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. . .trash bin
| 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 |
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...Maybe I shouldn't have tried to babied you, maybe I should have told you what I thought was going on with you. I don't really know if I'm right or not, but it really isn't something you should be concerned about. You're giving too much importance to that!
[She crosses her arms]
Did you even think of doing something as simple as asking for help?
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[ He pauses to stifle a laughter, because he really wants to laugh at himself because it's pathetic.]
Ah yes, I'm so stupid I never even asked anyone to help me! Of course I asked someone for help, idiot. I asked my friend of seven years to help me, and what did she do? She turned around and spied on me telling her friend Nine all these awful things that I didn't even do.
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It's still true: Shelley Winters really can be a lousy friend]
I'd care more about the present. Can't you decide by yourself what season you like more? You don't need to know your past to decide that. Doesn't it matter more what you should do with your life now?
[Shelley sighs]
Are you blaming yourself for what she did? It's not your fault someone you know ended betraying you.
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[ Because there was that part to it too, that until he met Terumi and started to act on these desires he suddenly had, it was only then that he actually felt real joy.]
I was stupid enough to trust her, and that is my fault. But she's like you in that she kept insisting she cared about me, that my past didn't matter and more disgusting things. [ And suddenly he laughs.] I might have even killed her before I left, I don't know-- I did hit her pretty hard into the wall... she deserves it. And I was right with you too, wasn't I?
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That depends on what you think you were right about.
[And here we go, she lost her patience. She doesn't start shouting or anything, but she definitely...uuuuuh...well, decides to try to push Kazuma away verbally]
You know what your problem is, Kazuma? You don't even make an effort. Here you are, still talking about how she betrayed you and all, and trying to act like some sort of evil prince of evil. Why don't you stop that already and, I don't know, find something useful to do with yourself that doesn't involve killing people or despairing about past betrayals? That'd be good for you.
It really was much easier to talk with you when you weren't being so...so focused on your past.
[...that all may not have been a good decision. Shelley actually does step aside, as if she expected to walk away. Once again, she let her tongue run wild. It may be because after everything that happened she truly can't consider Kazuma a friend anymore. This Kazuma is not the same Kazuma she liked and missed, and that past Kazuma isn't coming back, ever]
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That you would get what was coming to you.
[ As to the rest he actually just smiles, and it's one of the more controlled smiles she's probably seen from him in a long time. It's easier when she's just insulting him like this, rather than her trying to tell him she did/does care. Shelley really did mirror Trinity in some ways even down to what they said: "The Kazuma-san I know is a kind person. He's indiscriminately gentle toward any person. And If I greeted him, he'd always answer with a smile. Although I speak sluggishly like this, he'd always listen properly. I understand that you feel bothered about losing your memory, but the memory-less you is a great person."
Trinity would never be so forceful with her words, but the sentiment felt the same.]
Did I forget to tell you? I do understand myself more now. I don't care if people hate me because it feels right being finally true to myself. Even though I'm this way, Allen still talks to me and he's helped me with a lot of things. But you...you just think you know everything about me. [ She can back up as far away from him as she likes, but he's not just going to let her leave the room like this.]
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That's true. I killed someone, so I got executed for it. It's what was coming to me.
[That's...not what he meant. Whether she truly doesn't know or whether she's feigning to not to know and actually understands what Kazuma was saying but denies him the satisfaction of receiving the answer he wants is indiscernible.
Shelley walks slowly, starting to walk around Kazuma once it's obvious the kid isn't going to let her go. Well, may as well continue and see where it all leads to. It isn't like there is anything else to lose]
Allen is a nice guy like that, and well...yeah, I guess I don't really know anything about you. I don't think I ever will, unless you bother to stop babbling about people you don't care about anymore. So why don't you say it? Show me what you understand about yourself.
Who are you?
[Set the record straight, kid]
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I'm Kazuma Kval, but that name doesn't really matter, it never has. By myself, I'm really no one important, but with Terumi that all changes. We are...meant to be together. That's why I exist, I have a purpose, and it's not a stupid one like just killing people aimlessly. [ A beat.] Though killing Miss Carta was fun.
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[Shelley stops and stares at Kazuma. Again that Terumi name. It's sounding to her Terumi is Kazuma's creator, and the kid sounds very convinced about everything he's saying. Not good, not good]
...and are you happy with that purpose?
[That's pretty much the only question she can ask. She's kind of hoping the response won't be a resounding 'yes'. Oh boy, this'll be a disappointment]
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If you're happy with it then I guess there's nothing else to be said about it. You're not the type to change your mind about anything.
[You achieved your wish to know who you are, so good for you, Kazuma! Shelley isn't sure if that's good or bad for everyone else, though]
So now what? What will you do once we're all alive again and this spaceship thingamajig is over?
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If we're returned right where we were then...I was just a door away from obtaining the Azure. I promised him, after all~.
[ It's awful for everyone else for a lot of reasons, but there's not really anything that can be done.]
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[Because she remembers everything was suddenly on fire...and if Kazuma's object was that Azure thing then...]
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That was only part of it... I'm sure of it. [ But uh, that's still pretty bad if he has to go find another one. Especially because he'd have to deal with the fallout of everything he did to even get into the Seven Sages library in the first place.]
Ah- that would be a pain if she really did destroy it...