Part 31: Second Playthrough - 5 AM

[SFX: The morning birds are chirping.]



We have to drain Neptune and the lake. So we hang our feet off the edge of the bridge over what's now a gross dirty crater while the rest of the groups hack and pick away to make sure nothing's left.

The Captain says we don't have to do anything but keep Neptune clean, which is our reward we guess. But it's probably just to punish everyone else for not seeing it coming.

[MUSIC: Growing Poppies]

Behind us, Neptune is draining on an ugly blue tarp. We used to have to change it every half hour. It's running a little clearer now.

So we change it. Jupiter puts on rubber gloves and gently picks her up and Venus bundles it up and throws it in a nasty green dumpster.



♃: It feels like it's getting closer. But it feels like it might take forever, too.
♀: Hey. Neptune?

But Neptune isn't going to talk.

We sit by the lake again.



♀: But other ones I don't. Like we don't small talk. Speak only when necessary.
♀: But they're still my friends.
♀: I wonder how that works?
♃: My mom says that if you really know someone you don't have to check in so much? Like it's just obvious how you feel.
♃: I don't know how true that is. I don't know if it worked for her all that well, now that I think of it.
♃: I guess for some things words don't work very well, though.
♀: That's true.
♀: I guess we have a lot of time to figure this out.
♃: Yeah.

[Music stops]



We ask her if she can speak, but words or no words, nothing gets through.