Chapter Text
Oli had thought he’d done a pretty good job of dealing with his trauma from that one night a couple years ago, and he’s got Eva, who’s everything he could ask for, but all of a sudden there’s a knock on the door.
He opens the door, but instead of a person, he gets a note: ‘I'm sorry for everything that happened to you. Hello, Oli White and Eva Gutowski. This is an official message from The Society Against Evil, as I am sure you know as you both have worked with us in the past. However, the Society Against Evil is requesting your presence once again. We have found a way to time travel to that one fateful night to save all your friends, but none of them will remember what happened or their deaths. It is up to you to save them. Another thing to note is that this ritual will not work with just one of you. If you would like to participate in this ritual, you must show up in your 1920s attire at 11:00 p.m. tonight.’
As Oli read the slip of paper over and over again, trying to get some kind of grasp on what he just read, he was eventually dragged out of his thoughts by Eva calling him as if his body were on autopilot; he picked up the phone and said, "Did you get the letter?" Eva asks.
Oli loves hearing her voice. "Yeah," Oli answers pitifully. He wants to go, but he’s not sure if Eva does either. "Are you going to the ritual?" Oli blurts out the question on both of their minds, so he thought to just get it out of the way. "I’m not sure." "On one hand, yes, I want to go to save Lele and Sierra, but at the same time, I don’t want to go through that murder party again, and we could die in this, Oli," Eva explained with heavy concern in her voice for both her and Oli.
"Plus, what if they think we’re with the evil in the house?" Eva gets cut off by Oli: "We don’t need to worry about that." "We'll get to see all our dead friends, and we know how everything works, so we have a better chance to save everybody."
"Plus, the worst thing that happens is we die, okay?" Oli tried to reassure Eva, but it was mostly for him. Does he really want to do this? Does he really want to go through this again? I mean, yeah, he wants to see everyone, and he knows Eva feels the same way, but what could it hurt to try?
11:00 seems to have arrived faster than it should have. Eva showed up at Oli’s door at 6:00, but at 9:45, Oli and Eva started to get ready. As Oli and Eva put on their 1920s attire, not so pleasant memories came flooding back of the electric chair of the circus and the ungodly machine of that awful house, and now they were going back.
At 10:50, Eva and Oli drove to the ritual site; they could feel something magical. The feeling got stronger and stronger until, before Oli knew it, he and Eva were at the ritual site.
As they stepped out of the car, they met up with the person who Oli assumed was Jael, whose demeanor was rather monotone.
"Step into the circle," Jael stated.
Oli and Eva did as they were told, afraid of what Jael could do. Oli wasn’t really paying any mind to what Jael or Ryu were doing; he was only worried about what could happen if what Eva said earlier was true; she usually was right.
Oli’s train of thought was broken by Jael’s words, "We must say the incantation." "You must stay still throughout." Jael’s voice never left a whisper: "Another Society Against Evil member will meet you on the other side." "We shall start the ritual now."
With no time to process, Jael starts the ritual: "Greetings, gods of time and spirits of the unknown, please grant these two willing souls the ability to travel to 2016 to stop the eight deaths of the 1920s estate." As her voice rises, a plume of smoke rises with her.
Oli can barely hear Jael as he feels like he’s falling.
falling..
falling…
falling down
Oli wakes up with a jolt. He looks over and notices an envelope. He picks up the letter very slowly, not knowing what could be waiting for him.
As he opens the letter, it says not what he thought.
‘Hello, Oli White, If you’re reading this letter, it means I couldn’t be there to explain this to you. To cut this letter short, you and Eva Gutowski have been given special powers to help you with this mission. You both have been given healing powers, of which I’m sure you know how they work, but your second power is a bit more complicated. We don’t really have a name for it, but it allows its user to save someone in a time of travesty. However, because we have given you both these powers, we unfortunately had to brand you with our symbol to not seem suspicious. We have provided gloves in this letter.’
Oli looks at his hand, hoping this is just a sick joke, but as he looks down, he sees the SAE symbol. It’s all bloody and gross; it must’ve been freshly carved.
Oli sees the gloves on the comforter; he quickly snatches them up and puts them on his hands to save himself from having to look at that ugly brand.
Oli decides that it’s time to get up. He gets up from his bed and goes into the bathroom. What he sees shocks him.
What's staring back at him is what he’s assuming is his reflection, but it doesn’t look like him. greasy flat hair, purple eye bags.
They look more like bruises, if you ask him. suddenly, Eva walks into the bathroom, not looking much better. Her hair is in all sorts of disarray, and she has the same purple bags under her eyes.
"I found out by looking at the calendar that we have exactly one week before the death game," Eva said out of breath. "Well, what do you plan to do?" Oli says they're actually wondering how they’re going to pull this off; they spend pretty much all week trying to figure out how to play this out; eventually, they get a plan, but there’s a knock on the door, and Oli goes to answer it: "Telegram for Mr. White and Ms. Gutowski."
The delivery lady says with so much enthusiasm, "Yes, thank you." Oli answers in the most polite tone he can while still being in shock.
Oli gives Eva’s letter to her, and as they open them, they really shouldn’t be as surprised as they are.
‘To my esteemed friends, I have acquired an illustrious estate through the death of a distant relative who I’ve never met. I thought it only fitting that I invite you all to attend a dinner party on its grounds. It will certainly be a night to remember. However, the estate is quite peculiar. It only existed in the year 1920. To enter its grounds, you must be dressed entirely in clothing from that era. If you are carrying anything from the modern world, the house will simply never appear for you. And not only your clothing but also your attitude must reflect the time. I have included your unique characteristics on the back of this invitation. My driver will pick you up and take you on a road that can only be driven by his mysterious time-traveling automobile. Then, almost like magic, the place will appear.’