Okay, this is it, the dreaded torture room. (Not to mention, quite possibly the end of the second playthrough. And I already know, this isn't going to end well...)
Warning!: This is based upon a game that's rated M for Blood, Drug
References, Strong Language, Suggestive (read 'Sexual') themes, and
Violence. If any of these things offend you, don't click on the link.
2nd Warning!: This is a work of fiction, no one who exists in meatspace actually dies or gets near death in this post.
Junpei: What the hell is this place...
'The words had sprung unbidden to his lips, but it was clear why. Junpei shivered. Lotus and Seven reached the bottom of the stairs and stopped short, terrified.'
Lotus: This room is really creepy...
(No kidding!)
Seven: I think we oughta get the hell out of here, now.
I'm completly with you on that, Seven, this just depends on how quickly I can remember how this stupid puzzle is solved...
'He jogged up the stairs on the opposite side of the room and shook the door on the wall next to the catwalk. It didn't open, and he muttered to himself.'
Seven: Figures...
Lotus: It's locked, isn't it?
Seven: Yup. Dunno why I thought this one'd be any different.
Hope that we wouldn't have to stay in this horrible room for long... Yeah, same here, but I know better. This is going to take a while.
'Junpei looked around the room again. In the center of it was a chair. The back of it was covered with electrodes connected to a nest of wires. Beneath it was a strange glass panel. Junpei wasn't sure what it was for, but it made him uncomfortable. Whatever might have been beyond the glass, Junpei couldn't tell... It was too dark. Junpei turned to look at the right side of the room. There was a table covered with a piece of cloth.'
Anyone want to bet over nine-thousand Internets that there's torture instruments on that table?
'Parts of the cloth were stained with something that looked suspiciously like blood. On top of the table were a number of metal instruments. Junpei didn't know what they were for, and he had a feeling he didn't want to find out.'
(Huh... Shimohi. Was that TV Tropes based genre savy-ness or that you've really been in this room before?) A bit of both, actually, in an aborted third playthrough I did before I started this LP... (Hence why Shimohi said he played this game two and a half times before the LP.) ...I ended up seeing both this and the confinement rooms again. Later I found out I would've just seen... Well, you're about to find out, again.
'His mind began to imagine what could have taken place in that dark, cold room. The things he imagined were not pleasant. Junpei shook his head in an attempt to clear it, and tried to focus on something else.'
Seven: Anyway, we don't want to stay here any longer than we got to.
Again, same here.
Seven: Let's figure out the puzzle and get the hell out of here. C'mon!
----------SEEK A WAY OUT!----------
First, time to gather everything we're going to need to get out of this place... (...And you're going straight for the table.) A turn to the left and... There it is! We've got a wrench...
Junpei: This wrench looks brand-new.
Lotus: Considering where we found it, I have to wonder how it was used.
Junpei: Knock it off. I don't wanna think about that.
Lotus: You've already seen plenty of things that are a lot more cruel than that. He he... You're unexpectedly sensitive.
Well, what with the trope of "noodle implements" the imagination can go to some very crazy places...
Junpei: C'mon, let's not talk about stuff that doesn't matter, okay? We need to find somewhere we can use this thing.
Anything else we can use?
'A number of rusty torture tools are lined up here.'
Seven: I don't think there's anything else here we need.
Dang it! A couple of turns to the right and... is there something we can do with this tank here?
'The cover's bolted on there pretty good. Should be able to get those bolts off with this wrench we just found, though.'
Junpei: Sweet! It's open!
Okay, is there anything inside the tank that we're going to need?
Lotus: The hole's too small. You can't see in, even with the cover off.
Junpei: Well, you can't see in, but I think there's enough room to stick your arm in.
Lotus: Are you sure you want to do that? There could be something dangerous in there.
'Okay, I admit, that scares me a little, but we need to see if there's anything useful in there.'
Well, once more...
'All right, here we go. Arm into the hole... Hey, I think I can feel something... It's small, cold, and hard... Doesn't feel like there's anything else in here.'
(I just hope it's not something scary...)
'All right, let's see what this thing is.'
We obtain a Sun key!
Seven: A key with the Sun symbol on it.
Junpei: We should be able to open the other door with this.
Seven: Yeah, but we gotta get outta this room before we can do that.
Junpei: And we're probably gonna need the Sun key to do that.
Seven: But none of the doors in this room have keyholes.
I know, it's probably for... That thing... ("That thing"?) Yes, the device attached to the chair.
Seven: I bet we gotta use it on something that's not a door.
I'm trying to back up but...
Junpei: There's nothing in there anymore.
I miss tap. Take two! To the left and... We're going to have to do this... To the control panel... [sarcasm] Hurray... [/sarcasm] Okay, so I don't see a keyhole on that, so it's... The chair! (Dun-dun-duuuun!)
Junpei: This Sun key should fit into the keyhole on these manacles.
(Is it any wonder for the darker parts of the fandom to declare Princess Celestia a tyrant?) That doesn't have to do with that particular show at all!
'All right Sun key, in you go. Aaaaand... Yes!'
Junpei: Great, they're open. I don't think we're gonna need the Sun key again in here, though. Just seems unlikely.
'All right, Sun key, you've done your job. Into my pocket with you!'
Oh yeah, there's the screen for that puzzle off to the right...
Junpei: There's something on the screen...
'[This device will conduct the experiment. Once the experiment has been completed, the door will unlock.]'
Well, that's helpful.
'[First, adjust the switches to match the block in the sample above.]'
Seven: Huh. I dunno what this thing is, but we gotta figure out this puzzle.
I already know this, Lotus has to sit in that chair while we "mess with her brain"... (The usual bet?) Sure, if you want to lose. (You're that sure you're right?) Yes.
Lotus: It's right next to a torture chair. Whatever it is, I don't think it's good.
Junpei: Anyway... We just adjust the switches to match the blocks up on top, right?
Lotus: You adjust the switches shown at the 4 corners of the screen, then press the check button. Junpei, we don't know what this thing does. You can always come back to it later. There are...lots of other things you could do...
(Nope, you've got to get your brain toyed with! Wee!) (Once again, we're reminded just how much of a monster "The Monster" really is.) Okay lets see what the upper-left switch does... Not quite what we're looking for, turn it back off! And everything's gone, turn it back on! Now what does the upper-right do? Okay, so far so good. Now lower left? Okay again and now the last switch, lower-right! Nope, we need to turn some switch off now... Upper-right! And...that does it! (You were just guessing.) Yes, yes I was. Checking and... it's okay! (Still, Lotus didn't have to sit in the chair!) At least, not right now, that's coming soon...
'[Adjustment is completed. Now proceeding to execution phase.]'
(That doesn't sound good...)
'[To complete the experiment, data must be collected from subject.]'
And that "subject" will be Lotus.
'[Once preparation is finished, place subject in chair.]'
Seven: Whoa, whoa, I thought we solved the puzzle already.
Nope, this isn't over with... *sigh*
Seven: What does it mean by "preparation?"
Lotus: I don't know... I've got a bad feeling about this.
(Hello, female Han Solo!)
Seven: I think it means one of us has gotta sit in the chair.
Uh... Seven, it said "Once preparation is finished, place subject in chair." The preparation comes before placing the subject in the damn chair!
Lotus: Well, Seven's never going to fit in that thing. It's either you or me, Junpei.
See what I mean.
Lotus: Collecting data... I wonder if it's going to run electricity through the subject...
Seven: There's a human head on the screen... Maybe it's gonna zap the brain with a little electricity?
Lotus: This really doesn't sound safe.
Junpei: A-Anyway, we've still got to "prepare". We can talk about this after we've figured out what it means by "preparation", all right?
I think it somehow involves getting fluid into the chamber below the chair.
Seven: Well, it wants us to prepare, so maybe we oughta ask it what we need to do.
Well, I don't have any other clue than that. Let's try Seven's suggestion...
'[Error: The disposal tank is closed. Please fill tank with water.]'
Ah, so that's the part I remembered!
Junpei: What tank? Oh man... Don't tell me we gotta do something with a water tank...
Seven: Well, there's probably something around here to open the thank, or whatever it's asking us to do.
Junpei: It looks like the only controls are in this room.
So, back to that control panel earlier and... I have no idea what I'm doing... Red lever?
Junpei: Red, yellow... You think the colors mean something?
Seven: No idea. I mean, red looks more dangerous, but other than that...
Well, red is the color of blood after all...
'The bottom of this one looks like it's covered in rust. I don't think it'll move at all.'
Okay, yellow then...
Junpei: These levers have gotta turn something on.
Seven: Of course they would. All they can do is turn something on or off. What's important is what they turn on or off.
Lotus: Don't say the floor is going to suddenly open up...
Well, you said it, so we don't have to.
Okay, will that stupid yellow lever do anything!?
'I can see some oil or something down there at the base of the lever...Yeah, feels like it's got some movement to it. I should be able to pull this one.'
Lotus: All right, let's pull the lever.
'...Is that...water?!'
Seven: What the hell?! What's going on!?
Mission accomplished. (Now let's get Lotus into that chair, I can't wait to see the show... *munch* *crunch*) (I know I haven't said anything about this for a while, but that's still disgusting!)
Junpei: Will you calm down? It's just water going somewhere.
Lotus: It sounds like it's underneath us. That means the floor... Oh! Junpei, look!
'What's she--Oh damn! I can see through the glass now...'
Backing up now and...why not tap on the glass floor? ...Is that a dead shark, with the bloodly letters E, D, B, F written on it's corpse?
'There are a couple of letters in the color of blood written on the shark's belly.'
Seven: It's dead...
(No shit Sherlock!)
Seven: Looks like the letters are "E", "D", "B", and "F".
Is this going to involve more hexadecimal crap?
Seven: Whatever these are for has to be in this room somewhere.
Hopefully that stupid...wait, the "subject" back to the chair...
'I don't think examining the chair is going to cause that machine to do anything. I should probably take a look at the monitor instead...'
(You had the right idea the first time.)
'[Error: Cannot communicate with external hardware. Check connection and power source.]'
Junpei: External hardware? That must mean the chair... After all, there's all these cables running between them.
Seven: I don't see a power source for the chair, though.
Is this going to be powered "Matrix" style? (What?) As in "living battery".
Seven: You think maybe it's controlled from somewhere else?
Junpei: It looks like the only controls are in this room.
Back to the control panel... Wait, the letters on the dead shark... *looks up* E, D, B, F... Let's see if hitting those buttons in order does anything...
'There are a bunch of buttons here with the letters A through F on them.'
Junpei: Let's push some of them.
'Down you go!'
Junpei: So if I press it again...
'Back you come!'
Junpei: I guess these buttons switch something on or off when you push them.
Okay, can you stop messing around with the buttons so I can test my little theory? Where was I...? Oh, right! E, D, B, F in that order...
Junpei: What?
Lotus: There's a strange noise coming from the chair. It looks like it's been turned on. I guess the puzzle here was that the power had to be sent in a specific way.
Now can the monitor quit complaining and let us get this puzzle over with and out of here!?
'[The restraining device is unlocked. Please seat subject in device.] The message on the screen was disturbingly detached.'
Junpei: Well, like we thought, it's not going to work unless someone sits in it.
Lotus: How ironic that this would be the situation in which this slim, beautiful body is useful.
Indeed... (Which one? That said situation involves a torture chair, or that Lotus is beautiful?) Both. (Yeah, Shimohi's among other things, a cake eater.)
Junpei: Lotus... Are you sure? I can sit in it, and you can solve--
Dude, Lotus isn't going to die... In this thing anyway.
Seven: Junpei's right. If we screw it up...
'Seven couldn't bring himself to finish the thought. His eyes fell to the floor. Junpei followed them...'
Let me guess, to look at the dead shark.
'Beneath them was the dead shark, floating underneath the glass. Perhaps it had been killed by an electric shock.'
Lotus: I'll be fine. Even if I fall in, the shark is already dead.
If that shark had an exploded head, we could've said that was the work of the "Savior of the Century's End."
Junpei: But--!
Dude, I'd rather not have to reinforce the "men are the expendable gender" trope. This is one way in which Patriarchy is harmful to both sides of the "gender divide". But still, women shouldn't be disposable either! *facepalm*
Lotus: No one likes an indecisive man, Junpei.
That should be "indecisive person"... Yes, I know the world sucks. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't do our best to change it for the better!
Lotus: I can still give you advice from the chair too, you know. I just don't want to stay in this room any longer than we have to... Go over to that screen and let's get this over with.
Well, that I agree with. It's this next part of the test that I hate so much.
'After her words had made it clear that Lotus would book no argument, she turned and walked toward the chair without hesitation. ...But she did not sit down. Despite what she had said, she did indeed feel hesitation. Her legs shook.'
Lotus: Look... Do you think you could do me one last favor?
Junpei: Don't say last...
You are going to survive this, believe me!
Seven: You're makin' me nervous...
Lotus: Just listen. If something happens to me, I want you to tell my daughters that I loved them very much. ...No. Tell them that I will always love them.
(I don't think we're going to be in any condition to do that in this ending.)
Junpei: Daughters...?
Seven: You...you've got kids?
Of course!
Lotus: Yes, I do. I suppose they're about your age, Junpei. They're twins... I had them when I was young after...after some things happened. Their names are [Nona] and--
Junpei: Wait! Nona!?
'Junpei's words shot out before he even realized what he was saying. He remembered the story Seven had told him--'
'Aoi, Light, and Nona... Those were their names. Well, some of them. The kids that were there, in the experiment, I mean...'
Lotus: Wh-What the hell? What's wrong with you?
Long story, involves Seven's missing memories.
'Lotus took a step back from Junpei. Seven looked just as shocked as Junpei. He blinked his eyes rapidly, as if he weren't sure if he was completely awake.'
Seven: No way... It couldn't... Lotus... Is your last name Kashiwabara?
'Lotus's eyes went wide.'
I'll take that as a "yes".
Lotus: H-How do you know that...
Seven: Are you serious...? What the hell is this? There's no way you're that kid's mom...
Lotus: "That kid"?! What do you mean "that kid"?! Why are you acting like you've met her!?
Like I said, Long story. Seven's missing memories...
'Seven's brow furrowed.'
Seven: I have...
Lotus: What!?
Seven: Yeah, I...
(I bet over nine-thousand Internets that Lotus is going to attack again!)
Seven: I met one of your kids.
Lotus: When?!
Seven: 9 years ago.
Lotus: Where?!
Seven: On this ship.
Lotus: Why were you--?!
Seven: It's not a short story...
See.
Lotus: I don't care how long it is! Tell me, please! What happened here?!
'Seven glanced at Junpei, then turned back to Lotus and began to speak. It was the same story Junpei had heard only minutes before. Every detail...'
If you've forgotten what that story is, just check the previous post.
'... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...At last, Seven finished. Lotus shook her head...'
Lotus: Oh my God...
Well, I recall hearing that in Greek plays, wham lines like that tend to come from deities. Hence the tendency to say "Oh my God" or "OMG" when face with something like that.
Lotus: Everything I've been looking for the last 9 years... The person who had all the answers was right here...
(Well, there's also me. But you, nor any one else on this ship, can't see or hear me.)
Junpei: Looking for...?
Lotus: Yes, that's right. 9 years ago, my daughters disappeared. Then, 9 days later, they came back.
(There's that number again...)
Lotus: They never told me what had happened to them over those 9 days... I took them to the doctor, but I was told they hadn't been hurt in any way... Still, I was sure that they had been through something terrible. ...So I couldn't bring myself to force them to talk about it. If I did, then I'd force them to relive whatever horrors they'd been through. I didn't have any choice. I had to try to ignore it and move on...
Junpei: ...
Seven: ...
Lotus: A few months passed... Gradually they started to act like they always had, before they disappeared. They smiled, and made jokes, and did all the silly things kids do. It got harder and harder for me to ask them about what had happened. How could I ask them to remember that? Eventually, I knew there was no way I could do it.
Junpei: ...
Seven: ...
Lotus: But I'm still a mother. I couldn't simply forget that something terrible had happened to my children. So I decided I would investigate what had happened on my own. I would find out what had happened during those 9 missing days!
Seven: ...What did you find out?
I'm guessing, not much, if anything.
Lotus: Nothing.
Figures.
Lotus: The police pretended to be concerned, but they didn't do anything.
Likely paid off by Cradle.
Lotus: Once the 16 children who'd gone missing came back, things were just...
"Swept under the proverbial rug"?
Lotus: ...Swept under the rug... Even the media didn't talk about what had happened. I figured someone was probably paying or threatening them to keep their mouths shut.
Seven: Cradle Pharmaceutical. ...No, probably something even bigger than that...
(Nope, I think your first guess was spot on.)
Lotus: Cradle Pharmaceutical...
Junpei: Have you heard of them before?
Lotus: No, that's the first time I've ever heard that name. Seven, how did you find out that Cradle Pharmaceutical was connected to the kidnappings in the first place?
Seven: I figured finding out whatever the victims had in common would lead me to the culprit. That's what any good cop does.
Junpei: What did they have in common?
Seven: Every single one of the kids who disappeared had gone to this one hospital at some point. The hospital was one of a bunch that were under the control of Cradle Pharmaceutical... After that, it was just about connecting the dots.
Lotus: The hospital...
Junpei: The hospital...
Seven: For a while I was trying to get some kinda story outta the kids at the hospital. One of 'em told a weird story..
Junpei: What was it?
Seven: Have you heard about the [Ganzfeld experiment]?
(Oh no, this sounds like yet another instalment of what Shimohi calls "Tin-foil Hat Time"...) Yeah, I still don't like this room, but I do like Tin-foil Hat Times. Please, continue Seven!
Seven: I guess all these kids had to go through it while they were at the hospital. I think it was passed off as some sort of counseling.
'Seven cleared his throat and proccedded to explain the [Ganzfeld experiment].'
Akurei, may I have some popcorn? (Okay, here, I have my nachos.) Thanks! *eats popcorn* (*munch* *crunch*)
'First, subjects Q and A are put into separate rooms, far away from one another. Then a series of video images are shown to subject Q, who is told to send the images to subject A by thinking about them. Subject A, on the other hand, is put in a large reclining chair and given a blindfold. With their senses cut off, A is asked to guess what images Q is looking at.'
(Interesting that Q is colored red in the image and A is colored blue...)
Lotus: Oh, yes, I've heard of that. It's a famous telepathy experiment, isn't it?
'Telepathy... Telepathy...'
Reminds me of... *whispers to Akurei* ..the first playthough where Lotus talked about that one experiment with the picture of the dog among other things. (Oh yeah, that...) (And once again, you're leaving me out of the loop!)
'Junpei rolled the word over in his mind.'
Junpei: That's how the experiment on this ship was supposed to work.
Lotus: The experiment to control people, right?
Junpei: Yeah. I don't know if any of the telepathy stuff really exists... But maybe someone from Cradle Pharmaceutical bought into it...
Lotus: Hmph...
'Lotus grunted.'
Oh yeah, she is skeptical about that sort of stuff.
'Seven had been thinking hard for the last several minutes, and finally spoke.'
Seven: Even if that is the case... I still don't get how that has anything to do with any of this.
(That would be more spoilers.)
Seven: The Nonary Game, Zero, why we were kidnapped... What does any of that have to do with telepathy? I know I brought all this up, but... I have no idea. Maybe none of this stuff is connected after all...
Junpei: ...
Lotus: ...
Seven: ...
'Then, in that moment of silence--A cold voice echoed down from the ceiling.'
That sounds bad. (Understatement of the year.)
Speaker: No subject has been detected. Unless a subject is detected with 60 seconds, all power will be shut down. System recovery is estimated to take 1 hour. If you wish to proceed with the experiment, please seat subject in the restraining device.
You heard the speaker, Lotus, sit in that scary chair ASAP!
Seven: Whoa, that doesn't sound good...
Junpei: Yeah...
Lotus: Okay. I'm going, I'm going.
Seven: Oh, no, that's not what we--
I'm sorry, but it must be done.
Lotus: Just hurry up and get it over with! Junpei! I'm counting on you!
And, by association, the three of us as well. *gulp*
Junpei: R-Right!
'Lotus sat down on the chair. Junpei looked at her one last time, then made his way to the monitor.'
Junpei: Lotus, please, tell me right away if you feel anything...weird...
Lotus: You worry too much. Now get on with it and be a man, or June's going to leave you.
Again with the gender roles!
'Lotus was putting on the best act she could manage, but her legs were shaking so much that if she hadn't been sitting, she likely would have fallen down. Failure was not acceptable. Junpei took one last deep breath and stared at the monitor.'
And this... is the dreaded puzzle. (Break a leg!) Let's see here... First upper switch one? Upper switch two? Two doesn't seem to do anything. Now the lower switches, one? Two? Two got us closer to the goal. But maybe I need to check another side... Again with the upper and lower switches here... Upper switch one seem to need to be on. Now for the lower switches... Well, one seems to put it at the goal on this side, but as for the other side... Wow, that did it! Check it... OK!
'[The experiment has concluded. The door will now unlock.]'
(*rubbs the top of Shimohi's head* Aw, that wasn't as bad as you made it out to be.) *knocks away Akurei's hand* Could you not do that! (Alright, geez...)
'I can hear the door unlocking... And now we've got a new message... [Release subject from restraining device.]'
Junpei: Lotus, a-re you all right?
Lotus: Yes, I am.
See, you got out of that just fine! (But after this... Hoo-boy...) (What are you talking about!?) (One word: "Submarine"!) (The sandwich?) (No, an actual submarine!) (What in the name of the Lord is a submarine doing on a sinking cruise ship, assuming you're telling the truth!?) Yeah... Spoilers.
Lotus: I'm glad nothing bad happened, but I do think my life just got a little shorter.
(You have NO IDEA...) "Ready normal people!" (No! I' will not have you singing "The Internet is for porn"!) (Come on! We have to have something funny happen to take the edge off what's going to happen next!)
Junpei: Hold on, I'll get you out right away.
'Shouldn't take long for Seven and me to get her out of here...'
Lotus: Let's get out of here now. Being a guinea pig is not for me.
'Damn straight.'
Kind of odd choice for narration if it's supposed to be from Junpei' point of view. (Foreshadowing motherfucker!)
'I don't ever want to see this ting again.'
To the door, away!
----------YOU FOUND IT!----------
'Outside of the room, a hallway led off to their left. With nowhere else to go, they started down it. It turned left twice before they saw the elevator.'
(I know it, I just know it, everyone's going to die.) (Monster! Stop saying that! It's making me scared!) At this point, I'm not sure how exactly to prevent another freak out... (What do you mean "another freak out"!?) ...
'In silence, they jogged up to it. Junpei pushed the "C" button. The elevator motor ground away, and before long they found themselves once again on C Deck. The door opened, and they stepped off. They'd expected to find 4 other people waiting for them. There were none.'
I've got a bad feeling about this...
Seven: Where did they go...?
Lotus: I have no idea...
'Lotus shrugged... Something in the pit of Junpei's stomach stirred. He tried to forget the feeling, and took off down the long hallway before him. Seven and Lotus followed at a run. They ran, and ran, and ran. The hallway seemed endless. Their destination had already been decided. The door behind the central staircase... There was a [sun symbol] engraved on the keyhole of that door... And Junpei had the [Sun key] in his pocket. That key would open the door. It had to. That was why they ran for the central staircase. They had run for quite some time when they arrived at the door that ended the hallway.'
I think... We're here...
'Junpei stopped. He laid his hand on the doorknob, his breathing heavy-- Seven laid a hand on his arm.'
Seven: Hold on a sec there.
Junpei: Huh?
Seven: We don't have the key for this one yet, right?
'There is the Jupiter symbol engraved over the keyhole. Seven was right. They had no Jupiter key.'
Junpei: Then we can't open this door...
What if the other group already opened it?
Lotus: Unfortunately, no, we can't.
Junpei: Geez... The Sun door's gotta be just on the other side of this, you know...?
'Frustrated, he twisted the doorknob. The door opened.'
(...You were... Right about that...) Well, the plot couldn't move forward otherwise.
Junpei: ...Hey! It opened!
Seven: What...?
Lotus: The others must have found the [Jupiter key].
Junpei: Well, what are we waiting for?!
'As he spoke, he shoved the door the rest of the way open. They rushed through--'
Is this going to be where the shit hits the fan?
'And stopped cold. The terrible scene before them made their blood run cold. 3 people lay dead on the floor, covered in blood.'
(Tha-That can't be Ace! He's got to be faking it!) And there's... (Clover and...Santa.)
'Junpei felt a cold trickle down his spine. He couldn't breathe. His legs shook. His body felt cold, deathly cold...'
I think we might have been "haunting" Junpei for far too long...
'...But his blood was boiling hot. He could feel his mind begin to fade... He couldn't think, he couldn't concentrate... His mind was...blank...'
(I think Junpei's somehow experienced Reverse-Nirvana.)
Seven: Wh-What the hell... What the hell happened...?
'Seven's voice was weak and broken. He edged toward the bodies, his movements stiff. He bent down over Clover, and pressed his fingers to her wrist.'
Seven: Nothing... She's dead...
(H-How!? Akurei! You said something about Clover killing us all!? If Clover's dead, how could that happen!?) (Oh-no... I think Niyagi's starting to remember...) ...Right now I'm more surprised that you didn't use your usual nickname for Niyagi. (So, Shimohi, you gave ME laser-guided amnesia!? Why!?) *sigh* Because I feared that if you remembered the events of the first playthough, you'd try to kill Akurei and I again. (No... I-I'd never do that!) (And yet you did, talk about "beware the nice ones".)
'Suddenly, Lotus moved. Before he understood what was happening, her hand was in Junpei's vest pocket.'
Lotus... Why are you doing that?
Junpei: H-Hey! What're you doing?!
'He leapt back-- Lotus looked up at him, terrified.'
Lotus: The key! Give me the [Sun key]...!
What!? Why?
Junpei: W-Why...?
(Okay, that was creepy...)
Lotus: Why do you think?! We have to get out of here before the murderer come back!
Huh... (The murderer is right at your feet playing possum!)
'The murderer... The murderer... Once again, Junpei looked at the dead bodies. Santa...Clover...and Ace... That meant that the person who had killed them was... ...No... No, it couldn't be true. Before Junpei could react, Lotus dove back into his pocket, and came out with the key.'
Lotus: Let's go!
'Without waiting for Seven or Junpei, she ran, straight for the central staircase. They followed.'
W-Well, at least... Lotus isn't leaving Seven and Junpei behind...
'Junpei shut his eyes and swallowed his emotions. Mourning would have to wait. Soon they stood in front of the door. Lotus shoved the [Sun key] into the keyhole--And twisted it, hard. But... ...'
Lotus: Wh...why...
Seven: What happened?
Lotus: Nothing...
Doesn't sound like nothing to me.
Lotus: Nothing happened! I didn't feel it unlock!
Oh, THAT kind of nothing... (This is bad.)
Seven: Oh no... Is it the wrong key?
Lotus: I don't know... Maybe...
'Lotus sighed, defeated, and leaned against the doorknob. She felt it twist--A small gap appeared between the door and the frame.'
Seven: What the hell is this?!
Lotus: You mean...the door was already unlocked...?
That... THAT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE AT ALL! (Shimohi! Why are you screaming!? Are you trying to wake up the killer!) (Huh... You're doing it too, Akurei.) Now Niyagi's dropped her nickname for Akurei? Pigs have flown...
Seven: Why?
Lotus: How would I know that?
Seven: ...
Lotus: Whatever. Let's just go.
'Lotus took a deep breath and slowly opened the door the rest of the way. They stepped inside. In front of them was another hallway. It stretched out toward the bow of the ship. The began to run. Faster and faster they ran, trying desperately to reach the end of thehallway. A few seconds later, they were there. In front of them stood a massive metal door.'
Junpei: *Pant* *Pant* *Pant*
'They were all breathing havily as Junpei spoke.'
Junpei: What the hell is this door?! I can't see anything that looks like a doorknob or switch or lever or card reader or...or...or anything! How the fuck are we supposed to open this?!
W-With a lot of effort... (That doesn't help our situation one bit!)
Seven: We don't have a choice.
Well, if we want to live, that is.
Seven: We're gonna have to go back.
Lotus: No! No! I'm not going back there! There's a murderer back there!
'There was more stark terror in Lotus's voice than authority. She was almost begging.'
Seven: But I don't see any other doors...
'As he spoke, Seven stepped toward the door in front of them, as if to illustrate that it was the only door.'
Whoa!
'It opened. Nothing surprising. A simple automatic door.'
Seven: Look, guys, I've got a really bad feeling about all this.
No... (Shit...) [simultaneously] Sherlock! (Sherlock!) [/simultaneously]
Seven: The other doors were already unlocked, and this one's automatic... We haven't seen anything like this before...
'How could their situation possibly get worse?'
A dying June showing up? (For Satans sake! Did you have to say that out loud!?)
'3 people were already dead! They'd hit the bottom, Junpei told himself. There was nowhere to go but up. He stepped through the door...And whatever hope Junpei had managed to summon disappeared.'
(Aw fuck...)
'No... Nonononono... It wasn't true. It couldn't be true. It was impossible. Utterly impossible. It was a dream.'
"Maybe nothing else is real. But it would not mean a thing, if I told you how I feel..." (No, please! Those silly song references are giving me a horrible case of mood whiplash.)
'It had to be a dream--a nightmare. Yes, it was a nightmare, and if he could just wake up-- He was seeing things. Yes, that was it, this was a hallucination. A lie. It wasn't real. It wasn't real... It wasn't real...right?'
..."madness mantra"...
'June... No! No, the code names meant nothing now! Kanny... Kanny!'
Junpei: Kanny!
(Bless it! Why did you have to temp the... Nope, this was going to happen no matter if you mentioned it out loud or not...)
'Junpei cried out and leapt through the door. He flew to her side, his heart like a stone in his chest.'
Junpei: Kanny! Kanny! Hang on!
'Junpei swept her up, and shook her by the shoulder.'
I don't think you should be shaking her like that, what if she has a concussion or something... (Even if he could hear us the whole time, I don't think he'd be able to hear you now.)
'She moaned, and her eyes fluttered open, but only barely.'
Junpei: Kanny!
Kanny: Jumpy...?
Even the caption boxes are going along with the nicknames!
'Her face was pale, and her lips were dry and cracked. Her eyes were blank and cloudy. They stared straight at Junpei, but saw nothing. Junpei put his hand against the small of her back to hold her up. It felt warm and...wet.'
Oh...no...she's been stabbed. (I think Shimohi's fallen into the depths of despair.)
'He lifted his hand up. It was covered in blood.'
Told...you...
Junpei: Oh man... Kanny... What the hell happened to you... How did this happen...?
'It was all he could do not to break into tears.'
Kanny: Jumpy... I'm sorry...
'Her voice was thin, a miniscule thread that was the only thing keeping her with him.'
Kanny: I...I might not make it.
Junpei: N-No way! No way am I gonna let you die! I'm gonna save you, I promise!
Kanny: Thank you, Junpy... Thank you so much... For everything... I was...really happy...To see you again, Jumpy...Really...happy...
Junpei: Don't gimme that "I was" crap! You're gonna see me again lots more times! You've... You've just gotta hang on, all right Kanny!?
Kanny: ...
Junpei: You... You...
'What could he do?! He looked up from Kanny desperate for something, anything--Then he saw it. A small submarine...'
(Told you so!) (No... No! This doesn't make any sense!) (I know, but it's there none the less.)
'A submarine?! What on Earth was a submarine doing there?! No, that didn't matter. Nothing mattered, except saving Kanny.'
(Too late for that. Actually, by now, it's impossible, she's already dead.)
'That was the only thing he wanted. Junpei turned his head back to look down at her.'
Junpei: Hang on, all right? There's a sumarine over there. I'm gonna see if it works.
Well, might as well join Junpei... (Tenmyouji!) ...for that.
Kanny: No... Don't go...
(She's right, you know.)
Kanny: Please, don't go...
(You've seen this happen before! You know what's going to happen to Junpei...) (Tenmyouji!)
Kanny: Please, just...stay with me, okay...? I want to...be close to you, Jumpy...When...when I...
Junpei: Kanny...
Kanny: Jumpy, did you know... You...meant a lot to me...when we were kids... I've liked you...for a long time, Junpei... A really...long...time...
'Junpei's vision had gone blurry. It took him a moment to realize his eyes were filled with tears. He could feel a piercing point of heat deep in his heart, like a white-hot flame.'
Kanny: Jumpy, do you remember...how e hung out a lot when we were...kids? We went to the pool... And to...the fair... Do you remember...playing snowball at the school...? They're all memories I'll...never forget... All of those moments are...treasures...to me...
Junpei: ...
Kanny: But I also wanted to...go to a lot of other places with you... A lot more... But...that...won't happen...now...
Junpei: No! I mean yes! Yes, it will happen! We'll go all sorts of places, Kanny! You hear me?! I promise! We'll go wherever you want!
Kanny: ...Really...?
Junpei: Yeah, really. I swear.
Kanny: That makes me happy... Really...happy...
'She said it to herself, over and over, a weak smile creasing her tired face.'
Kanny: Jumpy... I feel...sleepy...
Junpei: No, Kanny! Don't fall asleep!
Kanny: Thank you...Jumpy... Thank you...so much...
'Her eyes were slowly closing... Junpei screamed, even as he felt his throat go hoarse.'
Junpei: Kanny! Kanny! Kaaaaannnnyyyyy!
... (Not doing the obligatory reference?) No, and I was silent for so long out of respect for the unfolding scene. (Same here.)
'... ... ...Time passed. Junpei wept, curled around Kanny's body. He cried and cried until he had no tears left. When the least tear feel, Junpei was no more. His body remained, but only as an empty shell. Somewhere, he heard a bell ring. It was the clock at the central staircase. It rang 5 times, then faded.'
Junpei: 5 o'clock...
(In the... Oh! I just can't do this!)
'Quietly, gently, softly, he set Kanny down on the floor. Slowly, Junpei stood. Only then did he realize that Seven and Lotus had not followed him.'
Yeah... We were distracted by this spectacle of feels...
'Where had they gone? Slowly, he looked around the room. There was nothing. No sign that they had ever been there. It felt as though every part of Junpei's body was made of lead. Slowly, he made his way to the door he'd come through. As he approached it, it opened, sliding apart with a sound like grinding stone. Junpei passed through the gate and into the hallway. His heart reattled in his chest, an empty lifeless thing.'
(Speaking of "lifeless things", Seven and Lotus are also dead now.)
'It had been so utterly broken that there was nothing left to feel. When he saw their bodies, he simply stared. It was a lake--a sea---of blood. 2 bodies lay in it. There was no need to check. There was no breath left in them. His eyes lit on Lotus's wrist. Her [bracelet]... It was gone. He stared. It meant nothing to him. He didn't care anymore. He couldn't care anymore. Junpei's body felt numb. A part of him knew the lump of lead in his chest had once been a heart. He couldn't quite remember what it had been for. Tears poured from his eyes in great streams. He wasn't sure why. He gave up trying to make them stop. He turned around. The door opened agian, and slowly, numbly, he walked through. He kept walking. Why stop? An object set in motion, simple inertia carried him forward. Eventually, he found himself in front of the submarine.'
Hey... Look guys, even if Junpei's lost it, we can still escape... (No, don't you remember!? That doesn't go anywhere!)
'His arm reached for the hatch--'
Got you, you worthless bastard! Those bitches will be mine, and you'll meet Snowflake again before you're sent to hell!
'And then he was floating in water.'
(Shimohi! He got stabbed and shoved into the water along with Junpei!) (Why you son of a bitch! I swear, you won't get away with this! *draws katana from hammer space*) Oh, but I already have. You belong to me now!
'His eyes stared down into it. He couldn't see the bottom. His back was hot. Dimly, he felt the blade of a knife in it. Who...?'
(Ace!)
'One dead body lay behind door number [5]. The body of the 9th Man. Another lay in the shower room. The body of Snake. At the central staircase were 3 more... Ace, Santa, and Clover.'
(Like I said, Ace was just playing possom. Was that his own idea... Or yours!?)
'Just outside the door were 2 corpses... Those of Seven and Lotus. And in this very room lay the body that had once been Kanny. And now, Junpei would join them.'
(I won't let Shimohi join their numbers as well, Niyagi, we're diving in!) (Wait, wha...)
You won't get away, you two bitches WILL accept your fate to be mine!
'Who, then, had killed them all...?'
(Got ya! Now where did you keep that thing...) (*thinking* [sarcasm] Great time to be having a rummage failure... [/sarcasm])
'Who...?'
(Let's see here... bucket of popcorn, sonic screwdriver, neuralyzer, obligitory rubber chicken, smart phone... is that a duxorz bomb...? Ah! Here's the reset button!) Where did this duck come from!?
'... ...'
(*thinking* Shimohi has a literal reset button!?) (Yes! Now, we've got to hit this now or never!)
'Junpei let out one last breath. Fainly, he felt the bubbles creep up the side of his face. His consciousness faded quickly, dissolving away into the cold, gentle lapping of the water.'
(I'm hitting that reset button while the credits are scrolling! *activates reset button*) ...Where did that dead bastard and those suicidal bitches go?
'The end...or is it?'
'Would you like to keep the information you've gained during this playthrough? This data will be retained in your save file. If you restart the game, you will still start at the beginning.'
-Yes.-
-No.-
(Since Shimohi's near dead from stabbing/drowning and Niyagi's too "shell shocked" looks like I'll have to do this... "Yes.")
--------------------------------------------------------
(Well, Niyagi, looks like we're going to have to heal Shimohi to make sure this Let's play can continue... And also so we don't follow him to the grave.) (I know but, Akurei... Can you do me one favor afterwards?) (Huh... Sure, what is it?) (Can you use that neuralyzer to help me forget how this playthrough ended?) (Of course, Sis...) *cue healing magic montage*
[simutainiously] ("May all your dreams be sweet tonight, safe behind your veil of sunlight. We know not of your sadness, nor pain... And as you dream, you'll break away and we'll meet you there... Sleep... Sleep...") ("May all your dreams be sweet tonight, safe behind your veil of moonlight. We know not of your sadness, nor pain... And as you dream, you'll break away and we'll meet you there... Sleep... Sleep..") [/simutainiously]
(Okay, Shimohi has been stablised, he'll wake up by the time the third playthrough starts. Now, Niyagi... *puts on sunglasses and holds up neuralyzer* ...watch the birdy.) *neuralyzer flashes* (You experienced the second playthrough, but the game cartrige was corrupted so you couldn't see how it ended. And when Shimohi or I say that you shouldn't know or remember something, you'll believe us.) (Okay...) (Looks like we'll see you next time... And hopefully I don't have to talk to you non-existant readers like this any time soon!)
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