while she complains about being so far from home and not knowing where the Light Tower is and … and then something catches his eye, giving him an unhappy surprise.

Off in the distance, a familiar luxury watercar shaped sort of like a whale can be seen cruising away from the wreckage of the city. A closer look shows it's Madam Louv and her bodyguards. His disgust deepens and the Mirror ditches the earmuffs as he curses the fact that she survived. In the background, Pezci floats as if lifeless in the water as she bemoans her inevitable failure to reach the Tower, announcing she's already dead.