As I recall, this is a puzzle room I haven't encountered before... (Ever!) So, I'm absolutely going to record what I do to solve the puzzles in here. No guide used what so ever! (We're going to be in for the long hall...)
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.
------------------------------(Last time...)--------------------------------------------
'At last, Junpei and the other 6 had managed to separate themselves into
2 teams. Clover, Seven, and Lotus headed to [A Deck], where door [1]
was, near the main staircase. Junpei, June, Ace, and Santa, however,
took the elevator to [E Deck]...'
---(And now, we continue.)---
'The ride to [E Deck] was a silent one.'
Thank goodness for that...
Santa: All right, let's go.
'Santa's words jolted them to action, and they stepped out of the elevator, into a long, straight hallway. Before long, they arrived in front of door [6]. One by one, they put their palms over the RED. With a soft electronic noise, it authenticated each of them. The door opened... And all at once, the 4 of them leapt through it.'
Here we go again...
'Fortunately, the DEAD was located easily enough. This one had been placed quite close to the door they'd entered through. They gathered around it quickly, and hurriedly placed their palms on it for authentication one by one.'
Junpei: ...
June: ...
Ace: ...
Santa: ...
Junpei: It stopped...
June: Yes... It stopped...
'The countdown had ceased, but Junpei's heart was still pounding in his chest, like a frantic, thunderous drum. It felt as though it might shake itself up and out of his throat. He'd been through the doors 3 times before, but repetition had not dulled the experience. He was not anxious to find it dulled, however. He hoped to be free of the ridiculous game long before that happened.'
Junpei: All right, let's go!
Let's find that door already! Yeah, yeah, we heard you already you nerd!
'With that attempt at good humor, Junpei took a deep breath, and began to walk. He jogged down the stairs at the end of the hallway, and found himself staring at a large door. It was a heavy thing, made of iron, and more than a little threatening. He took hold of the bar that served as its doorknob, and shoved it down.'
(So, what's behind the door?)
'The room beyond stopped him in his tracks. It was gargantuan, and made entirely of metal--none of the accents of wood or tile he'd seen in the rest of the ship. This room was purely functional, but utterly tremendous.'
Santa: Whoa, what the hell is this...
'Santa got out a few words, before awe stole the rest of them. The rest were too stunned to offer anything more than gasps.'
(Just what in the name of our Lord almighty is a warehouse doing inside a cruise ship!?) Niyagi, he may be your god be he definitely isn't my god.
'It was easily the largest room they'd seen, and yet it was somehow closed, and oppressive. The ceiling was at least 2 stories high, if not significantly more. It was easily several hundred feet across, and appeared to stretch the entire width of the ship. In the center of that gargantuan room stood a massive, rounded building.'
The aforementioned "warehouse" Niyagi mentioned.
'Even from a distance, the sheer bulk of it was...oppressive. Junpei could feel the room, the building, even the air, pressing down on him. Junpei and the others were standing on scaffolding that criss-crossed the whole area. The proper term was "catwalk", Junpei thought, although that didn't seem particularly important.'
Mew! What!? As in that stupid "pokey-man"! No, just as in a cat meowing. Besides, it's Pokémon.
Junpei: All right, let's head downstairs.
'Nearby was a long iron staircase that made its way, eventually, to the floor beneath them. They moved around toward the opposite side of the massive building, following the catwalk. They hadn't said much as they walked, but as they approached the building, Ace suddenly spoke up.'
Ace: This looks to be the steam engine room.
Junpei: The steam engine room...?
Ace: Yes. The thing that looks like a cross-section of a mushroom is the boiler.
This description was simplified so that even idiots like the three of you can understand it. You do know that usually it's the nerds who're smart and the jocks that are dumb, right?
Ace: Do you see the 3 round doors near the bottom? Coal is put into those, and burned, which heats the water, producing steam. The same thing that drives a steam engine.
That's because you had just described a steam engine!
Ace: This one is simply somewhat...larger.
Junpei: I see...
'Even if Ace was right, the boiler was boiling nothing as they approached it. The entire room was silent as the grave.'
Dang...
'Suddenly--Junpei heard a noise behind him.'
(Oh shit! We're in trouble now!)
'He turned, just in time to see June collapse to her knees.'
Junpei: Hey! What's wrong?! Are you all right?
(Let me guess, June's body heat is about near to cooking her alive.)
'He dashed toward her, and wrapped his arm around her shoulders to steady her. It was then that he noticed...'
That she wanted the D. No! Eeeeh, wrong!
Junpei: You... You're really warm! Is your fever coming back?!
(Yeah, that's a bad sign. This is absolute proof that we're going to die! And I think I can guess exactly how that's going to happen. *ji...*) Hey, bitch, why're you staring at...? Wait, you think I'm going to kill everyone! Well, although she was off on the exact timing; Akurei did accurately predict that Clover was literally going to kill everyone else in an axe-crazy fit...
June: Yes... Yes, it...probably is...
Wait, you believe this hysterical crazy bitch with delusions of being some kind of demon over and obviously better man like me!? Okay! That does it! Akurei, bring out that combustible garbage truck; because I'm about to "take out the trash!" *rolls up sleeves and slowly approaches Daemon with strange sound effects being heard that can only be described as "menacing"*
June: But...
Wait! You were serious about that!? Ha! I doubt a wimpy "guy" such as yourself can do anything to me! Even so... A gentleman will at times need to fight, even if it's obvious that he'll lose, if he is to walk the path of honor... (Dude, prepare to say hello to the inside of this garbage truck! *pulls a full-size truck labeled for "combustible garbage" from behind her back and sets it down on the ground*) What!? That's impossible! (Not if you're a demon!)
June: I'm fine...
This will be quite the... "Gold Experience!" *rapid-fire punching Daemon* MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA
MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA
MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA...!
June: Please, don't...worry about me.
*pauses for a split-second* WRYYYYYYYYYY!!! *continues punching Daemon*
June: I just need to rest... And I'll be fine...
MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA
MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA
MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA...! MU-DA!!!
*punches Daemon into the aforementioned combustible trash truck* ...I've always wanted to do that, in more ways than one. *from inside the trash truck* Y-You... S-seriously... copied that stupid meme... Nope, for one thing, that involved a crap-ton of knives and a road roller. Second; that also involved Dio Brando, I was imitating Dio's son, Giorno Giovanna. NEEERRRDDD! *passes out* Well, at least we don't have to deal with him during the puzzle room.
'Her voice was weak, and forced, and it said a great deal more than her words did.'
(Uh... I think you're going to end up paying dearly for that.) (Hey! Predicting shit is MY thing!)
'Junpei carried her to the nearest wall, and propped her up against it. She let her head fall back against the wall, as if she no longer had the strength to support it, and drew a ragged breath. Her eyes were empty, as if she was having trouble focusing them, and even speaking seemed difficult for her. Junpei felt his hand ball itself into a fist, and clench tight, his knuckles whitening. He had to find a way out, and quickly!'
(We all know that isn't going to happen.)
'He turned, and looked at Ace and Santa in turn. They might not have shared the depth of his emotion, but they certainly shared his concern. He didn't need words to express the urgency of their situation.'
Junpei: All right, let's get started. Hang in there, June... I'm gonna get you out of here real soon.
'She managed a small nod before leaning back to rest her head on the wall.'
It's... (Time...) To...
-----------SEEK A WAY OUT!-----------
Okay, first thing first, look around and see what kind of stuff we can gather right now... Turning to the right twice and... (Oh! Sand bags!)
Santa: Look, Ace! It's some kind of snowman secret meeting!
(*laughing out loud*) Well, that is a rather far-fetched assumption to make...
Ace: Those are just bags full of sand. You use them as a counterweight when you're lifting something with a pully system.
Santa: Man, you're too serious...
Speaking of a "pully system"...
Santa: There's a pair of wooden boxes here. There's...nothing in them.
Well, that lead to a whole lot of nothing. (Oh! The stairs!) You think something interesting would happen? And... We're up the stairs. Now, what's this machine at the top of the stairs...?
Junpei: What is this...
Ace: Given its placement... This must unlock the door to the left.
Santa: There's a weird indentation on the top of this thing.
So, there must be a key somewhere that fits in there...
Santa: You think that means you have to insert something there?
Bingo!
Ace: Yes, I would imagine so.
And, going back down the stairs... Oh, there's some boxes under the stairs...
'There are a number of wooden boxes piled up at the bottom of the stairs. They're all empty.'
Dang it! Okay, to the left... What about these cylinders under those arches over there? (Looks like there's two large gold wheels and one equally large silver wheel.) Okay, to the left again and... Is there anything on the conveyor belt?
Ace: I'd say this is probably here to move coal from place to place. It probably comes from over there...And then the belt carries it down the tunnel and out here.
Junpei: So, if the conveyor belt was moving...
Ace: Yes, the coal would almost certainly come out here.
Okay, now about this panel on the tunnel over the conveyor belt? It has a compartment that's... Empty, except for these three slots in the lower-left hand corner.
Santa: It's a square...hole.
More like they're rectangular slots but, still, close enough for government work.
Santa: Nothing in here.\
Ace: Ah, look at the back wall there. I can see 3 small slots... Terminals for some sort of connector, perhaps?
Santa: You mean you think we're supposed to plug something in here?
Exactly! (At least that's what we think it's there for.)
Ace: Perhaps.
What about this red button or light next to that panel?
Santa: Look at that button... I's glowing orange right?
Actually, it looks more like a bright red to me.
Santa: That's gotta mean something...
'I guess pressing it is the best way to find out if it does anything, Santa.'
We hit the button. ("Ooooo! What's this button do!") (Are you mocking my voice again!?) (Well, it is the best way to sound like Dee Dee.)
Santa: Hm... Nothing.
Damn it! Can we look in that "tunnel"?
'A tunnel. It goes all the way across the ship.'
Nope, nothing. (Looks like it's time to mess around with the wheels.) I'm going for the grey, or is it silver colored, one...
Junpei: It's a silver gear...
Thanks for clearing that detail up.
Santa: Do you think it's made of pure silver?
Highly doubt that.
Junpei: No way. Silver's way too soft to use for a gear.
Same deal with gold.
Junpei: It's gotta be a steel or iron gear that's been coated with silver.
Santa: Ugh... Shouldn't have called it a silver gear then.
Well, Junpei... (Tenmyouji!) ...could be referring to the color rather than the metal. (...And we still have no idea where that voice is coming from.)
Junpei: Shouldn't have got your hopes up. Were you thinking you'd haul this thing back?
Santa: Nah, but I think Seven could probably carry it, don't you?
Junpei: ...
Well, that did a whole lot of nothing. (Are you thinking of trying again?) Yeah...
'A huge silver gear. I've got a feeling it's important.'
Nope. (Better check the gold "gears"...) Middle one first.
'A huge, bronze gear. This has to be important...'
Wait, that's a bronze gear?! In that case shouldn't the "bronze" gear and the "silver" gear switch places? (As for the actual gold "gear"...)
Ace: A golden gear...
Junpei: It doesn't look like it was always golden like this.
Ace: Well then, I imagine it was prepared especially for this game.
Wait, that's that door behind the gold gear?
Ace: It looks like there's a door over here, in this tunnel... The belt over there must deliver the coal, which is then picked up and thrown into this door... The door appears to be welded shut, however.
Okay, how about we check if we can do something near the bronze and silver gears...? (Near the bronze gear...)
'The conveyor belt runs into a sort of arched tunnel.'
Nope... There's the actual door!
'There's a small door in the side of this tunnel. It's welded shut, and won't open.'
Damn it! Well, all there's left is checking near the silver gear...
'The conveyor belt runs into a sort of arched tunnel.'
Still nothing. Okay, let's stop messing around with the gears and see if there's anything else we can do. To the left... (And the left again... Oh! What are those three round "hatches" or something like that?) Okay, I click on the one to the left and all three open. (What's inside them?)
Ace: I believe this opening is for fueling the furnace. If we were to put some coal in here, and ignite it...
Except we have no clue where to find coal what so ever!
Junpei: Then the steam engine might start working?
Ace: It's certainly possible.
Again, I have no idea what to do with the gears... What's this thing on the left side?
Junpei: There are a number of these little windows along the inside of this thing.
Santa: I think you're supposed to put coal in through these, but...They're welded shut. I don't think we can get these open.
Dang it... Are you sure there's nothing we can do with that conveyor belt back at the entrance to that "tunnel"?
'Looks like a conveyor belt. It's not conveying anything right now.'
(A bunch of mostly pointless searching later, where Shimohi clicks on a flight of stairs...)
Santa: Oh man, Junpei, I can't believe I missed something so important!
Junpei: What's so important?
Santa: Look at those stairs... Look at them carefully! That gap! That height!
(Oh! It's that scene! The Pansy is going to absolutely hate this one...)
Santa: That angle! It's perfect!
(For what?) (You'll see...) *facepalm* I've heard of this scene...
Junpei: Perfect? Perfect for what...?
Two words... ("Panty shot".)
Santa: Whatever, just bring Clover here, right now! Tell her she needs to walk up and down these stairs!
Junpei: Huh?
(Still doesn't get it, does he.) (Maybe it's just that you two have rotten brains!)
'Clover's not here... What the hell is he talking about?'
(*sigh* Assuming that Santa's that much of a pervert, why demand that Clover do it? Aside from possibly being a paedophile.) (Oh, I know, but I'd possibly lose my nachos if I say anything about it. So, no, I won't tell ya.) Okay, back down the stairs and... What's this?
Junpei: There was a pillar like this on the other side.
Santa: Yeah, you're right...
Okay, again!
'There are 2 pillars that reach up toward the ceiling.'
(Looks like there's going to be more pointless searching...)
'Stairs to the upper floor. They're connected to the boiler.'
Still nothing... Wait, what happens if I tap this light from behind the stairs...? Wow, turns out that's another staircase. (And we see at the top of this stair case... A switch board!) There are three switches on it with a fourth one to the far right surrounded by a line. (Also, we can see the gears from here.) Let's see what happens if I flip the middle switch...
'This slider is down. Looks like Santa wants to give this one a shot...'
Santa: Urgh! Damnit... Nothing... This thing won't budge.
Okay, first switch first then...
'This slider is down. Well, let's see if I can get this thing to go anywhere...'
Junpei: Ugh! ...Man! No dice. This thing isn't going anywhere.
(Maybe we should try that outlined switch first.)
Junpei: The three sliders on the left are down, but this one is up.
Ace: There are a number of lines engraved in these... I suspect we are meant to do something rather specific with them.
Santa: Junpei, why don't you move that slider down?
'Well, there's no harm in trying, I suppose...'
Ace: Nothing... Hm...
Santa: Nothing happened.
Ace: Maybe it needs to be...prepared, somehow.
Agh! Come on!
Santa: You're saying if we did...something, somewhere else, it'd respond somehow?
Ace: Yes, I suppose that's one way of putting it...
*sigh* ...What about the lights below?
Ace: These 2 columns are different from the others...
Oh, right, the two columns of lights on the far right side are red while the rest are yellow.
Ace: The lights are red.
(No shit Sherlock!) Was that aimed at Ace or me? (Either way works.) *facepalm* Okay, can we go further up the stairs?
'This is the door we came through when we entered the steam engine room.'
Nope, click somewhere on the stairs and... We're up! I see a valve!
'One of the doors on the furnace. There's an [A] on it. There's a circular wheel in the center of the door.'
Junpei: All right, let's give that sucker a twist...
'Well, it's noisy, but it opens. ...And it's totally pitch-black in there...'
Junpei: We should...um...go in here...
Santa: All right.
Ace: Let's go.
(Later...)
Junpei: This...looks just like the door we went into...
Santa: Uh...where are we...?
Ace: We must be on the other side, yes?
Santa: Which would put us...directly above the conveyor belt.
Ace: At any rate, we should keep moving. There's a great deal we've yet to investigate.
So, let's see what we can do here. (If we go down the stairs maybe we can do something about the conveyor belt.)
Junpei: The catwalk.
Nope, maybe to valve B? And... We have access to the top of the box crane! (Yes!)
Junpei: All right, let's give this wheel a spin! Wh-What?
(Apparently, that did absolutely nothing.)
Junpei: That's weird... I don't feel any resistance...
'Gah!'
What was that!?
'Ahhhh shit...'
Well, we've got ourselves a wheel...
'It's a wheel that seems to be part of the winch. There are some pegs on the back that look like they go into the holes on the winch.'
Santa: Good job, genius. You broke it.
Was that supposed to be sarcasm? (Signs point to "Yes".)
Junpei: I didn't break it! It broke all by itself!
Can we do anything with the rope?
'A hand-operated winch. The wheel it once had is now in my hand. Let's see if I can get it back on... There's a couple of posts on the back of it that look like they fit into the holes on the winch...'
Junpei: Damn, no good. These little shafts are too small for this big hole... It's like throwing a hot dog down a hallway to be honest.
*whistles* That's got to be a huge size difference there.
Ace: If that's the case, then...
Santa: That wheel wasn't originally part of this winch...
Junpei: Then that means...
We need it elsewhere. Now does valve C go anywhere?
'One of the doors on the furnace. There's a [C] on it.'
Well, that's a dud. How about back to A?
'One of the doors on the furnace. There's an [A] on it.'
Oh, I get it, I should check out valve C from the other side! And there's... (Either another "winch" or we just found a different path to the same one.) I'm mostly going with same one. Anything useful with those boxes?
'This damn pile of boxes is blocking my way.'
Nope. Back through the door and... (Down to see if that wheel will help down below. But first, a "pipe"...)
Santa: Well, anyway, looks like that's the pipe. Looks like the bottom connects to the conveyor belt housing.
Ace: Then coal must come out of this pipe, onto the conveyor belt. In other words, there must be a great deal of coal in that pipe.
Okay, door A to the stairs... Does that wheel fit in those slots in the space near the button? (Highly unlikely.)
'There's a square hole on the side of the tunnel. There are 3 slots here. They look like connection terminals for something.'
(As I expected.) Okay, now from this side...
'One of the doors on the furnace. There's a [B] on it.'
Nope, I was looking for door C.
'One of the doors on the furnace. There's a [C] on it.'
Okay, what about those pillars?
Santa: I think that's part of the ship's structure. They're like ribs that support the hull.
Okay, I'm bored and a bit curious...
Santa: Hey, Junpei, where're you goin'?
Ace: The only thing in there is a closed numbered door.
Oh, right...
Ace: Kinda pointless to go back, huh.
Yeah, yeah! I get the "point" already! Let's just move on....
Santa: Yeah, it sure is.
Okay, back through door A and see if we can find anything else useful...
'This supports and braces the side of the ship. We might be right above where June's resting.'
(Seriously! You're going to check the winch again?)
'The hand-operated winch. Um... There's no wheel to turn. Oh yeah... I've got the wheel I pulled off the other winch, don't I?'
Well, turns out this isn't the same winch I got this wheel from. Hurray! Progress!
Junpei: Let's see if it fits...
And...
Junpei: Sweet, it's a perfect fit. Like they were made for each other. Not shaky at all... Good, I should be able to turn this now.
Ace: Good work, Junpei. We should be able to haul up the wooden box now. You see? The wooden box...
Yeah, we do.
Ace: It's under the catwalk...Can you see it? It's hanging from the rope on the winch, isn't it? It looks like there's some sort of...device in the box. I'm...not sure what it is.
There's one way to find out what it is... (Pull that blessed box up here!)
Ace: At any rate, you might as well turn that wheel now. I'm counting on you.
Well, it seems that's our only lead for now... Tapping on the aforementioned wheel...
Junpei: All right, I'll turn the wheel. Huh... What's this?
Ace: What happened?
Despite you being Daemon's proxy, I must say, that's what I'd like to know.
Junpei: This wheel only turns to the left.
Ace: It only turns to the left?
That's what Junpei just said!
Santa: That means we can't reel up that rope.
Junpei: Yeah... We can only let the rope down.
Ace: Interesting... I don't think that will be a problem. Well will simply need to go downstairs after letting the wooden box down. I will be counting on you, Junpei.
Junpei: Sure thing. No sweat.
'...'
(So...)
'...'
(Are we actually getting anything accomplished?)
Ace: I believe the box has reached the floor.
Junpei: Yeah.
'He stuck his head out over the side of the catwalk, and looked down. The box that had only recently hung just below the catwalk now sat on the floor. It had come to rest near the end of the tunnel that covered the conveyor belt. Near where June had collapsed... Junpei could see her, still leaning against the wall as if she barely had the strength to sit up. Even from so far away, it was not difficult to see that she had not improved.'
(That's because you've been wasting time running around not knowing what to do!) (Yeah, you could've asked me for help!) Dude, you're only supposed to know what I know! It's just that you're not as strict with avoiding spoilers, that's all.
'He almost thought he could see heat rising from her body...'
(Yeah, her goose is cooked.) [simultaneous] Akurei! (Monster!) [/simultaneous] (What!?)
Ace: She doesn't seem to be improving.
'Ace's expression was inscrutable, but he'd said what they had all been thinking.'
Junpei: Well, of course not. She's not gonna just get better right away, you know? It'll take time.
'He tried desperately to convince himself what he'd said was true.'
(Nope, this is another doomed timeline... Which means something bad's going to happen to Shimohi again. We'd better watch out.)
Ace: What could be causing this, I wonder. Illness, perhaps?
Santa: Nah, it's gotta be exhaustion.
'Santa's response was confident and certain.'
Santa: She gets dropped into some weird-ass ship...Forced to play some messed-up game...If you think about it, it's a lot weirder that we aren't freakin' out just like her, you know?
Ace: So you're saying we're...abnormal?
Well, I definitely know I'm abnormal. (Same here.) (Both of you are freaks...)
Santa: Yeah. We're just running around this room, solvin' all these puzzles like it's just business as usual. How the hell could you call that "normal"?
Santa, I'm not saying that's "normal". As a matter of fact, I own up to the fact that I'm a rather strange person.
Santa: We're just guinea pigs.
! (Ooooo... This might be an interesting reveal.) (Huh?)
'Santa snorted in disgust.'
Junpei: A guinea pig... You mean like a lab rat... You mean we're being used for some sort of experiment? Is that what you're saying?
(Precicely!) Well... More like... (That's what happened in the last Nonary game.) Akurei...! (What!? I didn't say anything about Zero or June!) Point. (*sigh of relief* My nachos are safe... *munch* *crunch*) (Ew! That's still gross!)
Santa: Dunno. But...it does seem like a possibility, you know?
'The stood there for a few more minutes, no one speaking, until Santa turned, and walked away from the winch. Junpei and Ace followed him.'
While trying to find the stairs again...
Junpei: The cat walk, meow.
Santa: You want me to push you off her, Junpei?
Junpei: No way, meow.
Santa: You jackass...
(Shimohi! Just what have you done to Junpei...) (Tenmyouji!) (...this time!? What!? That voice again! It's starting to get annoying!) Anyway, I think I've found the stairs... And hopefully this is the box we need.
'There's a pair of boxes here.'
Nope, how about the one hanging from the rope?
'There's a pair of boxes here.'
Nope. (And Shimohi's stuck again...)
'There are a number of cloth bags over here. There's nothing but sand in them.'
(...I'M GETTING SICK AND TIRED OF THIS RUNNING AROUND AND GETTING NOTHING ACCOMPLISHED! I'M GOING TO USE MY DEMONIC POWERS TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE FUCK WE SHOULD BE DOING WITHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!!!) ... (There's a box at the bottom of the conveyer belt, check that!) Okay okay... And we've got... a control panel for something. No, seriously, that's what the game's calling it.
'Some kind of machine... Maybe a control panel?'
*spins around the "control panel for something"* Hey, there's these three prongs on the back of it! (That looks familiar... You pondering what I'm pondering?) Yes, but what does somehow being able to drink the glass and throw away the chocolate milk... Which then explodes; has to do with this? No, seriously, I do know. Let's go! To that cabinet in the conveyor belt cover!
Junpei: Maybe this hole is where the control panel goes...
'Well, there's only one way to find out... In you go!'
Santa: Dude, you did it.
(Finally!)
Santa: Everything looks all right...
Junpei: Okay, but... What do we do now?
Ace: Why don't you press the button next to it?
Junpei: The orange one?
Kind of looks more like a glowing red one to me... (*facepalm* ...You've been seeing colors in strange ways lately...)
Ace: Yes.
Junpei: All right, I'll do that. Pushing!
'Sweet! All sorts of lights are lighting up on this thing! And...oh! Yes, I think i just heard something turn on!'
Hurray! (Actual progress!)
Junpei: Oh!? What's that!? What happened!?
Santa: Junpei, look! The conveyor belt's moving!
Junpei: The conveyor belt..?
(Yes, "the conveyor belt"... It's right over there!)
'...Well, I guess it's done moving now. There's still a bunch of coal on the belt, though... It looks like a bunch of it got dumped off the end of the belt into that wooden box where we found the control panel.'
Junpei: Coal... Coal, huh...
So, do we pick up the box of coal or the coal on the belt? (If not both?) And... We have a "box filled with the coal"? It could use not having the word "the" in there but, oh well... Let's search this thing!
Santa: A wooden box full of coal. Guess there's really only one thing we can do with this stuff...
So, can we pick up the coal from the belt?
'It's coal. It's shiny and black and...coal-like.'
([sarcasm] Wow, it's shaped like itself... [/sarcasm]) Anyway, as Santa implied, coal goes into a coal furnace! To the gold wheel area!
'There's a small door on the side of the tunnel. It's welded shut, and won't open.'
Oops, wrong area... Okay, bronze wheel next!
'There's a small door in the side of this tunnel. It's welded shut and won't open.'
Damn it! (Something tells me it's going to be the same story with the silver wheel...) And... There isn't even a door! Okay, those three circles between the Gold and Bronze wheels...
'This is where the coal goes.'
Yes, found... The next step in solving this puzzle.
'...Or would go, if all 3 of these things hadn't rusted shut.'
Ah, come on! Okay, other side of the wheels! ...And these ones can be opened! (Huzzah!)
'There's a hole that'll let us put coal into the furnace. Maybe, if we can get some coal in there and set it on fire...'
(I'd have something interesting to watch.)
Junpei: Okay, let's do it.
'All right, that's the last of it... No coal left in the wooden box. And...nothing. Great. Well, I guess I should have expected that. Why would just throwing coal into a cold furnace do anything?'
Well, there could've been a pressure plate or something that, if tripped by putting coal into the furnace, would activate a auto-ignite system and... Nevermind...
'Ah well, a man can dream...'
Ace: Junpei, explain it to me again. You're planning to stoke the furnace with coal...Which will heat the water stored up there, and make steam...Which will then drive something else. Am I correct?
Santa: In other words, you wanna generate enough pressure with the steam to power the turbine...And drive the steam engine, right?
Junpei: Y-Yeah, I guess that's the...uh...gist of it.
Ace: Hmm. Well, in that case, this isn't enough coal.
Santa: This furnace is enormous. So we're going to need a whole hell of a lot more coal than this.
Or, you could say, we're going to need a "boat-load" of coal! (*sigh**facepalm* Shimohi... You and your silly puns...)
Ace: Very well then, if the 3 of us work together, then we should manage to fill it much faster.
June: I...I want to help, too...
Hey, June's up! Have you cooled down enough?
'Man, I totally didn't even see her walk up...'
Junpei: Are...are you feeling up to that?
June: Y-Yes...
Junpei: ...Yeah right. You look like you're one stiff breeze away from falling over, June. I think you'd better rest some more, all right?
June: But...I--!
Junpei: No arguing! You need your rest! So you just stay there. We'll handle this.
*sigh* Well, in this case, Junpei does have a point...
June: ...
Junpei: ...
June: Okay... I understand...
'...All right... Time for some manly work! Let's get this coal into those furnaces!'
Many loads of coal later...
'...Man, this is a lot of work...'
Ace: All right, I think this should be sufficient.
Santa: All right, now we just gotta light it. Junpei, hand me your matches.
Huh? Junpei has a box or book of matches?
Junpei: What makes you think I have matches?!
What Junpei said. But then again, how exactly are we going to light this coal on fire?
Santa: I see... Then how're we gonna light it?
Ace: Perhaps there's a device nearby that will allow us to remotely ignite the coal. Let's take a look, shall we?
Junpei: Some sort of ignition device, huh...
And... I accidently tap on the furnace.
Junpei: Uh... I can't figure out how I'm supposed to light this thing...
Don't worry, we're working on it.
Ace: Junpei, have you thought about looking at the other side?
Actually, that's where I thought about looking first.
Junpei: You're right. I should take a look over there.
And... (You're going to the switch box in the middle of the stairs?) Yeah, let's see if that does anything...
Junpei: Is this...
Santa: I think it might be...
Ace: It probably is. I think this is how we might ignite the furnace.
Santa: That means that if we move that thing down...
Junpei: All right, let's do it!
'Here we go!'
Santa: Hey Junpei, Ace, look at this! There's big gears turning under the boiler here!
Yes, Santa, we noticed those there earlier...
Junpei: ...?
The gears turn and... Are those indents with disks in them?
Junpei: The gears...
Ace: They're spinning...
Santa: What the hell are you guys waiting for!? Let's start looking!
Indeed! Bronze gear first, and we get... (A bronze disc. Fitting...)
'The bronze disc. It has a bunch of lines on it, in 3 different colors: red, blue, and black.'
Next stop, the silver gear! (And there's a silver disc.)
Santa: The silver disc. It has a bunch of lines on it, but the red ones really stand out, right?
Junpei: The red ones, huh...
And, last but not least... The gold gear! And of course it'd have a gold disc!
Ace: The gold disc. It has a number of lines engraved on it. I can make out 3 colors here... Red, blue, and...black. Hmm... I wonder what they mean...
(Didn't a door have three circle shaped indents?) Well, let's check it out... Oh yeah, this is what you're talking about right? The podium near the exit door? (Yeah!)
'It looks like this thing unlocks the door. There's a depression here that looks like it's the outline of 3 circles laid on top of each other in a triangle.'
(Wait... If June has woken up by now...) Oh no, maybe Daemon's conscious as well...
Junpei: Maybe... Maybe if we put those 3 discs we found into this thing...
'Well, there's only one way to find out. Let's stick 'em in...'
Junpei: Huh...? That's odd... Nothing's happening.
Santa: Maybe you're...I dunno...putting them in the wrong places?
Ace: Perhaps you have them facing the wrong directions? Perhaps you should rotate the dics to make some of the lines connect to one another?
Yeah, that's what I figured you should do.
Junpei: Hmm... Well, no harm in trying.
'Instructions for operation: When the disc is touched, it will rotate a certain amount. When the white arrow is touched, the discs are switched. Please note when the discs are switched, the angles for the discs are reset.'
And... The tutorial text is back. Anyway on with the puzzle! Let's see...I'm thinking the red lines should be in the center somehow... Switching the gold and silver discs... Not quite, now the silver and bronze discs... Okay, now switching them back... (...It should be silver top, gold left and I think you can figure out where bronze goes!) Akurei? (But, you were right about the red lines.) ...Thanks. Seriously, you're going to listen to this bitches advice!? Hey, Akurei was the one who helped me when I got stuck and had no idea what to do next so ZIP IT! I have some discs to rotate...and...Ta-da!
'The red lines on these discs... I think maybe I can make a star polygon with these...!'
-----------YOU FOUND IT-----------
Junpei: Yes! The door's open!
See, Daemon, women can be intelligent! (Yeah, besides... although I'd hate to admit it... Sometimes you have to ask for and accept help...) Yeah, demonic culture is kind of the epitome of toxic masculinity...
'Given the circumstances, Junpei's happiness was certainly understandable.'
What!? No! WOMEN are the corrupting influence on MEN. So, MEN have to keep a tight control over their women! *punches Daemon* Dude, just shut up before your face gets black and blue all over...
'Ace seemed to share his excitement.'
Ace: All right, Junpei. Why don't you go get June now? Santa and I will keep an eye on this door.
'Santa snorted.'
Santa: Why do we need to do that? Even if it shuts, we know how to solve the puzzle now. We could just open it again.
Ace: Well... I suppose that's true... Shall all 3 of us go and collect June, then?
Santa: Nah, I'm cool. I'll just let Junpei handle it.
'He still seemed irritated by something, however, and sat down on the stairs petulantly.'
Ace: So you are only interested in being contrary...?
Speaking of being contrary... Shimohi, you're being 'contrary' to the natural way things are! Men are meant to dominate women! ("Dominate" this you bastard!) And... A big ball of violence ensues... (I can't believe I'm saying this but... Do you think the Monster will be okay?) We'll have to wait and see. If it looks like she's in trouble, we'll help. Otherwise...
'Ace sighed, with the air of a long-suffering parent.'
Junpei: All right, I'll go get June. I'll be right back.
'He gave a quick nod to Ace and Santa, and dashed off down the stairs. Before long, he was back on the 1st floor, next to the conveyor belt, and June. As he drew closer, she stood up, slowly.'
Junpei: Are you okay...?
'He did his best to sound calm and nonchalant, but there was no hiding the genuine concern in his voice.'
June: Yes. I'm fine now. I'm sorry I made you worry.
'June blushed. He wasn't sure if she was embarrassed or still feverish.'
Well, how about we ask?
'Just to make sure, he reached out and put his hand against her forehead.'
(Then again, there's that too...)
Junpei: ...Good. You're feeling a lot better.
'She was feeling far less warm than she had earlier, but still wasn't down to what seemed normal to him.'
Junpei: Are you sure you're all right?
'He had to be sure. June gave him a look.'
June: Oh, you're such a warrior, Jumpy.
(Huh? I thought you would've said "worry wart" but...)
June: Oops! I-I mean...worrier...
(Well...) That's close enough for government work.
'June giggled.'
Junpei: ...
'He wasn't sure if she'd just made a joke or not, but... Seeing her smile again made Junpei feel at ease. If she really was feeling much better. He gave her a friendly poke on the forehead.'
Junpei: Let's go.
June: Go where...?
Junpei: Oh, right. I didn't tell you... We got the exit open, so--
June: Great!
Yeah, let's go!
June: Let's go!
... (That was weird.)
'June clasped her hands and nodded urgently. As they walked back toward the exit, Junpei noticed Santa, sitting on the stairs. He was, however, holding something in his right hand, and staring at it with a strange expression. Junpei and June slowed down, and finally stopped in front of him.'
Junpei: What are you looking at?
Thanks for asking for me.
'Santa answered without looking up, his voice quiet.'
Santa: It's a photo. It's my sister.
June: Sister? Santa, you've got a sister?
(Yeah, you know who that is... Hint, hint.)
'Santa simply nodded.'
Santa: Yeah... Kid was a cute as a button...
'June cocked her head, confused.'
June: She was only about an inch tall, then?
No, I doubt Santa's sister was Thumbelina...
'Santa glared at her.'
June: A-Ah... Sorry... I-I guess an inch is a little large for a button... Probably more like...a half-inch?
(*facepalm* June... That's not the problem here!)
Junpei: ...
Santa: ...
Yeah... If that was meant as a joke, it flopped...
'Santa didn't smile, or laugh.'
...badly.
'He simply turned back to his picture, and spoke.'
Santa: I was her Santa Claus.
'This sudden revelation took Junpei by surprise. He had no idea what Santa meant. He glanced at June, who shook her head. She didn't know either.'
I thought the most obvious answer was that either Santa gave his sister hope... or gifts, if not both.
Santa: Have you ever heard the story of the 2 Santa Clauses?
Oh, you mean "Sinterklaas" and "Zwarte Piet". (What?) I tend to gather a bunch of odd bits of information in my memory. (Including random Christmas trivia.)
Santa: It goes that a long time ago, there were 2 Santas...
That's... Not quite how I heard it. But, go on...
Santa: One of 'em wore white, and the other one wore black. The white Santa gave presents to good kids.
That would be "Sinterklass" or, as we know him, "Santa Claus".
Santa: And the black Santa played tricks on bad kids.
What I heard was that Zwarte Piet beat the crap out of bad kids, but details in folklore tend to change like details in a game of telephone...
Santa: They went on like that for a while, but eventually the black Santa's tricks started to get worse and worse.
(Like that whole "beating the shit out of the bad kids" thing Shimohi read about?)
Santa: Pretty soon, the white Santa couldn't stand it anymore... And he stabbed the black Santa to death.
Wow... Dude...
Santa: When he stabbed the other Santa, the white Santa got blood all over his clothes. And that's why, these days, his clothes are red.
... (...) (...That...Makes Santa Claus sound more like a badass.) Akurei, that's horrible. (Wait, you're saying something minor is horrible rather than the Pansy?) Now, Santa Claus or "Nicolas St. North"... THAT'S a badass Santa right there!
Santa: You could say that red is all that's left of the black Santa.
'Junpei was silent. He could think of nothing to say. June was staring at Santa, sadness plain on her face. He continued.'
Santa: I wonder...which Santa am I. The white Santa or the black Santa...
Junpei: ...
June: ...
Junpei: ...
June: ...
Yeah, we've pretty much said all we're going to say about this.
Santa: All right. Let's go.
----------------------------------
Indeed, next time... (We go through the next room and see what kind of doom is in store for Shimohi at the end of the third playthrough.) (*looks up* What's the reason for this post title?) Mostly a reference to, what was apparently, the original title for part five of Jojo while being serialized... "Giorno Giovanna: Golden Heritage". (Lately you've been having this strange obsession with Jojo's Bizarre Adventure...)
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