Alice stood frozen in place, bringing the farce to an end. Cattleya seized the chance to point at the rusted object in Nina's hand, which could barely be called a metal bar, and asked:
"Is that part of those steel buildings?"
"Yes, Captain. You know I'm not much good at history or mysticism. All I could do was bring something back for you to study. You're the expert." Nina handed over the "metal bar" as she spoke.
Alice was no expert in history or mysticism either, but she had other ways to solve the problem. She looked at Cattleya.
"Can I try?"
Cattleya handed it over without hesitation.
Alice took the "metal bar" and tried to trace its origins. Chaotic images flashed past before settling on a stretch of collapsed, decaying steel buildings and a well.
The well's opening was small, but it was deep. Its darkness seemed to exert a powerful pull, drawing people down. Then faint whispers sounded from somewhere both distant and right beside her ear, and the images shattered.
Clang!
The "metal bar" fell onto the deck, but Alice had no attention to spare for it. She instinctively clapped her hands over her ears.
It was useless. Her hands could not block the whispers. But Alice was not worried. When the light she had hidden appeared again, she knew she was safe.
Once she had steadied herself, Alice looked up. No one around her seemed any different. They apparently had not noticed a thing. Even Cattleya, the person most likely to have been affected, merely watched her with a frown, her eyes full of concern.
Whether she was concerned for Alice or the Future was harder to say. An angel losing control was no small matter anywhere.
*Wait, she hadn't shown any signs of losing control