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NeoRonTheNeuron
Oct 14, 2012
Gin's offer is just too tempting because of the prize for having the most tokens. If Sara doesn't take them, someone else will.

We've already invested a lot into the Reko/Alice arc, so I hope ignoring her this time doesn't cause any problems.

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Veryslightlymad
Jun 3, 2007

I fight with
my brain
and with an
underlying
hatred of the
Erebonian
Noble Faction

Smiling Knight posted:

So, then, why do the creators of the game think that our Normal High School Girl protagonist has a 15.5% percent chance of winning, far higher than, for example, Keiji, who may not be a cop but who is a smart, physically fit adult? Obviously, the answer is that Sara is not a Normal High School Girl. My guess based on Keiji's infodump about Hades is that she is some sort of special Secret Crime Syndicate Heiress, but the game seems too grounded to pull a "skill at death games is genetic" kinda of trick.

I don't think it's necessarily genetic, but yeah, this is my assumption too, especially after that scene with her father and Kai.

Tenebrais
Sep 2, 2011

She's clearly got an aptitude for this kind of situation, so that'd be a fair reason to give her good odds. But I do suspect an unknown crime family link is why she's here in the first place.

This sort of thing is probably why they can't buy their own profiles.

Tylana
May 5, 2011

Pillbug
Maybe an amnesiac survivor of a previous death game or hostage situation, hence her not remembering being super rich with Kai as a cook?

Mmm. Maybe that's too 999/VLR/ZTD style.

e-dt
Sep 16, 2019

I never noticed until I saw the ad that the silhouette in the first update is Sou

Sparda219
Nov 21, 2007

Just as some things can be right and useless at the same time, can't something be wrong and priceless?
Gin seems an easy pick and someone else may end up with those tokens if we don't take them.

Also late, but the shot of Keiji taking care of Gin's scraped knee is the most wholesome ever.

HydroSphere
Feb 11, 2014





“Woof! Let's play, meooow!”



“...I just have to play?”

“Yeah! For 30 tokens, I'm buying your time, meow!”



“Let's play meditation!”

“You mean sitting still, meow?!”

“I don't wanna, woof! Even if that's your request, meditation's the one thing I won't do, meow!!”

“No. We're doing meditation. Absolutely... Meditation.”



Music stops.

“Well now... Gin.”

“Mmm... don't talk to me, woof... I'm concentrating, meow...”

“...Sorry, Gin...”



“Hear... enlightenment?”

“...Be quiet, meow...”

“...Sorry...”

“ ...”



“Gin... You're looking a little strange...”




“...Want to eat some cake?”



(...Phew. Let's forget about that Gin...)

  • Yeah, let's jump back and actually play a game with Gin.





“Let's have a swordfight!”

“Yaaay!! We'll whack each other with big sticks, woof!”

“Hahaha... You shall learn how a kendo master handles her blade... with your own body!”





“Kneel before me, big sis Saraaaaa!!”

“Too slow!!”

“What nasty stick-handling, meow!”

“Hmm...? Is it over already...?”

“Gah! No openings at all, meow!”



“Grrr...! This is desperate, woof!!”

“Myeeeeeooooowww!!”

“Let us do battle...!”



Music stops.



“Heehee... It's important to fully assume the role for things like this.”



“Yes, master!”





Gin and I sat down.

“Big sis Sara... Are you tired, meow?”

“A little.”

“It's fun being with you, meow!”

“...Heehee, thanks.”

“That's why... I want you to accept my tokens, woof.”

“You won't trade tokens, will you...?”



“Please, big sis Sara! Accept them, woof!”




“...Got it, Gin. You bought a fun time with me. Let's say that was it.”

“Yeah!”

“But it's only a one-time payment. I'll play with you for free next time, Gin.”



(Did he misspeak, or...? Oh well.)

Music stops.



(It's gotten late already... I can't even maintain concentration... Guess I'll call it a day...)





(What could've happened this late at night?)



“W... What is it, Gin?!”

“The old guy...”



“...Huh?”

“Come to the Monitor Room... meow...”

(The old guy... Wait, who...?)




Investigate Mishima's monitor.

(It's...!)



It's broken. This time, Professor Mishima's monitor is broken.



“The old guy... he's...”

“Who would do something so cruel...?”

“No good... Seems the computer in front is just for booting it up.

“The AI was stored on the monitor itself.”



(I won't let them get away with this...)

“..........”



“Wha...?!”

“Y... You're wrong! I would never... do such a thing...!”

“U... Um...”



“Always with him...? This late into the night?”

“It's Kanna's job to watch him, so... We slept in the same room...”

“What...?”



(It wasn't Sou...?)

“...I'm beat. Never run into a case with such an unclear motive behind the crime.”

“Who was the first to discover this?”

“..........”

“That'd be this policeman here.”

“It was you, Keiji...? ...What was the situation?”

“Ahh, well... Couldn't get to sleep, so I thought I'd have a chat with Mishima. When I came in... well, it looked just like this.”

“Is that true?”

“...Yep.”



(What's this...? Why do I get this sense like... Keiji is telling a barefaced lie...?)



Music stops.



“Mya?! Don't come in, woof!!”

“Huh...?”

“Pro... fessor...?”



“Nao... Do you have any idea who would have done this...?”

“..........”

“You mean... who broke it, don't you...”

“...I don't know the culprit.”

“...”

“...Um.”



“W... What do you mean by that?”

“Please let me be alone for a little...”

(Nao...?)

“Hmm... No clues around that I can see.”

“Meow? No bits of wood on the ground like when the other monitor got broken, woof?”

“Nope, nothing.”

(So the evidence was cleaned up this time?)



“We need rest. Let's do a detailed investigation tomorrow.”

“Asking Reko and Q-taro can wait 'til tomorrow, too.”

“Mr. Policeman... You gotta... find the culprit, meow...”

“...Right.”

(We'll find who it was... For Nao's sake, especially...)









“Hmm...”

(Looks like Keiji's questioning her about the incident yesterday...)

Talk to Gin.

“Can't talk to the old guy anymore, woof?”




Talk to Nao.

“Even without the professor... I'm fine.”

“Nao...”




Talk to Alice.

“..........”

(He seems to be in thought... I won't disturb him.)

Talk to Kanna / Sou.

“Awful, isn't it...”

“............”



Talk to Keiji / Reko.

“...Got nothing else to say.”

“Okie-dokie. I'll trust you.”

“Oh, Sara. Need something from me?”



“Yep. Got rejected, though.”

“Stop spoutin' bullshit! Obviously he was just questioning me!”

Ooh, scary. You'd be a good detective, Reko.”



“I'll keep up the investigation. See ya.”



“Sara, I've got something for ya. Could you come with me for a sec?”

“Eh...?”

Music stops.



“Something curious...?”

“It's hard to see in the dark, but... Check out that wall.”

Investigate red button.

There's a mysterious switch on the wall.


“Noticed the switch there?”

“What is this for...?”

“Dunno... But there's an interesting note here.”

Above the switch are the words “Bonus Attraction”.



“I'll push it.”

“Wha?! You just went and pushed it, Sara?!”

With a loud sound, something moved.

“Sara! A door appeared!!”

“Is that...?!”

There's a piece of paper on the door. It reads...

David Corbett
Feb 6, 2008

Courage, my friends; 'tis not too late to build a better world.
A very eventful update. Seems there’s quite a bit going on now. The worst part about threads like this is finally catching up with the OP – I’m at a total loss.

Bifauxnen
Aug 12, 2010

Curses! Foiled again!


Whoah, ok, that Gin was creepy. :stare:

Oblivion4568238
Oct 10, 2012

The Inquisition.
What a show.
The Inquisition.
Here. We. Go.
College Slice

:catstare:

I hadn't seen this before...

Insertnamehere31
Jan 23, 2012

This could be the most one-sided fight since 1973 when Ali faced an eighty-foot tall mechanical Joe Frazier. My memory isn't what it used to be, but I think the entire Earth was destroyed.

So Keiji's lying about being first on the scene. I'm betting he saw Nao do it and is covering for her.

Neddy Seagoon
Oct 12, 2012

"Hi Everybody!"

Insertnamehere31 posted:

So Keiji's lying about being first on the scene. I'm betting he saw Nao do it and is covering for her.

Yeah, if he was really going to investigate he'd want everyone there now to preserve the crime scene and investigate while it's fresh. Hurrying everyone off to bed and away from there is just the opposite of good detective work.

Ignatius M. Meen
May 26, 2011

Hello yes I heard there was a lovely trainwreck here and...

Insertnamehere31 posted:

So Keiji's lying about being first on the scene. I'm betting he saw Nao do it and is covering for her.

Yeah, that's almost definitely what happened. Nao's taking this too well to not be involved. Probably healthier for her this way, really.

Gilgamesh255
Aug 15, 2015
Just speculating here, but perhaps Nao delivered a mercy kill to the Professor, in some way? Or perhaps the Professor asked her to end him, so that she might move on? I can only speculate at this point.

yamiaainferno
Jun 30, 2013

I don't think Nao has it in her to destroy the AI, honestly. Especially since she seems to have been doing pretty good at distancing herself from him. Maybe if he had asked for someone to smash him, she would have done it, but then why lie about it and create paranoia?

I think this actually might be more in line with the theory someone threw out a bit ago that the batshit crazy Sou we had during the Main Game was a doll of this Sou-- Keiji was very certain that it was Sou, and seemed pretty thrown off when he had an alibi. Assuming that he didn't smash the monitor just to frame Sou for it (which seems unnecessary, given no one trusts him to begin with, and unlikely since he dropped it immediately). I think Keiji saw someone or something that looked a lot like Sou fleeing the scene, and is now lying because he doesn't know what to make of Kanna vouching for him-- and doesn't want to end up in a scenario where it's his word against hers (because Sou's is dogshit).

Tylana
May 5, 2011

Pillbug
Maybe Kanna stole Sou's hat? No motive other than spite "My dead sister doesn't have an AI." so probably not.

Sword_of_Dusk
Sep 30, 2018

Legendary Luminary
Are we capable of doing that bonus attraction now? If so, it makes me wonder how long it will remain open for us.

tomanton
May 22, 2006

beam me up, tomato
Is it pronounced Gin like the liquor or Jean like the pant?

HydroSphere
Feb 11, 2014





“It's a tenth attraction...!”



“Y... Yes, we heard that, but...”

“And... 6 Clear Chips...?”

“It's awfully suspicious, isn't it?”

“Hey, Sara. Did you check all 9 attractions?”

“Hm...?”

“Specifically, how many Clear Chips you get from each attraction.”



“R... Right...”

“And all the attractions gotta be done in pairs.”

“Ah...! Right!”

“You noticed yet? There's nine of us... That's an odd number.”

“A person can't re-enter an attraction once they've already cleared it...”

Music stops.



“...!!”



“Even if everyone who can form a pair goes around to every attraction...”

“The number of Clear Chips we can get... is 84.”




“Six...?! Then...!!”

“If we beat this Bonus Attraction, it gives us exactly enough...!!”

“Ain't no logic in avoiding this place, Sara.”



“Now it's just... who does it.”

“...Who...”

Music stops.

“Of course, I'll do it.”

“B-But Reko...!”

“And who to pair up with...?”






“What about Keiji...?”

“No offense, Sara...”




Music stops.

“I don't even have to think about it. I'll pair with you.”

“...You can't do that, Sara.”

“Why not...?!”

“You're overworking yourself.”



“I want to be equals with you, Sara.”

“It won't satisfy me to just keep getting saved.”



“Then please, don't be modest. You should choose the best option... If that's not me, then I understand.”

“Sara...”

“I'm afraid to just wait around, too...”

“You sure...? You got the stamina for this?”

“Yes.”



“Let's beat this and come out safe, partner!”

I grabbed Reko's outstretched hand and gave her a firm handshake. Then a liquid trailed onto my hand, through a gap in Reko's glove.







...She had been pushing herself.




(...Reko...)

“What's up, Sara?”

“Forget it. Let's go...!”



Music stops.

(Let's go...!!)



“Pretty dark... You there, Sara?”

“Yes. Let's look around carefully.”

Investigate the table.

There's a table in the centre of the room.



I approached and examined the top of the table.




(And on the right is... a rope?)

On top of the plate with the rope-like object on it, there was also a note.



(The Web... of Happiness...? That's astoundingly suspicious... Is it okay to touch?)



“Reko, let's take the items on the table.”

“Wait...! In that case, let's do it together.”

“O-Okay. Well... Reko, you take the Clear Chips.”

“Got it.”

(Okay...)



“Huh...?!”






“Reko...?!”



“Reko! Reko!!”

(What's happening...?!)

I reached for Reko's hand at once and grabbed it.

“Let's run to the exit, Reko!!”

Music stops.



“Are you all right, Re...?!”



Reko's... glove.

“Reko...? She's still in the Room of Lies...!”

The door is firmly shut.





“...What...”

“Pant...! Pant...! Scary as poo poo...! ...Huh?”

“A-Are you okay, Reko?!”

“Uhh...”

“...Y-Yeah! I wasn't scared...! Somethin' the matter, Sara?”

“Err... um... As long as you're okay...”





(Sure enough... She has all six.)

“I got a cold sweat when it went pitch black... Don't you tell anybody I was freakin' out.”

(I wonder if she doesn't like the dark...)




“I don't have any idea...”

“Maybe it was for real just bonus? Man, that just makes it creepier...”

“Hmm... What are we gonna do with these dubious Clear Chips?”

“I was thinking I'd give them to somebody who was having trouble collecting 'em, but...”

Music stops.

“Sara, you need one?”

“Huh...?”

“Look, I get being wary... But you've got a right to have some.”



“We both risked life and limb for these... I'll take one.”



“There ya go.”

(Hm...? Reko's hand...)

“Wait... Is this glove... not yours, Reko?”

“Hm? What's that...?”



“Yeah... that's mine.”

“Why've you got it, Sara?”

“When I pulled your hand earlier, I...”



“What? Then what's this glove?”

“Hmm... Must be one of my spare gloves...”

“You have spares? Really?”

“Yeah. Ranger put full changes of clothes in our rooms, remember?”

“Though I don't remember bringin' this.”

I gave Reko her glove back.

“Well, thanks, anyhow... We should get going, Sara.”

(The Room of Lies... just what was it? And this Web of Happiness... what could it be...)



(No use in worrying about it, I guess... Maybe it's about time to do an attraction.)






Talk to Alice / Keiji.

Keiji is talking to Alice.


“...What's that?”

“Understand? Buying the personal info is the only way...”

“...What are you chatting about?”

“Ahh... ghh... Sara Chidouin...!!”



“...No, not especially.”

“Aw, too bad.”

(What was that? I thought I overheard something totally unrelated to the monitor incident...)















  • First opponent has two rounds, both with three moves.



  • Second opponent has three rounds. They always start with“Left, Right, Left, Right” or “Right, Left, Right, Left” with their remaining moves (one in the first round, two in the second round and four in the third round) being random. Each opponent moves faster than the previous opponent.





  • The final opponent has four rounds. The first is seven random moves. The second round is always “Up, Right, Down, Left, Up, Left, Down, Right, Up, Body”. The last two rounds are six random directions, with a “Body” in between - “Left, Body, Right, Body”, etc..

Music stops.




“Here, the Clear Chips! Half and half!”








Talk to Kanna / Sou.



“I've more or less gotten back in good health. Miss Sara, I wanna talk if you have time.”

(With three of us, it should be safe...)

Talk to Nao.



“Sorry if I'm asking something odd, but...”

“Hasn't Reko been acting strange...?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“...I don't really want to say here...”

(Reko acting strange...)

Talk to Alice.



“What, did you forget?! You promised we'd trade for the treasure once you collected Reko's tokens, right?!”

“Did you think you would be relieved of duty once you got me the tokens?! See it through to the last, Sara!!”

(Right, that promise...)

HydroSphere fucked around with this message at 00:15 on Mar 17, 2020

Ignatius M. Meen
May 26, 2011

Hello yes I heard there was a lovely trainwreck here and...

Great, Reko's either dead or been switched with a doll, and Sara might end up none the wiser if we don't talk to Nao. Bongos might be a stronger way to figure out this Reko isn't the one we went into that attraction with, though, so negotiate with Alice.

Sword_of_Dusk
Sep 30, 2018

Legendary Luminary
Ignatius basically said what I was going to. Let's roll with Alice.

Blaze Dragon
Aug 28, 2013
LOWTAX'S SPINE FUND

I admit my first thought was to go with Nao but Ignatius is right, in this kind of situation going with the important item is the best way to know if we're dealing with a fake (which seems highly likely). Alice seems like the clearly correct choice here.

tomanton
May 22, 2006

beam me up, tomato
What if Not-Reko doesn't understand the significance of the bongos, which Alice would then confirmation bias as fact? Is the beaten-to-death misunderstanding trope about to turn on its head and haunt us? :munch:

Junpei
Oct 4, 2015

Although next time, you would be wise to heed the ancient Japanese proverb... phone first!
Let's help Alice.

Look Sharp!
Mar 24, 2013

tomanton posted:

Is it pronounced Gin like the liquor or Jean like the pant?

Neither, it's a hard G. Otherwise, the 'i' is pronounced like in 'keen'.

Gilgamesh255
Aug 15, 2015
Oh. Reko may or may not have been taken, and possibly by a doll that may or may not have swapped with Sou.

I'm going to engage in an ancient Martian meditation technique. :shepface:

Slaan
Mar 16, 2009



ASHERAH DEMANDS I FEAST, I VOTE FOR A FEAST OF FLESH
Alice honestly seems like one of the most trustworthy adults here

HydroSphere
Feb 11, 2014





Music stops.

“Collect Reko's tokens... and trade for her treasure! It's time to execute the plan! Of course, the Reko tokens you gathered are already here in my hand...!”



(What a mean manner of speaking...)



“Yes.”

“Ooh, my stomach huuurts!!”

(He's been like this for 5 minutes now. What should I do...?)

Talk to the Reception Doll.

“This is the Prize Exchange. Please inform me if you have business.”

“...Um. Can you trade for Reko Yabusame's treasure here?”




“Certainly. This is Ms. Reko's treasure. You may now take it.”

“Those are...!”





“I knew it...”

“Impossible... you say her... Reko's treasure... is this worthless present I gave her...?”

“...”

“I thought there was some mistake... Some mistake of yours, Sara Chidouin..”



“You seem happy, Alice.”

“...!”

“Sorry for poking fun... But I bet you were hoping for this. You want to repair your relationship with Reko... don't you?”

“...I am....”

“...Not a person who asks selfish things.”



“If only it weren't for this Death Game...!!”

“There's... not enough time left to do this in the proper order...”

“So just once before I die, I... I want to apologize to Reko...”

“Sara Chidouin.”



Music stops.

“...Right.”

(I wonder if that's enough...)



(Should I go after Alice...?)



“..........”

“..........”

“...If it's nothin', then I'm outta here.”

“W-Wait...!! Reko!”

“Aren't these bongos yours...?”

“That's...!! Why do you...?!”

“...I found them at the Prize Exchange. I was surprised. I thought you'd long since thrown them out...”

“...Yeah. I always thought about tossing 'em.”



“Because of me, right?”



“..........”

“That day...”



“I just thought... “yeah, I figured.””

“You are... a musical demon overflowing with talent.”

“I thought you were quick to forget your garbage, deadweight brother, living life as it suited you.”

“I told myself that... to find relief.”



“But... You couldn't throw away those bongos...”

“..........”

“Hahaha... They sell these just anywhere...”



“Urk...!!”

“Shaddup! What're you getting at?!”

“Reko...”



“It may sound flimsy! But it's how I really feel...!!”

“I'm truly sorry... Reko...”

“..........”

“Would you accept these...?”

Alice offered the bongos, hands trembling. Reko took the bongos, seeming unable to bear it...

Music stops.



“..........”

“Huh...? R... Reko...?”





“Didn't I tell ya? I was always thinking I'd throw these drat things out.

“...Reko...”

“Don't act like a big brother, Alice.”

“You and me are complete strangers now.”




“Then why would you ever interact with me again?!”



(This is... awful...)

I'd believed they would be able to reconcile. I'd never seen Reko look so terrifying. This wasn't a matter for an outsider to speak on.

(But...!!)

“Please, wait!! Reko!!”




“B-But...!”

“Tch...!!”



Music stops.

(For now... talking with Alice is a priority.)

“Alice...”

Alice was picking up the pieces of the broken bongos.



“Reko... hadn't changed at all. At least... not when she's around me.”

“Alice...”

“...Sara. I ask that you don't hate Reko.”

“Huh...?”

Just because you saw one side of her... doesn't mean that's all she is.”




“...I understand.”

“You've helped me this far, Sara Chidouin. I feel... I was finally able to take a step.”

“I'm in your debt...”



(That was... another side of Reko... A Reko I don't know... That only Alice knows...)




“Yagh...! W-What is it?”

“Whoa... Sorry fer scarin' ya. Just wanted you to come someplace.”

“Come over to the Ruined Corridor, y'hear?!”

“And don't keep me waitin'!”

“What in the world is it...?”






“No. Where are we going?”

“This here passage! The gap in the rubble here. Can ya fit through?”

“T-There's a gap here...?! Where does it lead?”




Investigate monitor.

A monitor without power.

Investigate machine.

A machine emitting red light.


(Is this a computer...? No good... It doesn't seem to boot up.)




“Keiji...?”

“Quiet... Try not to alert anyone to this place, just in case.”

“Q-taro finally found it...”

“Found... what?”



“...What?!”



Q-taro produced a laptop computer from behind the rubble. It was unquestionably Kai's laptop... The one we found on the first floor.

“You... found this here?!”

“Yeah, sure did.”

“But this laptop should have vanished from the first floor after Kai retrieved it... Why is it here on the third?!”

“Beats me... But there's no mistake, this is Kai's laptop.”

“The possibilities I can think of are, either someone collected this and put it here...”



“...?!”

“Hold it, guys. Seek the truth later, alright?”

“Sara, Keiji, I called ya over so you could break into this laptop!”

“I can't use a computer fer beans.”

“Wahaha... Investigate what's on it? Let's give it a shot, Sara.”

“...Alright!”

Music stops.

“Okay, it's on! Please... Get us some good info! Anything!”

“W-Wait a second!! We should come up with a plan first for what data to look for...!”

The laptop quietly booted up and displayed a password entry screen.







“I-It's okay! I know the password...!!”



(The password is Chidouin... My family's name!)

I entered the password.

Music stops.



“Wha...?”



“The password's... wrong!!”

“What the...?!”

“You kiddin'?! What's goin' on?!”



“Kai... changed the password! That's the only explanation!”

“What do we do?! The battery's at 4 percent!!”

“Sara...! Type in something only you would know!”

“Only I...?”



“That doesn't really narrow it down...!”

(I don't know! My family... is just normal! There's nothing special to try...! Kai... Just what were you thinking...?! A connection to me...)

Music stops.



“F... Father...?”

I entered another password.

HydroSphere
Feb 11, 2014

Seems like Nankidai is suffering from a hernia. :( Still working on 3-1B though.

Ignatius M. Meen
May 26, 2011

Hello yes I heard there was a lovely trainwreck here and...

Well, uh... that seems kinda like a believable reaction and didn't really clear up anything.

I hope we didn't just screw ourselves.

Toalpaz
Mar 20, 2012

Peace through overwhelming determination
Yeah I mean, I figured that someone so wrapped up in a certain relationship with his sister and also hasn't seen her in 2.5 years wouldn't be able to tell if she was swapped. The difference would be more stark in someone who only knew her in the death game, a much shorter period of time.

HydroSphere
Feb 11, 2014





“Hwoaaaaah!! Nice work, Sara!!”

“Alright...!”

(Dad... I just... typed in dad's name. Did you... know Kai...?!)

“The battery's on 3 percent!! What do we do?!”



“Okay!!”

Music stops.

(The email log... Sou suspected Kai after reading those. We need to confirm whether those were real or all lies...!)

I opened Kai's sent emails.



“There they are...!”



“Yep... Exactly what Sou said they were.”

“Then Sou wasn't lying?!”

“Hm? Wait, these emails...”



“...!”

“...Sara, there must be received emails corresponding to these too.”

“Right...! I'll check!”

I opened Kai's list of received emails.

“There...! Sure enough, there were conversations over email!”

“Sort 'em out! Rearrange 'em in the proper order!”

I sorted the emails and began reading.






Miss Sara is looking forward to the games. Surely her friend will also take part.

Kaiii~? I never told you, so when'd you find out?




“T... This insipid message...!! That's exactly how my dad types!!”

“So... yer pops and Kai... were in communication?!”

(Guard work... What's that about?!)




It's about time. If any harm comes to Sara Chidouin, I will stand against even you as an enemy.

Unforgivable. It's all come to nothing. Just try and struggle. With your puny arms.

“H... Hey, the guy in this email...!”

“It's... not my father!”



(Organization? Kai... just what were you doing...?)





I'm attached to this house, but I guess I gotta discard it and run... Will you come with, Kai?

I feel a deep affection for Miss Sara as well. I will certainly protect her.

Oh Kai... U really are the greatest hero ever. Thankies a million!

“Another conversation with my father...! Dad knew that something would happen!”

“Discard the house and run... Sara, were you making plans to move soon, say?”

“I didn't hear about that... I didn't hear anything...!”

“Settle down! Keep reading...!”




As planned, 17 people have been secured. Just in case, is there no error in the date of the Death Game? Everything is proceeding smoothly.

I see. You've done well.

Music stops.





I've got a tip for you. The phrase you just sent, “X people have been secured,” is the trigger that sets the plan into motion. You fell for the trap, Kai. Sara Chidouin will be captured soon.



“This one is...!”



“From the day of the kidnapping...!!”

“What's the big idea?! I'm not followin' at all!!”

“I'll sum it up. Kai was in correspondence with two people...

One was Sara's father. And the other was... one of Kai's parents, who belonged to the kidnappers' organization.”

“It seems Kai betrayed the organization... He chose to instead protect Sara.”

“And to do that, on the day of the kidnapping... Kai sent a fake email to the organization.”

“Maybe the idea was that it'd disrupt the organization, letting Sara escape...”

"But... his ruse was fully exposed. He just got used instead.”

"'Cause ”thankies a million”... was the signoff used between Kai and Sara's dad.”

“The emails were going straight through. All of their exchanges... went to the organization...”

“No way...!! Then... then...!! Kai wasn't a stalker at all!”



“An' the only time Kai left his guard duty..." It was when he sent emails from home!”

“That's one crafty trick.”

(Even after his cover was blown, I'm sure Kai was still trying to warn me...! That night, coming home with Joe... That's why he stood in our way!)

Then I remembered. What the stalker... had been saying.

Music stops.



“...The battery's gone dead.”

“Couldn't get any info related to escape after all.”




  • Keiji has a point. It might have validated Q-taro's faith in Kai, but for everyone else all that information does is confirm that they voted for an innocent person to be killed.


“...!!”

“...There are still things we could check.”

“..........”

“If we can just get it charged... We'll boot this laptop back up.”

“Sara...”

“You hold on to it, Q-taro.”

“Me...?”

“Yes...”

“...For the time being, let's not tell everyone else about this.”



“I gotcha.”

“That's settled, then. We should act just the same as yesterday.”

“Y-Yeah! I'll hide the laptop in my bedroom and go do an attraction or somethin'!”

“We should get going too.”

“Yes...”


Blaze Dragon
Aug 28, 2013
LOWTAX'S SPINE FUND

I can't imagine this secrecy won't bite everyone in the rear end. After all, it's a reaction to Kai not being honest doing the exact same thing - had he (and Sara's dad) told Sara the truth in the first place, she wouldn't have returned home and both her and Joe would be safe. Admittedly, Sara would still have to run away or hide from this mysterious organization, but they wouldn't be in the death game at least, and Joe and Kai would be alive.

Doopliss
Nov 3, 2012

HydroSphere posted:

“T... This insipid message...!! ”
This is the single best "shocked anime reaction" I've ever seen. I love it so much.

Toalpaz
Mar 20, 2012

Peace through overwhelming determination
yeah that's a fun little dad quirk

Elfface
Nov 14, 2010

Da-na-na-na-na-na-na
IRON JONAH
Caught up with the thread, speculation time.

Point one: Sara never actually denied being connected to an organised crime family. I strongly suspect Mr. Policeman was investigating her/her family before the death game and, for whatever reason, the game is all about her and everyone involved will have some hidden connection.

Point two: Gin is terrified of cages and has an abusive father. After meditating, he drops the animal noises. I feel they're not a cute anime quirk, but a fear response beaten into him. 'When you're in danger act like an animal' is a lesson he's had to learn.

Goon Boots
Feb 2, 2020


Gosh the organizers sure are obsessed with lifelike dolls and AIs.

Akumu
Apr 24, 2003

Goon Boots posted:

Gosh the organizers sure are obsessed with lifelike dolls and AIs.

What if everyone in the game is themselves an AI in a lifelike doll

Antivehicular
Dec 30, 2011


I wanna sing one for the cars
That are right now headed silent down the highway
And it's dark and there is nobody driving And something has got to give

Akumu posted:

What if everyone in the game is themselves an AI in a lifelike doll

I know this was probably a joke, but it's plausible enough. It would explain Mishima's head just falling off, which is pretty anatomically improbable for an actual human.

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El Generico
Feb 3, 2009

Nobody outrules the Marquise de Cat!

Antivehicular posted:

I know this was probably a joke, but it's plausible enough. It would explain Mishima's head just falling off, which is pretty anatomically improbable for an actual human.

It actually seems like the most likely twist to me, it explains the percentages too.

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