AI art "Aftershocks [Stardust Crossing - Episode 2]" with user description "Runie had spent most of her day with a growing sense of unease. Something had woken her up in the middle of the night. A voice, of some kind. She thought at first that someone was shouting outside her dorm room or worse, outside the window. But as she looked around the dark room, all was quiet. Even Gooey was sound asleep, and the little slime would jump at any little thing.

To be honest, it had felt like something was wrong for a little over two weeks now. She had felt the star again that night, that strange light in the sky that felt so important though she couldn't say why. It appeared every so often, just another part of living in this weird and wonderful city. But it never felt… wrong before. That nagging feeling had kept her from focusing on her studies and that was perhaps a bigger problem than her sleep schedule. That quiz in Arcane Metallurgy wasn't going to pass itself even if she could enchant the pencil.

Then the whispered voice hit her dreams like an ASMR line beamed directly into her head. There was only one thing to do at a time like this and that was call the old Andromeda High School Occult Club President, Valerie. Though, she went by a nickname these days.

Sweetheart picked up before the first ring even finished. “You heard it too?”

Runie paused. That confirmed her suspicions, but raised several more questions.

“The voice? The other night. I can't get it out of my head, I was just about to call you about it.”

“So we both heard it. Do you think everyone did or just us?,” Runie said, her voice low and trembling just a bit from her nerves.

“I don't hear anyone freaking out next door, at least. Given how calm it is outside, I’d wager only some people could hear it.”

Runie turned her ears to the world outside her dorm room, but the night was quiet. “Good point. Umm… what did it say to you?”

Sweetheart was quiet for a moment. “It said… ‘Can you hear me?’, plain as day. You heard the same words?”

Runie affirmed that she had. They went over a few more details until they were satisfied their stories aligned. It reminded Runie of their high school days, before they went off to separate colleges.

“So, what do we do about it?”

Sweetheart laughed softly to herself. “What else? Meet up tomorrow at the park and we start investigating. Consider the case of the Midnight Voice officially open.”

+++

SC-009 watched Subject 002 pace around her bedroom on the thermal cam while her audio bug tapped the entire phone call. This was interesting. 001 and 002 knew each other. That wasn't in the briefing, which meant it was either a new development (unlikely, given the familiar tone of the call) or the briefing was missing intel.

She added this development to her notes, but frowned as she wound up staring at the transcript of the call. ‘Can you hear me?’

They heard it too. The Subjects known to be under the effect of this site’s anomaly. Did that mean she was already under its spell too?

She tapped her pen against the page as she mulled her options. The anxiety was still an unfamiliar feeling and it made these choices harder than they needed to be. Her training said to ask for more intel. Her operation guide said to proceed as planned and report the incident, which she still hadn't done. Because her heart was telling her she had to talk to these two. She was scheduled to watch Subject 003 tomorrow. It would have to wait, she’d be paying the park a visit.

+++

SC-009 watched the two Subjects approach from the discreet location of a nearby park bench. She had extrapolated the most likely spot in the park for the two of to meet, judging by their respective routes to get here from their homes, and was pleased that she had picked a spot to stake out close enough to spot them meeting.

Subject 001 and Subject 002. Or, rather, Runie Caldwell and Valerie "Sweetheart" Estarosa. In some ways, those two were where the entire investigation began. Their interaction with the wishing star was simply too big to ignore.

She watched the two girls carefully from her safe distance, looking for a good opportunity to approach them without being too suspicious. The two were here to interview passerbys after all, to see if anyone else heard the strange voice. It would be best to let them start interviewing, then approach a few minutes later after they had talked to a few people.

"I know why you're here~" a jubilant voice teased from behind her.

SC-009 didnt jump. Her nerves were stronger than that. She turned slowly, regarding to newcomer curiously even though she already recognized the voice.

Subject 005, Vega Astrid, stood behind her in her full fortune teller costume, a knowing smile on her lips and her finger raised teasingly.

SC replied calmly, "Did you predict this with your gift?"

Vega's smile didn't budge. "You could say that. You want to go talk to those two over there. But that wont be necessary. Because I heard the voice too, and I know what it means.""

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Aftershocks [Stardust Crossing - Episode 2]

Runie had spent most of her day with a growing sense of unease. Something had woken her up in the middle of the night. A voice, of some kind. She thought at first that someone was shouting outside her dorm room or worse, outside the window. But as she looked around the dark room, all was quiet. Even Gooey was sound asleep, and the little slime would jump at any little thing. To be honest, it had felt like something was wrong for a little over two weeks now. She had felt the star again that night, that strange light in the sky that felt so important though she couldn't say why. It appeared every so often, just another part of living in this weird and wonderful city. But it never felt… wrong before. That nagging feeling had kept her from focusing on her studies and that was perhaps a bigger problem than her sleep schedule. That quiz in Arcane Metallurgy wasn't going to pass itself even if she could enchant the pencil. Then the whispered voice hit her dreams like an ASMR line beamed directly into her head. There was only one thing to do at a time like this and that was call the old Andromeda High School Occult Club President, Valerie. Though, she went by a nickname these days. Sweetheart picked up before the first ring even finished. “You heard it too?” Runie paused. That confirmed her suspicions, but raised several more questions. “The voice? The other night. I can't get it out of my head, I was just about to call you about it.” “So we both heard it. Do you think everyone did or just us?,” Runie said, her voice low and trembling just a bit from her nerves. “I don't hear anyone freaking out next door, at least. Given how calm it is outside, I’d wager only some people could hear it.” Runie turned her ears to the world outside her dorm room, but the night was quiet. “Good point. Umm… what did it say to you?” Sweetheart was quiet for a moment. “It said… ‘Can you hear me?’, plain as day. You heard the same words?” Runie affirmed that she had. They went over a few more details until they were satisfied their stories aligned. It reminded Runie of their high school days, before they went off to separate colleges. “So, what do we do about it?” Sweetheart laughed softly to herself. “What else? Meet up tomorrow at the park and we start investigating. Consider the case of the Midnight Voice officially open.” +++ SC-009 watched Subject 002 pace around her bedroom on the thermal cam while her audio bug tapped the entire phone call. This was interesting. 001 and 002 knew each other. That wasn't in the briefing, which meant it was either a new development (unlikely, given the familiar tone of the call) or the briefing was missing intel. She added this development to her notes, but frowned as she wound up staring at the transcript of the call. ‘Can you hear me?’ They heard it too. The Subjects known to be under the effect of this site’s anomaly. Did that mean she was already under its spell too? She tapped her pen against the page as she mulled her options. The anxiety was still an unfamiliar feeling and it made these choices harder than they needed to be. Her training said to ask for more intel. Her operation guide said to proceed as planned and report the incident, which she still hadn't done. Because her heart was telling her she had to talk to these two. She was scheduled to watch Subject 003 tomorrow. It would have to wait, she’d be paying the park a visit. +++ SC-009 watched the two Subjects approach from the discreet location of a nearby park bench. She had extrapolated the most likely spot in the park for the two of to meet, judging by their respective routes to get here from their homes, and was pleased that she had picked a spot to stake out close enough to spot them meeting. Subject 001 and Subject 002. Or, rather, Runie Caldwell and Valerie "Sweetheart" Estarosa. In some ways, those two were where the entire investigation began. Their interaction with the wishing star was simply too big to ignore. She watched the two girls carefully from her safe distance, looking for a good opportunity to approach them without being too suspicious. The two were here to interview passerbys after all, to see if anyone else heard the strange voice. It would be best to let them start interviewing, then approach a few minutes later after they had talked to a few people. "I know why you're here~" a jubilant voice teased from behind her. SC-009 didnt jump. Her nerves were stronger than that. She turned slowly, regarding to newcomer curiously even though she already recognized the voice. Subject 005, Vega Astrid, stood behind her in her full fortune teller costume, a knowing smile on her lips and her finger raised teasingly. SC replied calmly, "Did you predict this with your gift?" Vega's smile didn't budge. "You could say that. You want to go talk to those two over there. But that wont be necessary. Because I heard the voice too, and I know what it means."