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Elevator Action: 09/16/2030, 11:45 gently caress it, let's do a double.  ♪ BGM: LABO Security Lv. 3 ♫ Watase's voice was faint. The group had just barely escaped from the collapsing staircase with their lives.  I never expected that the staircase would collapse on us... Is there any way we can go down from there?Watase took a look into the stairwell. But the collapsed stairs blocked the door, meaning it was unlikely they could get to the other side.  Heeey, Teach! Can you hear me!?However... there was no reply. It seemed she'd gone to some other room to continue with the search. Crap, we're completely out off from Teach! That's why I warned everyone not to go off on their own...! No choice. Let's use the inner ring's emergency staircase to regroup with her!The group nodded and headed for the inner ring. But the staircase there-~  Tch, guess we'll have to go down from another area? Yes. Then--Kazami took out her PDA and began muttering to herself.  She placed X-marks on the staircases on the map. So we'll have to take a detour through Area 6. Let's go.The group nodded again and headed for Area 6 this time.  The security slot that controlled the gate to Area 6 was out of order. Sliding the card into it did nothing. Luck's just not on our side... let's try the outer ring's gate. --But the connecting passageway to the outer ring was buried in rubble.  And on top of all that, it appeared that the hole in the ceiling didn't connect to the surface floors. C-crap... this is really bad, isn't it? Khh...Kazami gritted her teeth and checked her PDA.  Meaning we have no way to get down to B2, huh? Couldn't we go through the B2 Area 4 route? Unfortunately... the outer ring's card slot there was burned in the fire. And the inner ring's a contaminated zone... Wait, you're not saying--!? Yeah... we've hit a dead end.Watase gritted his teeth. All their ways forward were completely cut off. I'm worried about Teach... we've gotta find a way downstairs. We don't have a choice. What if we used the connecting passageway in the contaminated zone? No, it's too dangerous to bring everyone through a contaminated zone. Wh-what should we do...? This is a conundrum... if only the elevators were working...Ukita bemoaned this in a voice devoid of hope-- But that comment suddenly lit a lightbulb in Watase's mind. ...Huh!? Wait, we might be able to get down through there! Huh? From where!? This way! Follow me!Watase then ran off, with the rest of the group following close behind.  Hey, Captain? You do remember the elevators aren't working, right? I know. But maybe, just maybe... --The elevator car was apparently resting on the surface floors. Watase looked into the elevator shaft, then yelled. ...Yes, I was right!There was a ladder there. This is a maintenance ladder... yes, it -does- look like we could use this to get down. It's along way down, though. You guys sure you'll be okay with that? Mmm, I think I can make it... so long as I don't look down. Good. Then let's go down one at a time.But Yuuri's face went as white as a sheet at that moment. I... I can't climb down from this high up... A blue branch with Yuuri at 5. She's right. Just hang in there. B-but...But there was no way they could leave Yuuri there. It was too dangerous to split the group up any further.  ... Oh great...!They couldn't afford to waste time in this situation-- just as Watase thought this, Jun spoke up. Then how 'bout you hang on to the Captain's back when he goes down? Huh...!? Don't worry, you'll be safe with him. You cool with that, Captain? Y-yeah, I don't mind...Watase glanced at Yuuri. (Is she gonna reject me again...?)However, Yuuri defied his expectations by nodding. Okay... let's do that then, please. O-okay! Leave it to me! Then I'll go down before the both of you and wait on standby at the bottom, just in case something goes wrong. Moribe and Mr. Ukita, go down first and please look for Ms. Tsubakiyama. Roger! All right, I'll do it.So with that, the group decided to head down to B2 through the elevator shaft. Jun and Ukita went first, followed by Kazami. Their voices soon echoed up from the bottom. Okay, we're going on ahead! Get down here as soon as you can. Roger that. Okay then Captain, your turn.After listening to all that, Watase and Yuuri got ready to go down. Okay Yuuri, let's go. Another blue branch, with Yuuri and Watase both at 5. Yuuri silently wrapped her hands around Watase's neck. Watase made sure her body was held securely by the rope, then leapt into the shaft.  He then slowly descended the ladder. He could feel Yuuri's body trembling slightly through his back. Watase climbed down the ladder slowly so that his body rocked as little as possible. --A short time later, Yuuri whispered into his ear.  ♪ BGM: Peacemaker / Theme of Yuuri ♫ There's a lot of nice tracks in this game, but this one is my favorite. It has that wonderful quality where I can just close my eyes and completely lose myself in it. It makes me feel... at peace. Fitting. Hmm? I'm not heavy, am I...?Watase's cracked ribs suddenly started hurting again when she asked this-- but he didn't let that show. Nope, you're pretty light. I bet I could carry another ten of you and still be okay. ...Watase thought he heard Yuuri let out a faint chuckle. The air grew silent again. Yuuri spoke up again as if she hated that silence. ...Captain Kasasagi, can I ask you a question? Sure, fire away. It... it feels like you're always worrying about me... Why is that...? Oh, does it make you uncomfortable? No! Not at all! It's just... I'm a total stranger to you. So why? Hmm...Watase was happy that Yuuri was actively striking up a conversation with him for the first time since they'd met. So after thinking about it for a while, he answered honestly. ...You might think I'm crazy after hearing this, but... I heard this voice when I first saw you. A voice? It told me to save you. It wasn't Tachibana or Moribe's voice. It felt like it was echoing from inside my head. ... It's not like I obeyed the voice-- But when I first met you, I felt this mysterious yet powerful desire to save you. ...Yuuri didn't say anything. Watase felt a tinge of embarrassment come over him. ...Yep, I knew it sounded crazy. It was like I was hearing an auditory hallucination or something like that. N-no, that's not it! If you had to ask me... I think that might have been the 'Third Man factor'...Tips posted:TIP: Third Man factor What's that? Well... I read about it in a book. When people are thrown into extreme situations such as disasters or accidents... they say that they hear a voice that isn't actually there. Huh, so something like that actually exists? ...They also say that the voice is always telling that person what actions they should take. There have been many reported cases of this phenomenon all over the world, usually from people who survived being stuck on a snowy mountain. Sure is a strange phenomenon, that's for sure... Wonder why it happens.After considering what Yuuri had just told him, Watase suddenly remembered something. ...Wait, could that be an example of that... uh, what'd Teach call it... that 'BC' thing? Huh? She said there's a lot of people nowadays who can use telepathy, right? Maybe there's some nice guy out there who knows of the trouble we're going through and is using telepathy to tell us what we should do? ...That would be wonderful... but here's what I think it is. Hmm? The human mind... their knowledge and memories, that is-- works at its absolute best in extreme situations like this... And so it tells you 'what you should do' in the form of a voice echoing in your head... perhaps? Memories, huh. But I don't have any of those... But it's said that even when you lose your memories, they leave behind a vague 'feeling'. So perhaps in your case, that feeling in your mind was the strong 'desire to save people'. I see... that might be it.That was a much more fitting mindset than the idea that someone was ordering him around with BC. That desire to save Yuuri that he'd felt back then was most certainly not vague. ...So maybe that's why I get so desperate to save people even without my knowledge and memories. Yes, I think it'd be nice too... I really do...Watase felt a slight anxiety emerge in him when he heard that. It sounded like there was some hidden meaning behind her words in the way she'd said that. (Don't tell me that Yuuri is still being cautious of me... If that's the case, then why is she so...?)The end of the ladder grew closer and closer as he thought that. Watase got off the ladder while still entrapped by those inescapable thoughts. ♪ BGM: Silence ♫ All right, we're finally here.Yuuri breathed a sigh of relief against the back of his neck when she heard that. Whew... You did a good job of hanging in there. You can rest easy now. O-okay...Kazami untied the rope and helped Yuuri down to the floor. Then let's get going. We need to catch up with Ms. Tsubakiyama. Yeah, you're right.And so Watase and the others pried open the elevator doors-- And entered B2.
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| ← # ? Nov 18, 2016 22:31 |
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