>>16942
I take Maria and run.

There's only one safe place you can think of! The Gold Room!

You input the proper steps and run down the walkway with Maria. The first twilight victims remain unmoved and the switch on the clock is still broken. You see the entrance for the secret passageway across the room. It should lead to the other side of the island!

"Uu." Maria says softly. She coughs.

>>16944
Identify the first twilight victims and recall their wounds, then recall the input steps for entrance to the Gold Room. Then head into the secret passageway with Maria.

You identify the first twilight victims: Krauss, Natsuhi, Nanjo, a charred corpse with six toes, Genji, and Kumasawa.

The five non-burnt victims all suffer from gunshot wounds. Krauss and Natsuhi have wounds in the front while the rest have wounds in their backs.

You recall the steps.

You start to walk in the passageway with Maria, but she falls to the ground and has a coughing fit. Before you can urge her on, she starts foaming at the mouth. Someone...poisoned this little girl.

She falls dead to the ground.

>>16946
"Dead or alive, we're still making it out of here together!"

I'll pick up Maria and carry her with me to the other side.

You run forth. As you do, a gun cocks in the darkness ahead, forcing you to stop in your tracks.

Just a few yards down the secret path...someone is pointing a gun at you. It's too dark to see who it is. Any last words?

>>16948
http://youtu.be/Q3JknE8Rft0?t=25s

"Kinjo? Is that you?" It's Eva. "What are you saying. Where's--"

That's all you can remember.

>>16950
"...Maybe that was best left forgotten."

I walk into the hospital.

You walk into the hospital. A suspicious looking man eyes you on the way in. As you enter, you notice that he grabs his phone.

You make it inside the lobby.

>>16952
I'll walk up to whoever seems to be in charge of this place and ask them which room Eva Ushiromiya is staying in.

The bald man at the counter looks at you blankly. "Ms. Ushiromiya doesn't wish to be disturbed by the press."

Last edited at 14/12/18(Thu)17:07:06

>>16961
"Oh, well that's fine, because I don't really like the press either. I'm her personal doctor, and I need to know where she's staying so I can treat her."

I show the man my nametag.

He looks at your nametag. His eyes widen in horror when he sees it. "You! W-what do you want?"

It looks like you have a fan. He looks around the room as if trying to signal for help.

>>16963
"Hey, settle down. I heard Eva's been spreading bad rumors about me and I need to know what's going on. Now, I'm her doctor, so let me see her."

A large hand claps your shoulder. When you look around, you see two large men with security badges.

"Sir, can you come with us?"

It seems as if your clever ruse was thwarted.

>>16967
"Where are we going?"

The men don't answer. They lead you into an elevator and turn a key inside. Through a glass window, you can see the city fall beneath you. The elevator whizzes up until you reach the top floor.

You're leaded to a room guarded by a few more men. They glare at you sternly.

"Wait inside," the man inside you says. He opens the door and pushes you inside.

It's a clean, well-lit hospital room. Nobody else is inside. You don't hear any noises.

>>16969
"This place better not be for me."

I take a look around the room while I wait, opening drawers and reading things to see what's going on.

You don't find anything of interest around the room. You wait inside for a few minutes until a man enters.

"Kinjo Goldbar, is it? How nice of you to join us. My name is Tetsuro Okonogi."

>>16971
"Nice to meet you, Okonogi. So could you explain to me what's going on around here? Where's Eva?"

"Unfortunately, Eva won't be joining us. As you can imagine, it's hard to show up anywhere when you've been dead for a few months. One of many inconveniences of the whole ordeal. I'm sure she'd want me to send her love. She spent good years of her life making sure that nobody sought you out, after all. Lucky for us, she no longer has a say in the matter. Now, this whole incident can finally be cleared up. The horrible offender of those awful murders will finally be brought to justice."

Okonogi pulls out a small pistol from his coat. "Not in one piece, I'm afraid, but tragedies have ways of piling up. After you killed poor Eva, I had no choice but to put you down. Better luck in the next life, kid."

Okonogi aims towards you.

>>16973
"Wait. You've got the wrong idea. I didn't kill Eva...!"

Okonogi chuckles and puts his finger on the trigger. As he pulls, a bullet burrows itself into your skull.

---------------

"That's everything. I can't read anymore. What a strange tale. I could hardly make sense of any of it."

Last edited at 14/12/29(Mon)13:05:28

>>16975
"I couldn't either. So what's next?"

"Uu! Wait! Let Maria change the ending."

"Change the ending? What do you mean?"

"Watch! Maria can do it."

The bullet retracts from your skull. Your skin is miraculously healed.

"...Kinjo."

Okonogi is unconscious on the ground. Your friend, Ozaki, stands in front of you. "Hey, man."

>>16978
"Yo. Wait, why am I alive? What are you doing here? Why is your jacket purple?"

Last edited at 14/12/29(Mon)13:56:28

Ozaki sighs. "Exposition sucks. Here's the short of it: For whatever reasons, Eva kept the truth of what happened on Rokkenjima a secret. This attracted the attention of 'Witch Hunters' who started looking into her business. Some company figureheads didn't like this. Calls got made, etc. They wanted a scapegoat and, when Eva died and they gained control of her possessions, they eventually learned about you. Cut to now. The company wants to kill you and make it look like you really are a murderer.

As for my clothes, it's because I'm magic. I want to show you the truth and help you undo the damage done. K?"

>>16980
"Cool. So now what?"

"That day, how much do you really remember?"

--------

"Welcome to Rokkenjima, Mr. Goldbar. Krauss-sama eagerly waits to--"

...

"Goldbar, huh? That's a pretty funny name. Is that english?"

...

"Kinjo Goldbar...you did it. All of Father's gold..."

...

"I, Kinzo Ushiromiya, Head of the Ushiromiya family, with a sound mind and conscious, name my granddaughter, Jessica, to be my successor. My son, Krauss, will act as Head until she comes of age..."

...

"I'll do what I have to in order to protect my our future, Mr. Goldbar. For Shannon and myself, I'll..."

...

"They're all fucking dead! What the hell is everyone doing in this place? Was some gold really worth all this? It's useless, it's all..."

...

"They killed Rosa, too? What if we're next?"

...

"I've done as much as either of them! Even he thought so! So why the hell should I deserve any less than men like that? This is my story as well."

...

"I didn't want to have to do this, but... I have to kill you now."

...

"Take Maria and run! I'm not going anywhere until I find my mother."

---------

"I'm going to show you the truth."

Reality distorts around you. You find yourself in a familiar living room.

"You have friends in the shadows, Mr. Goldbar. We'll be here if you need. I want to know the truth. I hope you'll deliver it to me."

>>16983
"Here you go."

I hand her the previous post.

"Interesting. If what you say is accurate, you can remember threads of your journey to the island, but..."

A strange looking man enters the room. When he sees you, he drops the cup of tea. His eyes widen and his pupils enlarge. That's Battler Ushiromiya.

Last edited at 14/12/30(Tue)23:19:26

>>16985
"Battler? What are you doing here? And why is your hair so damn white?!"

"You're Kinjo Goldbar, aren't you? M-my apologies. The man you think I am died on Rokkenjima many years ago. I don't even remember..."

The man, who introduces himself as Tohya, tells you everything he can remember. The woman looks on in amusement, as if she had already pieced everything together.

All Tohya can remember is that everyone got into some kind of panic on that day. Six bodies were found in the gold room on the morning of the fifth. You tried to keep everyone together and spread words of encouragement, but your unorthodox methods just ended up confusing everyone. The family became separated, and time after time...

He doesn't offer any more useful information. Ozaki appears next to you.

"Do you get it? That must have been one hell of a day."

>>16987
"Yeah, I bet."

I turn to face Battler.

"Seems we both have something else in common. We're also both amnesiacs. ...Right now I'm framed for murder. Would you like to be my partner in crime too?"

"It doesn't look like it. Somehow, Eva had no idea that 'Battler' survived the explosion. Maybe things would be different if she had. I suppose you think me incredibly selfish, Mr. Goldbar."

>>16989
"Okay, Magical Ozaki Ghost. How am I supposed to clear my name when nobody knows anything?"

"That depends. I'm going to make you an offer, but first you have to answer a question. I want you to think about it."

Ozaki shows you his palms. They're empty. "First, close your eyes."

>>16991
"Eyes closed."

"Okay, open them."

When you do, you don't notice any huge changes, but you do see a small candy resting in Ozaki's hand. "A candy where none was before. Is this a trick or is it magic?"

>>16993
"Clearly it's a trick. You just pulled it from your pocket or somewhere when my eyes were closed."

Ozaki stares at you blankly for a moment. Then he smirks. Time stops around you, but a gust of strong wind nearly knocks you from your feet. The boundaries of the world are breached.

"I was wrong about him, Ozaki. Even a witch like me can admit as much. He just might have what it takes."

"See? Told ya."

>>16995
"Bernkastel? What's going to happen now? Will I see something horrifying and turn into shredded meat?"

"Far from it. What fun would there be in torturing you? I'm just here to make you an offer: stop playing this game. You can keep running around the world of 1998 if you want, but why dance next to an imitation? I can grant you a miracle that every other human has only dreamed of: I can send you back to fix your mistakes. You can save the people on that island before anyone has to be slaughtered. There are strings, naturally, but what I'm offering is a once in a lifetime opportunity. It was all your friend's idea."

>>16997
"It sounds good so far. But I'd be a fool to go into this without first asking about those strings."

"The rules are similar to a game that you once authored in a far-away world: You have to try and stop the murders. As long as the epitaph's cycle doesn't complete itself, you'll be the victor of this game. If it goes through, you'll have lost the whole thing. I can plop you into a point before the murders have happened. All you have to do is say the word."

It sounds too good to be true, but Ozaki smiles at you reassuringly.

Last edited at 14/12/31(Wed)00:36:10

>>16999
"I accept your offer."

Thread II:

https://archive.seacats.net/gameboard/res/17001.html