>>3608
"Well... hold on. What are the limits on the 3d printer? Could we somehow see the history of what's been printed there?"

>>3609
"Like stated, it's super duper advanced and has custom input options. Even food items are no problem... Upupu."

>>3608
"So you're saying the body announcement was fake? So they could have been killed by the debris after all."

>>3611
"But why fake a body announcement? We saw a 5th person running from us, and now we found their body. Unless it was just to confuse us.... I'm not sure how we can tell. Should we assume it was the debris after all?"

>>3612
Monozaki puts his hand on his chin for a moment and thinks. After a moment he waves his hand.

"Feel free to pretend the figure didn't exist for now. At least until later."

>>3611
"Y-yes, but," Aiko shook her head and eyes Taku suspiciously.

"T-the culprit would have to have known t-there were no monitors down here. O-Otherwise there would have been a s-second announcement if the debris were the murder weapon."

When Monozaki says we can ignore the figure she decides to go for it.

"If the printer is so advanced, then what if the body was fake as well? If it can print food it could print chicken wings... or human."

>>3613
"Then I'd like to question something. How long would it take to make explosives or any kind of weapon with the printer? And would it be possible to do that while we were waiting at the buttons?"

Then Aiko spoke. "Printing... a human...? One that can run? And think for itself...?"

Last edited at 18/11/03(Sat)19:03:47

>>3615
Aiko nods up and down but disagrees. "N-No! I-I mean, we only saw a pile of f-flesh and b-bones. If j-just the limbs were printed then... it would be easy to move the 'body' there."

Last edited at 18/11/03(Sat)19:06:32

>>3616
"But the screen said there were 4 people, and I see them all here. Who was running back there?"

>>3617
"I-I don't know! I only s-suggested it because he said we can ignore it!" Aiko shrinks back appearing as confused as she seems.

Last edited at 18/11/03(Sat)19:10:20

>>3616
"Well, assuming we can ignore the figure. Monozaki was hesitant to even make a file in the first place. So they could have printed chunks of meat and bones, then crushed it to make it seem like someone was killed."

>>3619
"Then... why? It's a possibility, that's for sure. Print a body and then drop debris on it.... Is that the current consensus?"

>>3620
"Well, there has to be a final trial right? You need a body at the very least."

>>3620
Aiko hangs her head, "I-It's the best we h-have at the moment."

>>3622
"Then... let's think about it. The tape recorder was in the room, and if we had to place it somewhere... it would have to be on that spot on the shelf where the dust was disturbed. But who could have taken it? If I remember...."

Kai's eyes opened at the memory. Her eyes slowly moved over to Taku. "Before the debris fell... we were all stunned. I was too surprised to move, but you.... Taku, you leaned against that shelf. You... you could've picked up the tape recorder!"

>>3623
"What? No way why would I do something like that?" Taku says clearly poorly pretending to be shocked. "Well you got it in the end so I can't complain that much, Good job." He claps his hands.

>>3624
Aiko swallows with a confused expression. She is somewhat unnerved by Taku's actions.

"S-So in the end t-there wasn't even a murder? W-Why go to the trouble?"

>>3624
Once again, Kai wasn't sure what to think. She'd actually put it together, but when the culprit was cornered, they... just accepted it. First Kizami, now Taku.

"Good... job...?" That was it? "I'm being serious! This isn't a joke!"

>>3625
>>3626
"Oh I'm not joking. I'm happy you solved it. I was worried the tape recorder might mislead you guys a bit too much, and there was the whole figure thing too." Taku says strangely calm.

"I mean, It's not like I'm innocent if that is what you mean. Depends on your definition of murder I suppose. Technically... I imagine you would consider me guilty of the other 6 deaths that have already happened.

BGM: Despair-Syndrome

>>3627
"The other six? Explain this at once! It's not like you just go around printing people! We're more complicated than that!"

>>3627
Aiko stopped for a moment to process what he just said. The other 6 deaths...?

"Ah, wha..." Aiko couldn't bring herself to say anything.

>>3627
"...Do I really need to spell it out for you? Alright how about this?"

>>3630
Taku clicks away at his cellphones and suddenly Monozaki jumps up and dances around singing the Macarena.

Taku continues, "That's probably good enough right? Bad guy, end boss, mastermind, whatever you prefer."

You blink for a moment and notice Taku has suddenly changed clothing without moving. As if it just appeared on his body.

>>3631
Kai was on guard, instincts kicking back in. Something in her wanted revenge for Aurora... no, for everyone. "Then why are you gloating?! Why are we still alive?! And... how did you...?" Kai blinked. The lab coat came from nowhere, or had he been wearing it all along?

Last edited at 18/11/03(Sat)19:59:00

>>3632
"I mean, I don't lie. It's a game after all. Well more of a test in this case, but regardless. Don't get me wrong, if you solve the mystery then you do get to go free... I just never said the last round was about solving a murder. And no sadly the faked body also doesn't count.

The actual mystery is the true nature of this game. I gave you a bunch of other bullets that didn't have anything to do with the faked death right? What are those Deterrent Controls? All that stuff in the lab, how Monozaki just bypasses barriers, that figure, etc. That's the real stuff we should be talking about."

Taku's eyes gleamer for a moment. Something gives you a chill. It's fairly clear he thinks nothing of human life.

BGM: Discussion -PANIC-

Last edited at 18/11/03(Sat)20:06:23

>>3633
Kai couldn't believe what she was hearing. She wouldn't believe that this was just some sort of game. With her eyes burning, Kai slammed her gloved hand onto her podium. "You can't fool me! You told us the rules of this killing game yourself, didn't you?!"

>>3634
"I did. The rules were, I'd give you chance to escape if you made it to the fourth round, and here we are... with your chance.

In the end it is 'just' a game, but it's also a bit more important to me. It's taken... a few attempts to get to where we are now. Now, should I give you some time or are you ready to rack your brain once more?"

>>3635
"Y-you monster!" Aiko was prepared to attack. However the revelation he was the one controlling Monozaki held her back. It is no use.

"K-Kai. Andy. N-Now that we know who the villian is there is no more d-doubt. We must m-make it out alive." Aiko says this in hope that they can help because she is unsure where to even start.

>>3635
"We... have to make it out alive...."

Kai felt a burning spark of determination within her. She'd been a bodyguard her whole life, and yet she'd failed to protect the other six people that had already died. She wouldn't let their sacrifices go to waste. It was like she could feel them watching over her shoulder and driving her on to face the Mastermind. She wouldn't let their fires burn out.

"Then let's start. Andy, Aiko... we'll make it out of this alive. I'll protect all of you. It's... what I do."

Last edited at 18/11/03(Sat)20:30:36

Kai, not sure how to follow that up, decided to get right to the chase.

"Fine. If I had to guess... this was more than just a game. We all have something in the back of our heads, don't we? Something you implanted there. And the deterrent controls as well. I was the only one who had a 1 next to my name. What was I deterred from...?"

>>3638
"D-Deterrent controls... T-To deter, is to d-discourage someone f-from doing something. S-since there were numbers for everyone m-maybe you did something nobody else did? D-did you try to b-break some rules?"

>>3639
"I'm not sure. I tried to... wait a second."

Kai stared at Monozaki, then to Taku. "Was it... the deal I made with you?"

Last edited at 18/11/03(Sat)21:04:22

>>3640
"Noppers, although I was talking to you when it happened~" Monozaki happily says as Taku types on his phone.

>>3641
"Forget that, then. The only other thing I can think of.... I stayed up late the first night to try and keep guard, but then Monozaki stopped me. I suddenly felt this strange feeling, like something was about to attack me, so I went indoors and went to sleep."

"And with the things in our heads.... Don't tell me that was controlled somehow...!"

Kai paused, trying to think. What did that mean. "Aiko, did you ever stay out too late? Or get warned like that, or feel an uneasy feeling?"

Last edited at 18/11/03(Sat)21:18:18

>>3642
"N-No I did not..." Aiko started feeling at her own head for any scars or marks.

"S-So if he controlled that... D-does it work for a-all of us?

>>3643
After carefully examining your head you do find a small line that feels slightly different, almost unnoticeable.

If the others check their own heads they too find the marks.

>>3644
"If that's the case, then... how I can tell if I'm even feeling what I want to right now?" The thought sent chills down Kai's spine. "I... I think I understand. You put that inside of our heads to make us feel certain things. You used those to drive everyone to kill each other, didn't you? Even I, at one point, considered murder. What was I thinking...?"

>>3645
"Hmm, well the killing game already does that fairly well. But you aren't exactly wrong." Taku waves one of his phones back and forth as he explains.

>>3646
"N-No... Could it... I-If it can control things like that, then what else can it do?" Aiko says this while holding her head.

"T-That, your jacket. I-It appear out of nowhere, the figure, Monozaki a-appearing, the room vanishing. Can it affect our v-vision as well?"

>>3647
"Vision... emotions.... The way the starting room disappeared. Your jacket." Kai shuddered, feeling like she'd lost all of the momentum from earlier.

"You just wanted to see how much control you could exert over a human mind. If you could break a moral compass. If you could control what they saw and heard. Is that the truth of this game...?"

Last edited at 18/11/03(Sat)21:37:22

>>3647
>>3648
Taku shrugs. "I guess that is good enough. Of course. Like I said, it's a game, the ultimate AR mobile killing game.

A device that can control the sensory input of an individual's mind. With minimal resources we can easily create a killing game whenever and wherever. Start it in the middle of a city, make family turn on one another. Well they are more interested in that, I was mostly into the experimentation portion."

Take spreads his arms out as if saying "what do you think?".

>>3649
Kai, on reflex, pulled out the fake gun from her holster and pointed it at Taku. Her hand was shaking. "Are you manipulating me into wanting to kill you...? Because I really, really want to do that right now!"

>>3650
With tears in her eyes Aiko raises her hands and crushes the pedestal in front of her.

"F-forget. I d-don't care if you are controlling us. T-There is nothing to l-lose now," Aiko prepares to aid Kai.

>>3650
>>3651
"Jeez calm down. You solved it, gg." As he says this Monozaki bends over and confetti shoots out of his ass. A banner with congratulations falls down.

"Like I promised the door will be unlocked. All that if left is the execution. Mine." He starts fiddling with his phone.

"Well, it's not really mine, but whatever let's get this over with." He hits a b̜̙̳u̼̰̦͉̝ţ̺̖̻͚̥ṭ͍o͚̝͍̠͚͍̭ṋ͓ ̡͓̱͍ͅo̱͕̦̝͇̹͝n̵͙̱͈̝̖ͅ ̙̤͚͔̙͡h͚͕͈͉͍̣is͖̦̰̤͕̝ ͠p̷̺͈͓̜̞̬h͖̙͉͈͝o̗̣͙ńé ̫̖̰͘d̖̫͓̗͎͜ͅr͚͙a̲̖̘̮̮m̩a͈̮̱̞̼̼̣ti̮͎͖̘̱̗c̛̣̪͈̠̗á̹̠̯͓̞l̼l̢̠y͓̗̩͎̫̘͓ ̞͘an̥̼̳͕̳̜d̝͚̘͠ ̀s̫̘͇͙̦̕u͙̠̥̯̮̦d̤̼̩̘̻̹̪d̮̣ȩ͓̙̦̠̝̱ǹ̰̥̹͈̳l̗̹y̤͠ ̻͙̕t̠̕ẖ͔̱̳͜ͅe̮̹ ̟͉̖̯̕ͅͅc̦̱̬̘̼̳u̱̜̰͇̼ͅr̜̤͍̘̹͎t̥a̴͍͍̥̼̤͔i̳̮̕n͖s͍̲̞͉͖ ̜̹̘̠p̬͘u̸̲l̜̻l̜̹͉̩͓̭̱ ̳̗̞̮b͚͔̹̩̟̕a̹̝c҉̱̜͔͚ͅͅk͇̘̦͉̣͞ ̴̪a̜͓̞̺͉͚ǹ̩d̝͔̻̮͙ ͈̯̼̝͔̳a͕͕̯̞͓̘ ̵̦̤me̢̙̻̜̰̬t̸̩̲̲̻̰a̵̜͓ĺ̦̦͈͇ͅ ͈̪h̠̹͍o̧͔͉͉̻̘̺̬o͇k̵̗͙̗̗ ̼̲̲͠ͅgr̤̳̭a͎͝ḅs̭̩̠̤̲͚̀ ̳ͅh̥i͉m̮͔̖̯̼̩̕ ̱̰̀b͈͔̟y̯͕-̠̀-̕-̡͖̜̜-̦͖͖͍̟͙-̷̹-̳͓̗͈-̵̦-̼̮̮-̙̯̞͕̞-̷̘̺̮-̴̟͕̣̘-͢-̰̻̰̤̱̫̟̕-̱-̸̺͕͍̙̹͈-̖̲̭
-͉̗͜ͅͅ-̤͡-͓̖̯̭͈ͅ


Suddenly everything turns white. The room is devoid of color and you see the room for what it is. Boring old concrete. There are no curtains or wooden stands, just blank faces to display images on. You look around and Taku has vanished. Andy, Kai, and Aiko are the only things of color remaining. At the back of the room looks like a tunnel leading back up. From what sounds like far away a large sound of something opening can be heard.

BGM: Moon on the Water

>>3652
Everything happened so fast. Kai was more than ready to run in with Aiko and Andy to finish off the mastermind, but it seemed he would do it himself. Before they knew what was happening... it was all white.

And as Kai looked around, she felt herself shaking. It was... over? Finally. It had to be.

"We're... okay?" She looked around, but only saw the other survivors. What about the others? What about... Aurora...?

"We should go...."

>>3653
Aiko's muscles bugled as she readied to pounce only for this action to be halted by the chance of scenery.

"W-Wha-!" She took in her surroundings silently... Was it over? Could they go? Were, were they safe?

Hearing Kai's words she responded, "Y-Yeah..." and followed the group.

>>3653
>>3654
The group leaves up through the tunnel and comes out in a large box like area. It seems like even the cage and sun weren't real. The entire place is entirely closed off.

The grass and paths that gave a satisfying crunch now feel strange and wrong. If you went to check on any food you would find it to be grey sludge, tasteless and bland. The layout is all here but nothing was as it seems.

The three of you make it to area three and see the large vault door is much smaller than originally it appeared. There the monitor is lit and the bolts are unlocked, looks like you just have to hit the button to open the door.

>>3655
Kai searched all over, not wanting to believe it, but wanting to at the same time. Everyone's rooms were empty, and nothing was as it should've been. They found nothing. No bodies. No people.

Before leaving, Kai found her way to the bland relaxation room. She had gotten a massage from Aurora here, the memory still fresh in her mind. Even if it had all been fake... she had been real. All of that had been real in one way or another. Kai would never forget her. In order to make some kind of memorium, Kai did what she could. She took off her bodyguard's cap and laid it reverently down in the relaxation room. This would have to do.

With that, Kai would meet the others out at the gate, allowing them to do their thing. And, once one of them pushed the button, they would go into the light. Without Kai's cap, she would have to face reality and look up at the bright sky. She may not have been a perfect bodyguard... but she still had room to improve. She would make her own decisions, and not use her orders as excuses. She was her own person now.

From here on out, she would make sure to protect everyone.

Last edited at 18/11/03(Sat)22:32:06

>>3656
Was it really over? It was only a few days but to Aiko it felt like forever. From the beginning she had felt disconnected. Perhaps in denial. Maybe her attempt to make friends was also a way to escape the situation. In the end those superficial bonds were cut short.

She helped Kai to search but didn't have anything to look for. In the end she felt more confident in herself out of necessity to survive. At this point she was ready to yank the door open herself and run out... But who knows what could be waiting for them.

She waited for Andy and Kai to finish and then with some final resolve she walked with them through the door and to freedom.

The three survivors press the button and the door opens with a deafening crack. Slowly the door swings open and the blinding light engulfs the three.

Slowly but surely they walk outside. While unsure if their freedom is truly within their grasp, one thing is for sure; this ordeal is finally over.

THE END

Thanks to everyone for sticking around until the end! If there are enough questions I might make one final q/a post after this. Good game!