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trash bin PART TWO
| the pygmalion. . . ???  OPENING PROGRAM . . . . . . . . . _PROGRAM CRASHED _PROGRAM REBOOT? >N >SCAN PROGRAM . . . _PROGRAM CRASHED . . . >EMERGENCY LEVEL . . . >EMERGENCY LEVEL . . . _EMERGENCY LEVEL LOADING LOADING. . . LOADING. . . LOADING TEXTURE-NIGHT-SKY, TEXTURE-FULL-MOON, TEXTURE-DIRT-PATH, TEXTURE-CAMPFIRE LOADING SOUND-CRICKETS, SOUND-GRAVEL, SOUND-WIND, SOUND-FIRE-CRACKLING UPLOADING USER UPLOADING USER UPLOADING USER UPLOAD SUCCESSFUL TRASH BIN It feels more like an electrical zap than dying. Dying might feel a little bit more like falling asleep, but this is harder, more painful. If you've ever been electrocuted, the feeling might seem familiar; the discovery you make when you open your eyes, too, is likely very familiar. It's the night sky. Stars twinkle, a fire cracks warmly. You sit up and observe the surrounding area, and it's like you've woken up in some sort of canyon. The fire burns brightly, the moon shines beautifully, the crickets sing, and it is ... peaceful. Mostly. You know you're dead. This must be, then, the after life? Or something like it, at least. The horizon stretches on forever, the dirt and gravel seemingly endless. The moon is so big and bright, it's like you could reach out and touch her. There's a shed not too far from the fire, only but a stone's throw away, as if someone else might have made it, and then went inside it. Approaching it, you can see the light glowing inside it through the dusty windows that are littered with fingerprints. A computer screen, so large and wide that it's baffling, sits, waiting. Turning knob reveals that the shed is unlocked, and stepping inside... it doesn't feel any different from the outside. A chair sits in the center of the room, a strange contraption strapped to the head of it. It looks like it would lower itself upon the head of whoever dares to sit on it, and wires from it's bottom curl up towards the machines attached to the screen. Several smaller desktop screens sit beneath the giant monitor. They, too, are hooked up to the machines scattered around the room, to the ominous one perched on top of the medical chair, and they blink, as if fighting to stay alive without use. Pressing the giant monitor on, it lights up, and displays, strangely enough... a security camera feed. You push the button. It switches to another room. Again, another room. Again, another room. So on and forth. You peeping tom! But no one can blame you, in the end. You might as well digitally haunt the rest of the ship until the game ends, and AL-2955 can clean out the trash bin. ...Right? rule book taken characters information cards |
party up
Todomatsu apparently isn't coming out to give you the royal welcome, but it's obvious he's here. Not just because that's the whole point of this thing, but because Totty's name comes up just enough in the conversations around you that it's obvious this is his party, and he is the one everyone's come to see and be seen by. So yeah, you should probably look for him at some point...but you did get a free pass past the bouncer, so maybe you should just have a few drinks and relax?]
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...and you know what he's going for it, and he approaches the first waiter he sees:]
Excuse me, do you have deviled eggs or hard-boiled eggs or...any kind of eggs? [ Who cares about alcohol.]
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It'll be hard to convince Totty to leave this place! It looks like fun!
[And of course Kazuma focuses on eggs. Shelley approaches the bar for a moment, collecting a drink and returning soon]
Totty must have the place of honor in this place. Not that there's a hurry to find him, we have a few minutes to waste, right?
[Someone really does want to party, but the mission exists too, so she tries to find the host of the party. Where are thou, Totty?]
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Shelley will find that the drinks are strong, not from any harsh alcohol burn--imaginary top shelf only, folks--but from how everything starts to get fuzzy at the edges, brighter and more fun and better and maybe she should have another? Wouldn't that be the most incredible idea? There'd be a tiny umbrella, everyone loves tiny umbrellas!
...Siren song of refreshments or no, after a bit of time scoping the place, there are a number of familiar faces around. Not just folks from the Pygmalion (most of them slip away before you can make eye contact), but there's definitely someone who looks like Todomatsu surrounded by girls on the dance floor...though there's someone with his familiar haircut sunning at the pool, too. And is that another one, making a break for the smoking section? What's up with that? Additionally, there is also a row of cabanas off to the side, a bit raised from the rest of the floor, one of them draped in pink.]
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She can't stop grinning]
Wow, Totty cloned himself! Isn't that weird, guys? We're going to have to herd like eleven Totties back to the ship!
[Excuse her, everyone, maybe she shouldn't have decided to drink something alcoholic while being on a mission.
But there's a pink cabaña over there, and Shelley does remember Totty being associated to the color pink. There could be something useful to find there! May as well check what - or who - is inside before attempting to tackle any of the Totties]
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Kazuma hears exactly nothing of what Shelley or anyone is saying because he has eggs. Of which he eats in one bite even because no one taught the 8 year old how to properly eat either. Eventually he remembers that he was here to do something, so after grabbing a deviled egg for each hand he wanders over to where Shelley is.]
I don't like parties, but this one is amazing. [ Into the pink cabana we go.]
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And indeed, Todomatsu--slightly taller and broader than on the Pygmalion, with a healthy glow that makes him look less potato and more genuinely handsome, but with the same self-satisfied smirk--waves them over with a smile of his own.]
Hey guys! How's it going? Having fun, I hope?
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So this is what the so-called 'beer goggles' are like... [Better not to drink anymore. She puts the drink aside]
You have an awesome party, Totty! It's fun, but there's something urgent we need to do. It's CODE RED urgent.
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Oh, do you have to leave? That's too bad... Just get the bouncer to stamp your hands, you can get back in no problem! Even if it takes a while, we'll still be here～☆
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It's not like that, we need your help~. There's something... [ And then this is where he falters because Kazuma was never a popular kid, what is lingo umm.] cool we all need to do together.
We can come back afterwards of course!
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Oh, yes, it's something really cool. You'd turn famous! Uh, more than you are right now! You just need to trust us and follow our lead until we all return here.
[Oooh, this could be easy! There's no way Totty would say no to a cute lady like Shelley, right? Or who knows, maybe evil children are Totty's weakness.
Counting on you to be assertive if the need arises, Kazuma]
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[and those things, in addition to cute ladies and apparently not evil man-children are generally relevant to his interests, so he is definitely listening! ...though he tries not to look too interested, because this is a pretty sweet setup, and he's been tricked before]
...Well, what is it, what's the thing? We can't just do it here? Fancy pool parties are really good places to be coolly famous, you know.
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It's about performing for everyone on board. But they'll be a problem if we don't have anyone suitable for the hero role...do you think you could do it?
[ Luckily, bullshit runs in the line of Terumi's vessels even if Kazuma's isnt as smooth as Hazama's would be.]
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Of course, you'll be the centerpiece of the adventure, the big hero. Kazuma here will be the mage, and I...
[Uuuuh...]
...I will be a ninja!
[Nailed it]
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[he points towards an identical-looking man save for blue-tinted hair and a healthy tan. he's wearing sunglasses and an incredibly skimpy pair of glittery blue speedos. to totty's apparent dismay, some girls (and some guys) are swooning at this]
Actually, you'll do me a favor if you take him away. I just know he and the others are going to ruin everything!
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What a bust. At this rate we're going to have to forcibly stuff Totty in a sack and carry him away.
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Let's leave that for Plan C. For now let's try something else.
[Back with you, Totty!]
The problem is that we were advised to ask for your help. Apparently only you have a certain set of skills that can help us! And this Karamatsu person... [She winces at the speedo. Yeah, he's not her type] ...he doesn't look very reliable. You'd be a better fit!
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[ After they're back with Totty:]
VIP's are the most popular and most powerful, right? If you don't want to act that's okay, if you would be willing to help us advertise the show. I was thinking... if we took pictures of you having a good time, it would help us boost sales and popularity. I'm sure you're really photogenic too!
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[he preens, because he is a fan of people who think he's photogenic, and also of people who recognize his brother as unreliable, since these things are objectively true]
Well, I guess I could at least check it out... Just for a little, right?
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It's only for a little bit, then maybe we can throw another party when we get back.
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Uh, you may want to say something along the lines of 'this is all an illusion, I renounce my personal cradle', uuuh...
[She leans towards Kazuma. She didn't think things through]
How was he supposed to wake up from all this?
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[his brows draw into a frown, the cheerful glow around him fading a bit]
This isn't-- Did Osomatsu put you up to this?
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[Well, no. Only Shelley is your friend. Kazuma had his own reasons to come here]
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It needs to be done, that's all you really need to know~.