Her last note, she taped to the door.
You won't have to worry about Lori anymore. Or me. Have a wonderful life, Sebastian.It took time, setting one's affairs in order to end this life.
Not that Noel was dying. She was just ending who she was now. Tomorrow, Noel would wake up a different person. She might wake up thinking she was three years old, or she might wake up on a ventilator because she'd forgotten how to breathe. That was how far she was willing to go. She would end her life to make sure that Lori's life ended as well.
Oddly enough, despite her over dramatic fatalistic feelings, Noel wasn't nervous. She wouldn't remember this anyway. She was more... numb. This needed to be done. She deserved it. Sebastian deserved better. Maybe numb wasn't the right word. Was pre-guilt a thing?
Maybe pre-meditation was better.
Noel waited for the CEO outside of the building. As a member of the security team, the memorymancer had ample time to observe Lori's comings and goings. She had access to video feeds and had tracked the woman all day as much as the cameras allowed.
5 o'clock. Lori did not use the service elevator to go up as she sometimes did to disappear for a few hours. This time she picked up a package and went straight down to the lobby and out the front doors. Noel had to jog to catch up. The blonde might be short, but she was a freaking champion power walker for how fast she was scooting down the road.
"Hey!" It took Noel's hand on Lori's shoulder to get the woman to stop and turn around.
She seemed flustered and shifted the parcel in her arms.
"Oh. Noel. Do you need something?""Do you know what you did?" It just blurted out. No lead up, no nothing.
"I try, but in this instance why don't you enlighten me?" She shifted the parcel again and Noel saw... a floppy ear? A stuffed animal? Not important.
"You ruined Sebastian's life." Not to mention her own. It wasn't worth mentioning, really.
"Ah. I made a reasonable argument in order to persuade you to help me in a gambit that ultimately failed."Noel folded her arms in response.
"Don't worry. It wasn't your fault. It was Sebastian's."Noel huffed. This wasn't going as planned.
"But... why? Why did you do it?"She smiled in a way that made Noel feel less numb and more like punching things.
"Would you believe that I just wanted everybody to get along?"The lie didn't taste like straight up garbage, but there was enough dissonance to that statement that made the memorymancer shove Lori hard enough for her to stumble. She caught her balance, but only by bracing herself on a nearby skyscraper. She wasn't even wearing heels.
"No."A small noise came from the parcel and the blonde clutched it tighter.
"You get once chance to walk away. I'd take it if I were you." The way she was holding that... no. No way. It was a ploy. Another 'unsuccessful gambit.' Had to be. Noel had been working in teh same building as Lori and that lady had never ever been pregnant.
Noel wanted to press her face against Lori's. She wanted to know why, but... ultimately it didn't matter did it? Neither of them would know once tomorrow dawned.
It only took a split second to make her decision. Lori was either too bold to deny her eye contact or didn't believe that Noel would actually do it.
Forget. Noel's eyes started vibrating back and forth in their sockets.
Forget EVERYTHING. She started with the most recent events and worked backward, a full and complete sweep of the mind.
Noel didn't see it, but she did taste it. Lori had to be the least truthful person Noel had ever met. It was awful. Purposeful.
She absolved Lori of those lies, making her mind clean again.
It was better. For everyone.
Somewhere along the way she took the memories that kept Lori's power in check. The effect was immediate.
sssrKRACK! It hit her in the chest like an ax, both knocking the wind out of her and feeling like a deep stab. The blonde woman went backward toward the building which immediately squealed and crumpled. Noel went flying back into the street. She made impact with a vehicle that, thanks to Lori's power, was moving the same direction she was.
Thunder sounded immediately after.
Continued for Noel in
Tabula Rasa.Continued for Lori in
Honey, I'm Hooooome!~
