[ it's funny that junpei should ask that, because as soon as he does, nikkari reaches into his jacket and pulls out a powerful led flashlight. he immediately turns it on to do a sweep of the room, dominant hand still resting on the hilt of his blade. ]
My. I almost feel as though I overprepared for this.
Well done, Nikkari. We'll have this unlocked in no time.
[Her mouth twists up in a smile, but she immediately is looking around, trying to get a sense of the layout of the area they're in. She's tense at well, not liking the dark and trying to stay near the light.]
[Nikkari will find that while it's more effective than the clamshell, his flashlight doesn't quite penetrate the darkness; it will light an area in front of them, but doesn't extend fully into the room.
From what they can see, it's a mess in here. The floor is filthy, and the light illuminates part of a shelving unit nearby covered in dust and dirty electronic parts.]
Maybe don't jinx us yet? [But okay. Walking ahead he's still keeping the clamshell just in case, but he raises an eyebrow.] Looks like our demons skipped spring cleaning...where are we? Storeroom?
[He's going to try and see what's on the left side of the room with the little light he has.]
[ it'd be kind of silly to split up in a situation like this, so rather than going off on his own to cover more ground, he follows junpei and motions for edelgard to come along. though, since he has no idea what most of this stuff even is, let alone does... he taps junpei on the shoulder and offers the flashlight to him. ]
Hm... actually, do you mind holding this? No offense intended, of course, but Edelgard-san and I both have more combat experience than you. It would serve us well for the two of us to have our hands free, should anything attack us.
[She makes a face at how dirty and dusty it is. She has no desire to split up either, given circumstances - on the other hand, she's got an idea how this works. Trying to feel along the wall near the door to see if there's a light switch.]
Agreed. Then again, we may not be attacked - it's more likely traps will be sprung.
[On that side of the room, Junpei will find more shelving covered in parts, all dirty and long undisturbed-- and with the help of the light, they'll see a worktable before they bump into it. There are soldering tools, as well as a minor repair kit.
The tech kind, not the sword kind, sorry Nikkari.
Meanwhile, Edelgard will find the light switch! Turning it on will reveal the room to them: the shelving lines every wall, there's the worktable they've already found, and there are a few defunct arcade machines to the right side of the room. Three are gutted and don't seem to work; three more have flickering, staticky screens that cut on and off.
The lights in here also cut in and out every so often, dim and flickering.]
[Edelgard is the true hero we needed, and Junpei blinks when the lights come on. He'll put the clamshell away and give the room one long look around. The screens are a little, hm, weird to say the least and he's holding the flashlight Nikkari hands him as he eyes the table.]
This looks...[Hm. Well anyway, he knows he just led them to the left but his eyes are on the arcade cabinets now.]
How much do you want to bet those things are haunted?
[ his natural instinct is to go full creepy mode again when junpei mentions the machines being haunted just to freak him out, but he has a much more no-nonsense attitude with edelgard present. it's his lucky day, i guess? ]
Perhaps not haunted, but certainly suspicious. [ he, too, glances over at the games. ] Higekiri-san and Hizamaru-san mentioned having to play a game when they originally broke in to the arcade proper. Do you suppose we're meant to do the same?
[Thanks for not becoming another haunting in here, Nikkari. As he and Junpei look at them, they seem to be arranged a little oddly; two of the same fighting game cabinet sit next to each other, and a slight distance away there's an old-school Mario game (the one with Donkey Kong and the barrels, shut up, I'm busy and not googling) that sits next to a breaker box. It's plugged directly in.
Nothing seems to stand out on the worktable, though! The tools and parts are all equally dusty. It seems no one has touched this table in some time.
ALSO THE DOOR SLAMS SHUT ON THEM WHICH I FORGOT WOULD HAPPEN. It's locked. Very locked.]
Sure. [This is to Edelgard, but he begins to head that way.] Their game ended up being a little difficult but none of them have ever played a video game before. So that might be why. Their injuries weren't so great either though.
[As they approach though he's definitely going to approach the breaker box and the Donkey Kong game that is Definitely Donkey Kong. He'll tap the screen to see if he can get it to stop being static-y and also push one of the buttons. If that fails, he'll take a look around the breaker box.]
Take a look at one of the other ones. Edelgard, what do you see on the table? Anything useful?
[ whatever he's going to say, he's cut off by the sound of the door slamming on them. ]
Ah. I suppose we should have expected that to happen, whether we had taken precautions or not.
[ because that sort of thing just seems to be par for the course around here, as he thinks back to #teamfreezer... and a shiver runs through him. anyway. he wanders over to one of the fighting games, wiggling the joystick to see what that does. ]
... And you may need to play one as well, Edelgard-san. I doubt it was mere coincidence that there just happened to be three somewhat functioning machines waiting for us.
[Well! As they all start messing with the games... the cabinets turn on a little more steadily, and each is asking whoever is poking at it to input a player name.
The fighting games, curiously enough, have silhouettes instead of actual characters displayed, the names all glitched out.]
[Haha good thing he didn't pick the fighting game. But okay. He'll glance at the game screen before glancing at the other two next to him.]
...let's get this over with. You're both armed, right? [But given there's nothing else in the room to do, he'll just let his free hand pat the left pocket of his capris and input the name "Jumpy".]
... Do you think we'll fare better or worse if neither of us is experienced? In the games, of course.
[ this. sure is something. he kind of just stares at the machine before him before it registers to him what he's supposed to do. with a bit of difficulty—leave him alone he's a sword what's a technology—he manages to input AOE.
[At first the machine seems like it might not accept Junpei's input. It flickers, displays a message that says SCANNING... but after a few moments, each machine displays a new message:
INPUT ACCEPTED. COMMENCING NOW.
The moment this message pops up, cables dart forth from seemingly nowhere, a writhing, coiled mass slithering onto the room's floor from behind and inside the machines. They wrap around each participant's wrists and ankles, holding them still, and even should they manage to cut one down... more will take their place.
Once they've been sufficiently restrained, silver-colored cables snake out from compartments of the arcade cabinets that have popped open. They coil around and slide up each person's spine, the ends of these cables finding new homes as they plug themselves in place at the back of their skull, Matrix-style.
Edelgard and Nikkari's selected characters display as themselves. Donkey Kong now has a tiny Jumpy sprite positioned at the bottom... and the breaker box sparks as two additional cables plug themselves into Junpei. A new display bar appears on his screen that reads:
PLAYER POWER: 100% P̴̨̛̘̜̺̪̙̟̘̳͍̺͐̎̂͐͜͝ͅO̷͔̙̦̭̜̥͙͖̙̟͖̙̓̈́͊́́̐̋̾̊̐͝W̴͕̞̫̞̱̟͕͖̖͕̻̥̫̃̇͒̀̐̅͛É̵̡̢̡͒͂̈́̚͠ͅR̸̡̜̪͚̰͉͖͚̫̦͖̝̥̫̽ ̵̫̮͇̣̯̯͍̄́̋̈̃͌̋̉̈̄S̶̙̓͛̂̋̑̚͝͝Ô̵̡̳̳̹̝͔̯̫̖̙̥̭̇̀̊̓̍̌͝͝Ȕ̶̼̦͘ͅR̶̨̛̜͙̹͉̤̻͈̂͛͒͂͂̇͂̂͘͘̚͜C̷̠̪̥̔̑̂͑͝͝E̸͎̻̗̗̹̤̘͈͐̀́̈́͒̅̅͠:̸̯̬̝̥͚̦͓͙̻͙̱̉̈̌̋̓ ̸̛͍̺̳̰̙͉̜͇̙̠̽̅͜͜͝7̶̢̛̤̯̻͇͗͒̐̑̀̉̐̎̓̈́̓0̷̢̖͕͉̙̫͂̆̋́̒̌͌̏̐̍͝͠%̵̡̩͈̔͌̌̊̐͜͠
Junpei's arms and hands move of their own accord to reach for the game's controls.
Nikkari and Edelgard will find themselves unable to move for the moment (though they can speak), as the speakers of the fighting game cabinet crackle with fuzzy, indistinct audio.]
[Oh. Okay. So like, obviously this was supposed to happen but that doesn't stop him from snarling and trying to immediately bolt which means he sort of pirouettes but ends up staying upright as cables bind him.
It's the slithering of the silver cables that get to him though and he tries to jerk his head forward enough that they can't plug in.]
What the fuck. [What the fuck? WHAT WAIT WHY DO I GET TWO EXTRA CABLES?! TEEJ EXPLAIN!?! Anyway, his hands are moving to the controls and he's trying to turn his head to see what's happening on the other side of the room, still trying to break the control even as his fingers settle on the joystick and the button.]
[ nikkari is fast, and he draws his blade as soon as the cables shoot out of the cabinets. that seems to have been for naught, though, because he's restrained before he can even attempt to slice through any of the wires; nikkari aoe the sword clatters uselessly to the ground. perhaps if he had been a tantou, he might have been able to cut his way out... but he supposes there's no use lingering on that now.
when he finds he can't move at all, his pupils dart as far as they can to the very corners of his eyes to see if he can manage to catch his companions in his peripheral vision. ]
Junpei, Edelgard-san—stay calm. [ way easier said than done, my man. ] Any attempt to struggle may worsen the situation further.
[Thanks for the advice, but she's not listening - she cuts down a few of the cords, but others quickly take their place, and she drops her axe, frozen. She seems to be in something like blind panic as soon as she's restrained, struggling useless against the restraints, but as soon as the coil slides up her spine, it jolts her into anger with a gasp of breath.]
Let go! Let go of me this instant! [She hears Nikkari, but that doesn't stop her from trying to struggle - trying, because she realizes she can't move any more. She hisses, furious, trying to maintain stoicism even though every aspect of this is sending her somewhere dark, and she feels like a caged animal, desperate to get free again.] Solve it, Junpei. Now.
Junpei's game has yet to begin. The fighting game, meanswhile, has started to play background music, as the screen shows a glitchy background... that seems to be the arcade?
Audio begins to play, as if from a game cutscene-- but it's coming from Nikkari and Edelgard, the now-familiar voice from the PA system announcements overlaid with their own voices. The cables wrapped around them pulse gently as they're forced to speak along with the clip, acting the following lines:]
"--Holy shit, what are you doing?!"
"Trying to shove this lance up your fucking asshole! What does it look like I'm doing?"
"It looks like you've lost your goddamn mind. Calm down, Ḩ̷̠̫͖̺̩͉̻̮͍́̀-̸̢͈̗̞̳̦͎̯̪͇̇̀̉̒͛̆̈́̇̚̚-̷̢̢͎͎̙̩̳͓̟͈͆̈́̍͊̿͒̔̽͋͜ͅͅ-̶̣͉̮̲̍͋̌͘̕͝-̶̨̢̞̜̗̙̖̹͓̤̪̀̿̆̀̋-̷̧̛̫̲̞͉̩̩̣̠̠̠̩̮͙̓-̶̟̬̪̲͛̔̿̉̄͌̒̆͊͘͘̚͘̚, and we can talk about this."
"Calm down...? Are you seriously asking me to calm down? You must think I'm a moron. I bet... I bet you always think you're the smartest guy in the room, don't you?"
"... Ḩ̷̯̍͐̂͆͊̓̄̀́͗̍͋̍̕͝͠-̸̧̡̢̢̛̛̦͕͇͈̗̩̺͕̒̒̃̌͜͠-̶̼̬̮̮͓̅͒-̶̧̛͕͎̩̯̱̱̯̞̙̩̦͈̲̾̊̄̋͌͌̔̕-̵̗̼̲̳̼̖̙̮̦͙̑̈́̈́̈́̋͆̽͆͋̅̄̈́̌͜͝-̵̡̛͇̥̰̣̞̑͛̈́͑̌̂̌̒̎̃̓̔̚͠͝-̷͖̃̀, I really don't know what you're talking about."
"Hah-- Of course you don't. You think everyone on this fucking ship loves you, right? You don't think anyone talks about you behind your back. I'm such an idiot for thinking we were friends, when it's your fault that my brother is dead."
"That's-- What?"
"I've been talking to M̷͎̮͖̤̭̞̳̭͚̂̚-̸̘̜́̅͛̓̃͛́̐͑̃̇͂͝͝-̸̣͎̻̐̋-̸̢̡̡̦͉̹̮̳͕̮͛͑̓̓̓̒͝͝-̶̢̮̠͎͙̟͉̪̤̘̺͉́̈́͊͒̓͐͊̎̒̈́̎͝͝-̴̧̢̗̭̞̤̲̞͔̝͍͈͚͕͖̘͆́͂́͋́̏̃͑̉̏͠͠͠͠. You know what she told me? That she and the other two -̷̛̳̺͎͕̐̑̅͠-̷̫͉̙̬͑̀͆͐͂̄̑-̶̢̛̭̰͚̉̄̄͐̈́̅̕-̸̨̝͈̞̣̦̱͓̈́͐̈́̌̆̂͆́̃̇̉̃-̶̡̢̩̙̫̟̖̆̀ͅͅ-̵͕̒͊̈́̎̚͘-̵͇̈́̓̈́͊͒͊́̏͝͝͝c̷̲͔̎̀͗̽͌̓̊̔̒͠k̷̨̧̹̘̝̳̼̂̌͜ḙ̶͓̑̅̈̋̋̒̕̚͠ṙ̴̛͔͖̙̠̗͒͋̀̎̀͘̚ͅs̷̞̭͇̲̯̣̖̎̽̀͊̕ͅ planned to -̷̡͎̜̟̣̖̜̇-̶̨̨̤̩̣̯̯̯́̐̔͐̈́̐̽̓̽̿͋-̵̰̩͎̳̦̟̮̹̃̒̑̔̀͋-̴͇͈̩͛̎͠-̷̼̤͂̋-̶̨̩̗̔͂́͛̌̚͜-̷̹̓̃̈́̾̅-̶̡̨̻̲͙̞̭̦̥͛̀̆̈̈́́̉-̵̢̰͖͚̥̻͖̟̭̲͉̌̈̀̀͋̊̕-̷̜̰͇͓̿͋͂́̓̈́͝͝ my brother, and you said no. And you know what else she dropped along the way? That you specifically told them to keep any information they found away from me."
"H̷̤̬̙̠̒̈́̓̔-̷͇̗̰̺͇͋̌̓́͊́́́̈́͘-̴̨̛͖̝͈̙̣͉̓͂̾̈̃̒-̵͓͖͖̮͍͔͓̭̞͈͗̐͑-̸̪͔̰͓̅̊̈́̈́͑̽̑-̷͔̬̰̰̐, it's not what it sounds like. I swear."
"Don't waste your breath. It's midnight and we're both awake. So either you're possessed, and here to kill me... Or they've given me their blessing to put you in your place."
"... So we're really going to fight over this, huh?"
"Yes. But look at the bright side, -̶̢̗͍͎̭̹̞̣͛̔ͅ-̵͔̗͗̚-̶̟̫͒̂̌̄̓-̶̰̱͔̜̰̙̮̩̙̱̥͚̋̌̋͠-̵̳͎̹͖̻͙̞̥̪̼̿͛̓̊̐̀͛̋̐̾̀͝-̷̢̙̬͓̹̥́͜-̴͔̟̭̱̐͋̾͊̈́́̓̃... You won't have to send pictures of your ugly dick to talk to Ą̸͔͎̩̗̱̌̈́-̶̛͎̺̠̲̿̐͛̀̽͗̃̀͋́̄-̴̖͓̤̳̳̦̣̰͓̅̊͛͑͋̕͠-̶̨̛̞̺͎̲̙̝̰̦͇͔̊̏̎͐͒̃̍̎ͅ-̷̳͙̳̮̒̈́͒͜-̵̙̦͉̲̮̰̮̣̏̀̿̈͂̑̍̂̌̈́̚ anymore."
[Following this, they're each forced into a fighting stance, both picking their weapons back up. They'll be able to move-- but only to fight each other.]
What do you think I'm trying to do!? [This is to Edelgard, but he can only turn his head enough to listen to the dialogue and...oh. Oh that's a lot, he'll memorize all of that and try to write it down later. Uh. UH. He's also watching both of them pick up their weapons and he's trying to break loose from the cables again.]
Okay! Okay, whatever you do, swing the opposite way and don't actually hit each other! Break the cabinets if you can! [Maybe that'll help? Shit.]
[ well. this is something. being used by somebody else isn't exactly new to nikkari, but that had only been been before he'd obtained this human form of his. this feels wrong on every level, from the way he's forced to speak the words of someone else to the way he's filled with the compulsion to fight edelgard. this goes against everything he stands for, everything he's ever known, and it turns out he really fucking hates that.
he hears junpei's words, but as much as he'd like to listen, he can already feel his limbs forcing him to face his companion. the least he can do is turn his sword so that the blunt back of the blade is turned toward his "opponent," rather than the razor sharp edge of the proper side. ]
Edelgard-san... if there is any way to strike me with your weapon without murdering me outright, I'd appreciate it—!
[ with that, he begins to advance toward her, doing everything he can to avoid dashing in like he normally would, but it only serves to slow him down so much. ]
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My. I almost feel as though I overprepared for this.
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[Her mouth twists up in a smile, but she immediately is looking around, trying to get a sense of the layout of the area they're in. She's tense at well, not liking the dark and trying to stay near the light.]
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From what they can see, it's a mess in here. The floor is filthy, and the light illuminates part of a shelving unit nearby covered in dust and dirty electronic parts.]
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[He's going to try and see what's on the left side of the room with the little light he has.]
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Hm... actually, do you mind holding this? No offense intended, of course, but Edelgard-san and I both have more combat experience than you. It would serve us well for the two of us to have our hands free, should anything attack us.
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Agreed. Then again, we may not be attacked - it's more likely traps will be sprung.
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The tech kind, not the sword kind, sorry Nikkari.
Meanwhile, Edelgard will find the light switch! Turning it on will reveal the room to them: the shelving lines every wall, there's the worktable they've already found, and there are a few defunct arcade machines to the right side of the room. Three are gutted and don't seem to work; three more have flickering, staticky screens that cut on and off.
The lights in here also cut in and out every so often, dim and flickering.]
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This looks...[Hm. Well anyway, he knows he just led them to the left but his eyes are on the arcade cabinets now.]
How much do you want to bet those things are haunted?
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[ his natural instinct is to go full creepy mode again when junpei mentions the machines being haunted just to freak him out, but he has a much more no-nonsense attitude with edelgard present. it's his lucky day, i guess? ]
Perhaps not haunted, but certainly suspicious. [ he, too, glances over at the games. ] Higekiri-san and Hizamaru-san mentioned having to play a game when they originally broke in to the arcade proper. Do you suppose we're meant to do the same?
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Go ahead and play it. I'm going to look about.
[Gonna look all over the worktable and see if anything stands out? What's on there?]
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Nothing seems to stand out on the worktable, though! The tools and parts are all equally dusty. It seems no one has touched this table in some time.
ALSO THE DOOR SLAMS SHUT ON THEM WHICH I FORGOT WOULD HAPPEN. It's locked. Very locked.]
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[As they approach though he's definitely going to approach the breaker box and the Donkey Kong game that is Definitely Donkey Kong. He'll tap the screen to see if he can get it to stop being static-y and also push one of the buttons. If that fails, he'll take a look around the breaker box.]
Take a look at one of the other ones. Edelgard, what do you see on the table? Anything useful?
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Ah. I suppose we should have expected that to happen, whether we had taken precautions or not.
[ because that sort of thing just seems to be par for the course around here, as he thinks back to #teamfreezer... and a shiver runs through him. anyway. he wanders over to one of the fighting games, wiggling the joystick to see what that does. ]
... And you may need to play one as well, Edelgard-san. I doubt it was mere coincidence that there just happened to be three somewhat functioning machines waiting for us.
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[Sighing? Deeply? And approaching one of the fighting games.]
I haven't played games of this type, either. I am not accustomed to competing and doing poorly.
[But she'll mess around with the joystick too. Any hot girls in skimpy outfits on the character selector?]
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The fighting games, curiously enough, have silhouettes instead of actual characters displayed, the names all glitched out.]
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...let's get this over with. You're both armed, right? [But given there's nothing else in the room to do, he'll just let his free hand pat the left pocket of his capris and input the name "Jumpy".]
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[ this. sure is something. he kind of just stares at the machine before him before it registers to him what he's supposed to do. with a bit of difficulty—leave him alone he's a sword what's a technology—he manages to input AOE.
shut up it's still his name. ]
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[Picking the sluttiest looking silhouette, and then typing as much of EDELGARD VON HRESVELG as she can fit in the input box before preparing her axe.]
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INPUT ACCEPTED. COMMENCING NOW.
The moment this message pops up, cables dart forth from seemingly nowhere, a writhing, coiled mass slithering onto the room's floor from behind and inside the machines. They wrap around each participant's wrists and ankles, holding them still, and even should they manage to cut one down... more will take their place.
Once they've been sufficiently restrained, silver-colored cables snake out from compartments of the arcade cabinets that have popped open. They coil around and slide up each person's spine, the ends of these cables finding new homes as they plug themselves in place at the back of their skull, Matrix-style.
Edelgard and Nikkari's selected characters display as themselves. Donkey Kong now has a tiny Jumpy sprite positioned at the bottom... and the breaker box sparks as two additional cables plug themselves into Junpei. A new display bar appears on his screen that reads:
PLAYER POWER: 100%
P̴̨̛̘̜̺̪̙̟̘̳͍̺͐̎̂͐͜͝ͅO̷͔̙̦̭̜̥͙͖̙̟͖̙̓̈́͊́́̐̋̾̊̐͝W̴͕̞̫̞̱̟͕͖̖͕̻̥̫̃̇͒̀̐̅͛É̵̡̢̡͒͂̈́̚͠ͅR̸̡̜̪͚̰͉͖͚̫̦͖̝̥̫̽ ̵̫̮͇̣̯̯͍̄́̋̈̃͌̋̉̈̄S̶̙̓͛̂̋̑̚͝͝Ô̵̡̳̳̹̝͔̯̫̖̙̥̭̇̀̊̓̍̌͝͝Ȕ̶̼̦͘ͅR̶̨̛̜͙̹͉̤̻͈̂͛͒͂͂̇͂̂͘͘̚͜C̷̠̪̥̔̑̂͑͝͝E̸͎̻̗̗̹̤̘͈͐̀́̈́͒̅̅͠:̸̯̬̝̥͚̦͓͙̻͙̱̉̈̌̋̓ ̸̛͍̺̳̰̙͉̜͇̙̠̽̅͜͜͝7̶̢̛̤̯̻͇͗͒̐̑̀̉̐̎̓̈́̓0̷̢̖͕͉̙̫͂̆̋́̒̌͌̏̐̍͝͠%̵̡̩͈̔͌̌̊̐͜͠
Junpei's arms and hands move of their own accord to reach for the game's controls.
Nikkari and Edelgard will find themselves unable to move for the moment (though they can speak), as the speakers of the fighting game cabinet crackle with fuzzy, indistinct audio.]
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It's the slithering of the silver cables that get to him though and he tries to jerk his head forward enough that they can't plug in.]
What the fuck. [What the fuck? WHAT WAIT WHY DO I GET TWO EXTRA CABLES?! TEEJ EXPLAIN!?! Anyway, his hands are moving to the controls and he's trying to turn his head to see what's happening on the other side of the room, still trying to break the control even as his fingers settle on the joystick and the button.]
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when he finds he can't move at all, his pupils dart as far as they can to the very corners of his eyes to see if he can manage to catch his companions in his peripheral vision. ]
Junpei, Edelgard-san—stay calm. [ way easier said than done, my man. ] Any attempt to struggle may worsen the situation further.
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Let go! Let go of me this instant! [She hears Nikkari, but that doesn't stop her from trying to struggle - trying, because she realizes she can't move any more. She hisses, furious, trying to maintain stoicism even though every aspect of this is sending her somewhere dark, and she feels like a caged animal, desperate to get free again.] Solve it, Junpei. Now.
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Junpei's game has yet to begin. The fighting game, meanswhile, has started to play background music, as the screen shows a glitchy background... that seems to be the arcade?
Audio begins to play, as if from a game cutscene-- but it's coming from Nikkari and Edelgard, the now-familiar voice from the PA system announcements overlaid with their own voices. The cables wrapped around them pulse gently as they're forced to speak along with the clip, acting the following lines:]
"--Holy shit, what are you doing?!"
"Trying to shove this lance up your fucking asshole! What does it look like I'm doing?"
"It looks like you've lost your goddamn mind. Calm down, Ḩ̷̠̫͖̺̩͉̻̮͍́̀-̸̢͈̗̞̳̦͎̯̪͇̇̀̉̒͛̆̈́̇̚̚-̷̢̢͎͎̙̩̳͓̟͈͆̈́̍͊̿͒̔̽͋͜ͅͅ-̶̣͉̮̲̍͋̌͘̕͝-̶̨̢̞̜̗̙̖̹͓̤̪̀̿̆̀̋-̷̧̛̫̲̞͉̩̩̣̠̠̠̩̮͙̓-̶̟̬̪̲͛̔̿̉̄͌̒̆͊͘͘̚͘̚, and we can talk about this."
"Calm down...? Are you seriously asking me to calm down? You must think I'm a moron. I bet... I bet you always think you're the smartest guy in the room, don't you?"
"... Ḩ̷̯̍͐̂͆͊̓̄̀́͗̍͋̍̕͝͠-̸̧̡̢̢̛̛̦͕͇͈̗̩̺͕̒̒̃̌͜͠-̶̼̬̮̮͓̅͒-̶̧̛͕͎̩̯̱̱̯̞̙̩̦͈̲̾̊̄̋͌͌̔̕-̵̗̼̲̳̼̖̙̮̦͙̑̈́̈́̈́̋͆̽͆͋̅̄̈́̌͜͝-̵̡̛͇̥̰̣̞̑͛̈́͑̌̂̌̒̎̃̓̔̚͠͝-̷͖̃̀, I really don't know what you're talking about."
"Hah-- Of course you don't. You think everyone on this fucking ship loves you, right? You don't think anyone talks about you behind your back. I'm such an idiot for thinking we were friends, when it's your fault that my brother is dead."
"That's-- What?"
"I've been talking to M̷͎̮͖̤̭̞̳̭͚̂̚-̸̘̜́̅͛̓̃͛́̐͑̃̇͂͝͝-̸̣͎̻̐̋-̸̢̡̡̦͉̹̮̳͕̮͛͑̓̓̓̒͝͝-̶̢̮̠͎͙̟͉̪̤̘̺͉́̈́͊͒̓͐͊̎̒̈́̎͝͝-̴̧̢̗̭̞̤̲̞͔̝͍͈͚͕͖̘͆́͂́͋́̏̃͑̉̏͠͠͠͠. You know what she told me? That she and the other two -̷̛̳̺͎͕̐̑̅͠-̷̫͉̙̬͑̀͆͐͂̄̑-̶̢̛̭̰͚̉̄̄͐̈́̅̕-̸̨̝͈̞̣̦̱͓̈́͐̈́̌̆̂͆́̃̇̉̃-̶̡̢̩̙̫̟̖̆̀ͅͅ-̵͕̒͊̈́̎̚͘-̵͇̈́̓̈́͊͒͊́̏͝͝͝c̷̲͔̎̀͗̽͌̓̊̔̒͠k̷̨̧̹̘̝̳̼̂̌͜ḙ̶͓̑̅̈̋̋̒̕̚͠ṙ̴̛͔͖̙̠̗͒͋̀̎̀͘̚ͅs̷̞̭͇̲̯̣̖̎̽̀͊̕ͅ planned to -̷̡͎̜̟̣̖̜̇-̶̨̨̤̩̣̯̯̯́̐̔͐̈́̐̽̓̽̿͋-̵̰̩͎̳̦̟̮̹̃̒̑̔̀͋-̴͇͈̩͛̎͠-̷̼̤͂̋-̶̨̩̗̔͂́͛̌̚͜-̷̹̓̃̈́̾̅-̶̡̨̻̲͙̞̭̦̥͛̀̆̈̈́́̉-̵̢̰͖͚̥̻͖̟̭̲͉̌̈̀̀͋̊̕-̷̜̰͇͓̿͋͂́̓̈́͝͝ my brother, and you said no. And you know what else she dropped along the way? That you specifically told them to keep any information they found away from me."
"H̷̤̬̙̠̒̈́̓̔-̷͇̗̰̺͇͋̌̓́͊́́́̈́͘-̴̨̛͖̝͈̙̣͉̓͂̾̈̃̒-̵͓͖͖̮͍͔͓̭̞͈͗̐͑-̸̪͔̰͓̅̊̈́̈́͑̽̑-̷͔̬̰̰̐, it's not what it sounds like. I swear."
"Don't waste your breath. It's midnight and we're both awake. So either you're possessed, and here to kill me... Or they've given me their blessing to put you in your place."
"... So we're really going to fight over this, huh?"
"Yes. But look at the bright side, -̶̢̗͍͎̭̹̞̣͛̔ͅ-̵͔̗͗̚-̶̟̫͒̂̌̄̓-̶̰̱͔̜̰̙̮̩̙̱̥͚̋̌̋͠-̵̳͎̹͖̻͙̞̥̪̼̿͛̓̊̐̀͛̋̐̾̀͝-̷̢̙̬͓̹̥́͜-̴͔̟̭̱̐͋̾͊̈́́̓̃... You won't have to send pictures of your ugly dick to talk to Ą̸͔͎̩̗̱̌̈́-̶̛͎̺̠̲̿̐͛̀̽͗̃̀͋́̄-̴̖͓̤̳̳̦̣̰͓̅̊͛͑͋̕͠-̶̨̛̞̺͎̲̙̝̰̦͇͔̊̏̎͐͒̃̍̎ͅ-̷̳͙̳̮̒̈́͒͜-̵̙̦͉̲̮̰̮̣̏̀̿̈͂̑̍̂̌̈́̚ anymore."
[Following this, they're each forced into a fighting stance, both picking their weapons back up. They'll be able to move-- but only to fight each other.]
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Okay! Okay, whatever you do, swing the opposite way and don't actually hit each other! Break the cabinets if you can! [Maybe that'll help? Shit.]
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he hears junpei's words, but as much as he'd like to listen, he can already feel his limbs forcing him to face his companion. the least he can do is turn his sword so that the blunt back of the blade is turned toward his "opponent," rather than the razor sharp edge of the proper side. ]
Edelgard-san... if there is any way to strike me with your weapon without murdering me outright, I'd appreciate it—!
[ with that, he begins to advance toward her, doing everything he can to avoid dashing in like he normally would, but it only serves to slow him down so much. ]
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END.