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Owner	Pose
Kale Hearthward	ONCE MORE INTO THE BREACH Possibly the last time. ((This scene and the next scene are timebubbled together.)) Those visiting the Theatre wouldn't know that this might be their last visit, of course. It's just another trip, albeit one made in the knowledge that Niko's journey is hopefully nearing its end. In through the lobby, past the Staff Only door that nobody's opened yet, onto the stage, through the door onto the Stage (capitalization intentional), and then to focus on the giant computer in the middle of the Stage once again. "NIKO HERE, SHUT DOWN," says Kale, who's once again beaten everyone here. Kale Hearthward always comes before anyone else, it seems. "That's what the nonogram clue we found says once it was deciphered, and there's a grid at the tower base that it seems to map to." Niko's standing in the middle of the aforementioned grid, waiting patiently while holding the lightbulb. "There does seem to be a shutdown program we can execute within the WorldMachine OS... and..." "... We know that, when the system was shut down before, it came back up after a little while. When the, uh, when it shut down after it turned into a giant monster cat. And so far all of the other clues we've found have pushed us forward instead of being traps or anything like that. If we're being sabotaged they would have started tricking us way back in the cabin instead of waiting till now, right? So - probably Niko will be safe?" Kale looks up at the giant computer. Not at the screen (still showing Niko, who's humming to themself to pass the time) but at the computer itself. "My gut feeling is... this will work. Or it's worth a try." "If someone else has something else they want to try, now's the time. Otherwise if we're in agreement, let's put in the command."
Ishirou	Ishirou arrives at the appointed time, looking to hopefully save a world and get Niko home.  His outfit consists of a lightweight black sweater, with the fringes of what seems to be a plain white shirt beneath it. It's the kind of comfortable ensemble that one could wear around the house, tidied up into something more professional by the lower half - a pair of relaxed-fit pants in dark gray, belted and finished off by a pair of black, casual-lean dress boots. Ishirou walks up to the Stage, and jumps onto it, to look at Kale and then the giant Computer.  He frowns, at what Kale says the nonogram clue deciphered into.  "So we have to reset the computer and hope it doesn't attack us again.  Or do something to the machine itself that endangers Niko..." At the same time, without it there seemed to be no way forward, so... "I don't see a way forward, so I suppose we have to shut down the PC and go forward." Ishirou says, not seeing anything else he could do.  Well, he COULD try hacking it, but given the violence threatened on him and his nervousness about hacking the machine he has decided not to do that.
Aidan Proudpick	The Training Ground has been unboarded. "Thank the breeze I didn't burn it down like I planned to." Aidan is not going to go looking for a home when there's one right here. Now he just had to not crack under the pressure of being truly alone. Focus. Focus on this problem, not your own. Not anyone else. None of that, nothing else, matters. You've always been thinking about your story first. "No. Hold on." Aidan backs up to the computer to block it so he can lift his hands. "Listen. Something is weird." Don't self-pity, move ahead. "Niko signed the paper twice. But doesn't remember. And I don't know, I think something weird happened to Prophetbot. And then there's the squares. And two different people. One who wants us to leave the world barren, and one who wants us to save it AND Niko." Aidan jumps on the computer to start click on the keys with his feet. He at least remembers most of the commands by heart. He needs to find something new. Anything new. "If I can't find anything new, then we'll do it." He pecks at the keyboard with his hands. "But if we do something wrong and something bad happens to Niko." He looks back. "I'd rather die."
Futaba Nuki	"Shut down? Shut down what?" Futaba asks as she loiters by Kale, having shown up appropriately on time with her usual routine of flips and dumb bullshit she likes to do to keep herself focused. "Couldn't mean shutting down the..." The system itself? She looks skeptical at first, but Kale's explanation about previous cryptic instructions do line up well enough that she eventually starts nodding in agreement. "Yeah, that makes sense. Not like I got any better ideas." She laughs briefly, then furrows her brow again while turning from Kale to Niko and the lightbulb. "Although... We ain't the ones that would be at risk of something going weird with this, are we?" Crossing her arms over her chest, Futaba's tail flicks from one side to the other before she squats in place to peer right at the cat child. "What do you think? It's your call. There's the option of brute forcing our way up to get that sun fixed first, too, if you're up for trying that." A pause, and Futaba strokes her chin lightly. "Although.. Guess we'd still need to find a way in to make that work."
Aidan Proudpick	Aidan starts poking at old files he couldn't before. A depressing picture gallery of the Cabin, Niko, pops up. When he tries to open up a picture of the tower, nothing.
Petra Soroka	Eggpack, Theatre, concessions, stage, Stage, computer. Petra gives the Staff Only door a dubious look while she's harvesting her berries from the restocked concessions tables. Wouldn't it be messed up if Balan was in there this entire time, and no one checked? Oh well, surely she'll have one more chance after this to examine that door.     "I don't like it." Ever-helpful as a puzzle solver, Petra contributes nothing but stubborn refusal at first. "It's relying on a lot of assumptions. Like, that the author-- I guess, probably him, since he's the only one we know of besides us who's done stuff both inside the computer and to WorldMachine itself-- is the one scraping out these dumb puzzle clues inside a lighthouse." 5t"Otherwise, like-- why would it even refer to shutting down the computer? It's written *inside* the computer. What if it shuts it off for a whole week or two again before we can even know the answer? I think there's other things we can try."     Ishirou being dressed like a human being-- well, for some definitions of that-- rather than a pile of dirty laundry for once gets the least hostile look he's seen from Petra in a while. She crosses her arms and frowns dubiously at Kale. "We have to be careful. Hurting Niko by being too impatient would fucking suck."     "You know what--" Petra turns away from the computer, looking over her shoulder at the portal back to the stage (out of the Stage). "I *do* have a different idea to check first."     Petra will examine the Staff Only door. She'd been content to leave it unchecked for the dramatic irony of not being privy to the narration of the sceneset, but now she feels like she needs to overturn every stone before doing anything that risks Niko's well-being.
Arcadia	Arcadia is here. Though one would be forgiven for not realizing she had arrived, as it was without the sphinx's usual blazing onto the scene at full throttle. She just drifted in, hoving just off the ground as she typically did, taking a spot around the World Computer terminal as everyone gathered and got organized while Kale did a brief rundown of the state of affairs. Arcadia was still feeling out of sorts. It wasn't quite a sulk anymore, but neither has she come entirely to terms with the matter. Even if the notion that she would not be able to hold the admiration of everyone like she did in her home world had finally started to click into place. It was an aspect of the Multiverse she would have to accept and work with. But even with a blow to the ego changing such a long standing aspect took time. Seeing the entrance of the Theatre appear once more did perk Arcadia up a little more. She had not screwed up so badly that the cosmos no longer wanted her involvement, and she ventured in as had many times before abiet with a little more ... composure, for lack of a better phrasing. No matter how she felt right now, she still had an obligation to seeing this venture through and helping Niko, making this 'One Shot' they had been given count. It didn't matter if she was 'a hero' or not by some vague definitions. She was the guardian. A protector. And this World and it's Savoir needed all the support they could get.
Ru Li Cheng	This time, he was ready for it!      For real! Ru Li didn't lose his balance (much) or anything upon walking through the door! The stuff he's carrying isn't all over the floor! That's good, because it's a lot of electrical diagrams, documents, and computer manuals, all of which he's brought as reference-      -and which will do absolutely no good, because this is a magic nonsense computer and apparently turns into giant monster cats sometimes.      The sigh of disappointment is, at least, silent and concealed by the stack of papers.      "I do not like this," Ru Li says, quietly, "It feels too much like giving up."      Petra says the same, and he nods, though it is once again lost behind the paperwork. "I agree. It is unseemly for us to risk the lives of others when we have nothing to lose ourselves."      He takes a deep breath and sets the papers down. "That is why, if it comes to that, I will enter the computer when you shut it down."      He holds up both hands as Petra heads towards STAFF ONLY. "It is not pointless self-sacrifice, I assure you. Rather, if there are consequences, I may be able to mitigate them, either by organizing the people within and minimizing the duration of their duress, or by utilizing my strength as a god to help protect them."      Ru Li crosses his arms and looks away. "But I do not like not having someone on the other side to ensure things go as smoothly as possible should we enter the command."
Kale Hearthward	The 'Staff Only' door opens. Immediately, a jumble of fantasy-style staffs, staves, and polearms falls out through the open door. The room beyond is closet-sized, and contains nothing else besides more of those items. ... Nothing else except for a note taped to one of the staves. It's for Petra's eyes only, unless she chooses to share.
Hibiki Tachibana	LAST TIME:     That was a kind of nice moment between Hibiki, Niko, Petra, and Angela. That doesn't happen every day!     THIS TIME:     Well, that's all been kind of passively soured by the whole Quicknest and Egg Head Soroka thing that's become the new 'arc'. But Niko is the important thing today, so best to stay focused on that, as rough as that is to attempt to do. Not as rough as it otherwise would be, at least, since...     "Shut down...?"     It's a pretty big conundrum they've all stumbled onto, and one look at Hibiki's face as she stands with her hands in her pockets is enough to tell her that she's not a hundred percent on board. "A 'probably' on Niko's safety is a seriously big risk to take, you know." This take puts her, by sheer coincidence, on Petra's side again. "It's not like /I/ have many better ideas, but..."     She spends a second thinking, glancing at the screen. "...Bashing our way up to the top of the tower would probably be pretty easy. I don't know if putting the 'sun' up there would do anything to actually help Niko get back home or not, but still. If we shut everythign down, it's Niko and the people in there who are gonna be the ones suffering for it."     Ru Li pitches his idea, and Hibiki's brow furrows. "Let's see what Petra comes back with. But if it comes down to that, I wanna come with. ...Whatever happen if we shut things down... I wanna be able to make sure I can protect Niko, too. With my own hands."
Angela	Eggpack, Theatre, concessions, stage, Stage, computer. Angela is, as ever, intereted in helping Niko more than anything else. The path to do so is clear, the how of it is a bit more complicated especially as puzzles continue to crop up. Normally, Angela loves puzzles...but she likes puzzles because she finds them relaxing. Puzzles that might actually decide someone's fate is way more nervewracking to her. She crosses her arms thoughtfully (in the system, the eggpack mimics the gesture). "Mm.... If shutting the system down summoned the giant cat, it is plausible that doing so again will simply result in us having to....start over..." She frowns. They only have One Shot! That's what they were told at the beginning! If they actually have TWO shots than their whole base of assumptions is inherently flawed! "...That flies in the face of what we were first told, so I do not know." Angela shakes her head, tapping her arm in thought. The Eggpack mimics it. "Or perhaps it was simply an omen." Angela adds. "Either way we should proceed with caution. We ''were'' told we only had one shot here, and at this point we should make sure every act we take is well thought out and purposeful." The Eggpack monitor tilts towards Aidan as he shares that something seems wrong. Angela would also rather die than have anything bad happen to Niko but, really, what else is new. ...Well, she thinks, that used to be the case. Now ... Does she want to live? Like how Petra wants to live? She smiles at Petra faintly as she shares her concern for 'not being impatient'. "I agree with Petra. Let us be cautious." She will naturally end up following Petra into the Staff Only Door though she does knock on it with her robot arm to be polite. "...And I do hate to say it," She adds, as an afterthought. "But George is also here and she is also someone who is worthy of living." She decides. "...But they only have so much time left, as Ru Li said, so..." The 'they' here refers to the denizens of the world r ather than just George, but it is a bit awkwardly phrased since Angela is not entirely comfortable with the idea of not abandoning everybody to their deaths so the cute kid can escape.
Ru Li Cheng	"Unwise," Ru Li says quietly to Hibiki, "I do not age or sleep. I keep my own internal sense of time thanks to my divine clockwork. Depending on how long the machine is off for, and how direct a translation time is, you might age and die before it turns back on. I know I will not - and I know that the loss of day and night will not affect me, either mentally or physically."      His voice is very quiet. "...you would simply become a liability in need of protection yourself if the lights went out."
Sarracenia	A giant computer, a lightbulb, and something about shutting down the WorldMachine OS. Sarracenia is not exactly a wealth of computer knowledge, but she did say she would get out more and do heroic things. Someone here is trying to escape something. The only part she really understands is that they are trying to shut it down.      And as per usual, she's the last to arrive. Fashionably late, as they say. She eyes the others gathered. A few sworn enemies of hers, a squirrel that while not an enemy seems to have settled on the Sarra is crazy line of thought. And a couple of magitek creatures who she hasn't met before (or if she has it has been a long while), though Ru Li's voice is at least familiar thanks to the radio. And of course Hibiki, who is generally nice to Sarra when they actually talk.      The others more in the know discuss the situation while Sarracenia just looks up at the computer, arms crossed over her chest and a very slight frown on her face. "Soooo...we are just trying to shut it down?" she asks, trying to get a bit of verification. "Can't we just like...unplug it or smash it or something? If we do that then whatever bad things are waiting would just stop, right?"      Sure, it's probably more complicated than that, but if you shut down a computer then...it's just turned off, right?      Petra opens that door and all the staves fall out. Sarracenia would laugh is she had seen the pile of staves released.
Petra Soroka	Petra pauses in her slouching-away to wheel around to face Ru Li, both fists held up to her chest encouragingly. Her recalcitrant pout melts away instantly as she beams at him, lips parting for an excited little gasp. Her eyes are practically sparkling-- anyone skilled at reading her expressions would know that this isn't exactly admiration she's displaying towards Ru Li; it's something more like the pride of seeing your kid score a goal.     "Yeah! Yeah, that's smart, Ru Li. I totally trust you to handle it well if anything goes wrong." She's really gassing him up, but it's not insincere. "Thanks for being brave for Niko."     Then: Staff Only.     Petra glares at the pile of polearms, trembling a bit. Her lips are pressed together, face turning a bit pink, cheeks twitching. She's kind of mad, and really trying not to laugh at the same time.     Reading the note dulls both of those to the point that she can let it out as a sigh instead of a groan or giggle. She folds it up and slips it into her pocket after showing Angela on her back, then carefully props all the staves back up inside the room and closes the door again after locking it from the inside. If she needs to *make* a lock to have that be possible, she'll quickly screw one together with scrap metal from her mirror storage and floating morphmetal tools. The next person to get pranked *will* have it worse than her.     Returning to the group, Petra does not explain the actual properties of the Staff Only room. She shrugs, hands in the pockets of her stitched-up bomber, and doesn't produce the note for anyone to look at either.     "Balan's still a dick. Says he'll show up when 'things are at the deciding point', which I guess means they're not, yet. Kind of forboding, and kind of makes me think that putting in the lightbulb isn't going to be simple, shutdown or not."     Hibiki is here too, now that Petra's returned, and by sheer coincidence is on Petra's side again. This is a little complicated, feelings-wise, but not *too* complicated, since 'protecting a child' is one thing that's simple enough even in Petra's moral paradigm.     "If we shut down-- and I mean, we should at least *try* going to the top of the lighthouse ourselves-- then I'll stay outside. If something goes wrong, I'll tap Doctor Eggman for help, and see what we can do about it."
Petra Soroka	"Can't we just like...unplug it or smash it or something?"     "I'll kill you if you do that," is what Sarracenia gets from Petra as explanation why not. It's also her greeting to the princess.
Hibiki Tachibana	Ru Li raises very valid points. He's right about pretty much all of them - and as they know from the weeks in between them showing up here to Balan's Theatre, the flow of time between out here and in there isn't exactly one to one.     Hibiki, of course, still obviously doesn't like it. "That doesn't mean it won't affect you at all." She holds a stare for a moment, then shuts her eyes and exhales, her own voice softening up. "...But if I just made things even harder, that'd be going totally against the point, right? I get what you're saying. I just want to be sure Niko will be alright."     Rather than a vocal acknowledgement, because that has a fair chance of going terribly wrong, Hibiki agrees with Petra' sentiment of at least making an attempt with a small nod, but she seems like she's accepting of Ru Li being the best one for the job of staying inside. There's a glance to Sarra afterwards.     "There's a whole world of people in there," she says in the way of an explanation.
Angela	Angela frowns at the note. This feels like someone is doing the sort of work she usually has to (trcking people into self improvement) and she's not sure if it's aimed for the party, Niko, or some unforeseen third party but she does not like it, no sir. ''Can't we just like...unplug it or smash it or something?'' "I will bury you in a pit a thousand miles below the ground, you will live forever in that pit with needles jabbing into your arms enough that they bleed for the rest of eternity." Angela says to Sarracenia, apparently in minor disagreement about how to handle Sarracenia destroying the world machine with, presumably, everybody inside it. "If you are going to be a complete moron, then I'm going to ask you to keep your hands to yourself and watch less idiotic people do their work until you gain half a clue about why we are here." Angela looks to Petra. "Unless Petra kills you first. I suppose it would be a competition." She's a team player! But she agrees that Balan is being kind of a dick here in ways that she's not fond of. But there's nothing she can do for that beyond continuing on. "We can consider complications when we get there." She adds before bobbing her head to Hibiki. "Yes." She agrees.
Futaba Nuki	Futaba finds herself nodding firmly in agreement with Petra, Ru Li, Hibiki, and Angela, still looking thoughtfully between the door and Niko while trying to pull something out of her head that might help with this predicament. She doesn't come up with anything by the time the Staff Only door opens, though, and she still doesn't come up with anything even after all that stuff falls out gets a laugh out of her. "What do you think all that stuff's for?" She asks idly while stretching her arm aaaall the way over there to offer a scoop-shaped hand to help shove things in if need be. She's not close enough to see the note, though, and she doesn't seem to even notice that it existed before turning her attention back to the shut down plan. "Gah. Miss Angela's got a point, yeah. Even if it's all computer stuff, it's still real enough that..." Futaba pauses again as Hibiki suggests joining Ru Li during the shut down, then smacks herself on the chest lightly with her usual bright confidence returning. "Oh, don't worry about that. I'll keep him company for the long haul if it comes down to it, then. Most of you are still humans, but-" Futaba slides her arm up and down around in the air like an extremely long spaghetti defying the laws of gravity. "I've got powers and stuff. I can deal with it." She boasts, perhaps even believing it herself! Sarracenia's suggestion gets a wince from Futaba, meanwhile, but no further words once Futaba hears Angela and Petra already handling that part. Instead, she just holds her hand up to her neck in that sideways 'no' wave.
Aidan Proudpick	"That is why, if it comes to that, I will enter the computer when you shut it down." "I wanna be able to make sure I can protect Niko, too. With my own hands." "I was going to suggest the same thing. One of us should stay in. I think it should be me over you, Hibiki." Aidan gives a cheery smile, "I'm more expendable." As Ru Li speaks again, Aidan opens his mouth to proclaim he should be the one to fall on the grenade. He closes his mouth again. That would be an insult to Ru Li. Aidan sighs. "All of us are going to want to be in there. We all want to help." He sits on the edge of the keyboard, swinging his legs. He looks up at the computer. "I can't think of anything else. I'm not bad at blacksmith puzzles, but if there's a secret trick to this one, I don't know it." "We need someone to stay outside." He gives a warm smile over at Sarracenia. "That might be a good job for you." For the past two years, you've been trying to be something you're not. With a mighty lift of his legs and a bounce up to his feet, there's a new smile spreading across Aidan's face. Aidan taps out #join, adding just a little hipswing to the motions. "Last one in is a plucked bird!"
Ishirou	'Can't we just like...unplug it or smash it or something?' Ishirou just stared at Sarracenia for a moment, trying to figure out if she was being serious or not. Then when he can figure out she /is/ and the threats from both Petra and Angela, he shakes his head in disappointment (at Sarracenia.) "I just do not understand you in the least," Ishirou says to Sarracenia with frustration. To Ru Li, he frowns but nods. "Alright. Hopefully, it'll be like no time has passed for you..." he looks back at Petra and frowns again about Baladin being a dick. "Alright, LOGIN then Ru Li, and then we'll... SHUT DOWN the machine..." Ishirou elects to stay outside of the machine, in case something goes wrong.
Arcadia	Arcadia has mostly kept to herself, and even she flinchs a moment when people yell at Sarracenia for her, granted rather impulsive, suggestion. Petra and Angela were both feeling spicy about the matter apparently. And it kind of echos how she caused an issue before by saying things before she really thought about it. Ouch. As such she shifts a bit closer to Sarracenia. "Princess, mayhaps it would be best for you to get more familiar with the situation first, being this is your first time here, yes?" She's really trying to be better about such things.
Ru Li Cheng	Futaba says she'll keep him company, and, for one selfish moment, Ru Li almost does hope that the computer stays down for a hundred years, or a thousand, inside. It's writ plain on his face, that momentary selfishness, carved into the electrum-colored blush across his cheeks.      "Are you sure? Time may-"      And then Aidan goes to leap into the computer.      Ru Li holds out his hand. "Wait! You will-"      His fingers close. He closes his eyes and says something in his own tongue, which the translation effect translates into nonsense - it's probably some kind of local euphemism or swear that doesn't convert cleanly.      "-be a liability if we shut it down." He finishes to the air.
Petra Soroka	"Unless Petra kills you first. I suppose it would be a competition."     "Oh, would you want it to be a competition?" Petra looks at her shoulder like she's looking at the Eggpack's screen, tone light and honestly curious. "I was thinking we could do it, like, together. If you'd have fun competing, I'd be down for it, I just would've thought you'd rather, like, collaborate." "Oh, don't worry about that. I'll keep him company for the long haul if it comes down to it, then."     "You're right." Hibiki being one of the people Petra would trust most with Niko's safety doesn't supercede the fact that she could accomplish *multiple* goals if it's Futaba and Ru Li in there together. "Tachibana, Proudpick, stop clambering over each other to do the heroic thing right after someone else mentions it as an option."     Including Hibiki beside Aidan in that makes her wince, and she does actually shoot Hibiki a glance and a quiet, "Sorry," before continuing. "Futaba and Ru Li can do it. And we're *not* doing it until *after* trying to scale the tower on our *own*, *Ishirou*. So hold your *fucking* horses." "I'm more expendable."     Belatedly, Petra realizes what Aidan said, and can't stop herself from snorting before he goes into the computer. "Holy *shit*. Doctor Eggman and I wipe out your fucking home, with you being one of the *only* people left, and you're just... wow. That's too fucking funny, actually. I can't even disagree."
Kale Hearthward	> "We should at least *try* going to the top of the lighthouse ourselves." "There wasn't a door. There wasn't much of anything really, besides the glass lighthouse top, and I'm pretty sure breaking that is a bad idea." People can go in and check for themselves and verify. Absent some sort of teleportation it does seem like there isn't a second way into the tower. And the glass crown really does seem like a key part of the whole setup that you don't want to break. > "I'll kill you if you do that," "No, Petra. Not acceptable. We'll have to be fair and draw straws for who gets to kill Sarracenia," says Kale, without looking at either Petra or Sarracenia. "Okay. If Balan left a note... I know he's not all there, but I don't think he's outright malicious. He wouldn't hurt Niko or us. Also if worst comes to worst, and this is a trap, I know where Lance is right now and I can just turn him over to Angela. Balan will care about *that*." "Ru Li, thank you. We'll get you out as soon as we can if anything goes wrong," says Kale. Aidan and Futaba join in - Kale reaches up to stop them. "Hang on- Ru Li's fine, but what if-" And they're gone. "... Okay. Okay, fine. If you're risking it, then that's fine." Kale taps out the shutdown command. The screen goes dark. In the game world, everything goes dark as well. ON THE BIG COMPUTER: +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +                            WORLD MACHINE OS V0.9                             + +                                                                              + +                                BIOS CHECK: OK                                + +                              HARDWARE CHECK: OK                              + +COMPONENTS INITIALIZED: MONITOR, KEYBOARD, NIKO, RU LI CHENG, AIDAN PROUDPICK,+ +                                 FUTABA NUKI                                  + +                                                                              + +                    STARTUP SCRIPT oneshot.exe RUNNING...                     + +                                                                              + +                               STARTING UP....                                + +                          REBOOT PROCESS 7% COMPLETE                          + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Then 14 percent, then 20 percent... it's going a *lot* faster than last time - and it's done. RU LI, FUTABA, AIDAN ... Come to in a small room with precisely three things: A computer, a desk, and a glowing door. EVERYONE BESIDES NIKO +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +                             ... Congratulations.                             + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ The text appears on the screen - whether it's the big computer, or the normal sized one in the room. +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +You've done it. You've saved the world, and Niko is safe as well. Some of you + +got caught up in the ending, but there's a door for those three to leave now. + +                            I suggest you take it.                            + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ People see Niko, alone, in an empty void. They don't have the sun with them. "...Hello?" They wander around for a while. Eventually, they find a bed, and a computer terminal of their own. Curiously, they tap at it for a bit. "Hello, Niko. You're safe now." The computer next to Niko reads out, in a text-to-speech tone that nobody here has heard before, but still somehow sounds familiar. "Um - hello? Where's the sun? And - where are all my friends? Usually they're talking to me but I can't hear them..." "They all went home, Niko. They helped you get here, and you saved the world. You can rest now." "They're just... gone? But I wanted to say goodbye..."
Kale Hearthward	Additionally... none of the terminals are responding to commands anymore.
Kale Hearthward	People see Niko, alone, in an empty void. They don't have the sun with them. "...Hello?" They wander around for a while. Eventually, they find a bed, and a computer terminal of their own. Curiously, they tap at it for a bit. "Hello, Niko. You're safe now." The computer next to Niko reads out, in a text-to-speech tone that nobody here has heard before, but still somehow sounds familiar. "Um - hello? Where's the sun? And - where are all my friends? Usually they're talking to me but I can't hear them..." "They all went home, Niko. They helped you get here, and you saved the world. You can rest now." "They're just... gone? But I wanted to say goodbye..."
Ru Li Cheng	"Are you *insane*?" Ru Li demands of Aidan once they emerge into the room, "Or simply reckless? Do you think self-sacrificing pointlessly makes you a hero? Do you think this is a good decision?"      "*I do not age!* I am not *limited* by utter darkness, or silence, or a lack of smell!" Ru Li sits down at the desk and puts both hands on his face. "Now I must carry the burden of your life if it comes to it."      He doesn't need to lean forward to look at the computer, so he doesn't bother. He instead simply reaches out to put his fingers against the keyboard and type, HELLO NIKO. WE ARE ALRIGHT. WE CAN HEAR YOU. IF YOU WISH TO SAY GOODBYE, WE WILL HEAR YOU.
Ishirou	Ishirou pauses, as the screens flash by, as SOMETHING unfolds that doesn't seem right.  The sun is missing, and someone is telling Niko that they all left.  He tries speaking, trying to see if his voice reaches Niko first.   "Niko, we're still here, we haven't left yet!" he says, frowning at the obvious lie that was made on their behalf.  "Whoever that is is lying to you."
Arcadia	As much as she wants to help... Arcadia relents on letting others be the ones to go into the World Computer during the shutdown. As much as she believes in the mission to save this world, she has to also consider her primary role as Guardian. She cannot risk being stuck within the computer for however long it may or may not be. That may be the bigger lesson she's been slow to learn -- she doesn't need to, or is able to, do everything. That and trying to be patient doesn't change the fact that she gets annoyed waiting for the World Computer to reboot. Her tail flick flicks like an inverse pendelum as cat tail's tend to do, and since she's hovering she can't really tap a foot. Then it finally comes back up. The message congratulations them on success. Yet... Arcadia squints. She still doesn't get the higher notions of this entire matter. "... If this is victory, why does it feel... off?" She looks to Ishirou, whom she is not afraid to admit is smarter in such matters than she is.
Hibiki Tachibana	Tachibana, Proudpick, stop clambering over each other to do the heroic thing right after someone else mentions it as an option.     Sorry,     "You /know/ that's not what it's about," Hibiki starts, before exhaling. Whether she picked up on the actual reason Petra apologized to her isn't clear. "...It's whatever. But there's not gonna be anyone killing anyone. I don't--" She once again starts, before Aidan hops in. Futaba is one thing, but him calling himself 'expendable' and going in to do that gets her frowning.     "Ugh..."     Short of jumping in herself though, there's nothing to do but tentatively watch as the shutdown sequence is carried out. It's easy to tell she's on edge, since she's not hiding it. Once the reboot process shows up, her eyes are glued to it. It /is/ faster than normal...     And they're back? Aidan, Futaba, Ru Li, and...     "...Hey. Hey! Where the heck are they now?" What starts as confusion quickly turns into something else, with the sight they're seeing on the screen. Hibiki rapidly looks between the others, and then back to the view of Niko in their lonesome room - besides the one 'voice' talking to them. Why does that sound familiar...? The same one responsible for the hints before? "Niko! Niko! Oi!" But... they can't hear them.     Although she's waiting to see if Ru Li's messaging will get through, she has an unsettling feeling in her stomach.     "Why isn't /Niko/ home yet...?"     This was supposed to be to help Niko leave... but this doesn't look anything close to what she was expecting.
Futaba Nuki	Aidan jumps right on in before anyone can stop him, and Futaba opens and closes her mouth a few times as she tries to figure out how to ease Ru Li's mind about that. She does't, but she's visibly thinking hard about it! She'll figure it out by the time they're in, perhaps. Petra's recommendations, meanwhile, has Futaba nodding quickly as things start fitting together. "Yeah, works for me. Not like we'll be shutting it down until after we head in, anyway, so there'll be time. Heck, we might not even need to shut down at the rate we're going!" Alas, there really is no way in that Futaba can puzzle out from the last time she had seen it, and breaking into the tower outright strikes her as the sort of thing that might cause even more problems than it'd fix. Explosively, of course, which could be really cool, but that'd be-oh. That's his role. Instead of showing up in the world, however, Futaba sees... Nothing? Oh. A computer and a door. She looks over at Ru Li and Aidan, wincing a bit at that dressing down, and she strokes her chin lightly while clapping a hand on each of their shoulders. "It'll be alright! We've got the smart one, the cool one, and... Wildcard here." That's the most reassuring way she can put it. "... Anyway! Uh. This wasn't supposed to happen, was it?" She asks while approaching the computer, sliding sideways as Ru Li takes a crack at the keyboard. "Hey, Niko! Can you hear us?" She calls out, taking the next moment to actually look at the computer to see if there's any microphones on it, then waits until Ru Li's done at the keyboard to the type in something of a similar meaning: GREETINGS, NIKO. ARE YOU WELL? THIS IS FUTABA. I, RU LI CHENG, AND AIDAN SQUIRRELPRICK CAN SEE YOU FROM HERE. DO YOU REMEMBER HOW YOU GET IN THERE? DO YOU REMEMBER REMEMBER WHERE THE SUN WENT?
Aidan Proudpick	He doesn't miss Petra, but, Aidan's face doesn't change as the computer shuts down. Aidan murmurs to himself just as darkness forms. "I can trust my allies." Be stoic. Be knightly. Be... "That hurt," he turns his head towards Ru Li. "I might be a liability, I know. But I said I would help Niko. And I WANT to help Niko." He turns fully towards him as Ru Li starts shouting. He opens his mouth in defiant anger, then slowly lets out a breath, setting his jaw. "That's not fair. You don't carry my life. I came in here of my own decision. Just like you did." Then he lets a smile play over his face. "What did you say about a hero and passion? I have one last trick up my sleeve if everything goes wrong." He taps the buckler on his arm. And it... does? Aidan leans over Ru Li to peer at the screen. "I've seen those words before. Ru Li, move. Please move." He tries to get in a command. Nothing "Niko! NIKO!!!" "I'm going to try and break down a wall any second. Just so everyone knows." He works on his tablet phone, trying to dig up the other message, the one he's received twice now. "Come on. Voice to text. Niko needs help. Niko needs help! This isn't right! Please, I don't want to use my breath weapon in here if I don't have to!" Thankfully, Aidan can't read the porn pseudoname Futaba has given him.
Ru Li Cheng	"This is neither the time nor the place but we will have words about this later," Ru Li says sternly, "You have made your life my responsibility and you have placed your own reliability at a point where asking me to trust you is asking a very great deal of me."      Aidan starts talking about breaking down a wall. Ru Li reaches over and just grabs him by the collar, dragging him forward. Ru Li is not looking at him. Ru Li does not need to look at him.      "Cease. Panicking."      "You act without thought, without discipline, as if all things are urgent and immediate, as if you will do no harm, or less harm, by acting rapidly than by taking your time. Stop. Take stock of the situation. Speak, and explain, and then we will make decisions."      "You do not know how to read. You would not know what words you had and had not seen. You are reacting with animal fear to patterns you recognize, and asking the rest of us to trust you when you have not proven yourself trustworthy in the slightest."      "Now. Stop. And explain."
Sarracenia	Sarracenia mmphs in annoyance at the responses from Petra and Angela and her eyebrow twitches, but she just looks up at the computer some more. "I don't even have my hammer or bombs out. Not sure why you guys are so murdery about it...." she mutters.      Arcadia suggests getting more familiar with things. Sarra nods lightly to the sphinx. "Which is why I was only asking about smashing or unplugging it." she says, then hmms. "One of those digital world situations, huh? You guys could have just said that. But, weren't you all just talking about shutting it down and it attacking you as a giant cat? How's shutting it down different than unplugging it or something?"      Futaba waves her off, and Sarra sighs softly. "Alright alright..." she mutters. Ishriou stares at her and says he doesn't understand her and she gives him a look of 'what?' before saying, "It was just a question! Geeze."      Petra suggests that she and Angela kill Sarracenia as a fun collab. Kale says they'd have to draw straws. She gives Kale a look that says 'seriously?' which he may not see since he didn't look her way. She watches the shutdown and reboot curiously, finding it kind of facinating. Hibiki seems pretty on edge, and since Sarra isn't really able to help right now with anything else...Sarracenia pulls out a green mushroom. Except this one is a plushie and not a power-up. "Here." she says, handing it to Hibiki as they watch the screen. "You seemed to need this kind more than the other kind last time." she says. "So, I had one made just in case."      As she watches, even she thinks this seems weird. "Yeah, where did the lightbulb go? And...why is it saying we went home? You guys are all still here, and some are even in there."      Then, as if it will somehow help, she asks, "What about smashing into that tower or lighthouse or whatever it is everyone's talking about? Or climbing it? I could help with that."
Angela	Angela asides to Sarracenia, "I was quite clear I was being ''not'' murdery about it." in a tone that is probably not very helpful. "That is after all against Concord rules. ... And too easy for what you'd have taken." She pauses and then looks to Petra. Angela says, "Oh! Well, I suppose--" Kale offers to draw straws for killing Sarracenia. She's not sure how she feels about her growing approval of the guy. It isn't so much the willingness to kill Sarracenia that does it so much as the ability to be clever about expressing it. She frowns, squinting intently at the screen. Niko is...alone. The computer speaks to Niko in a TTS that sounds familiar but... The computer is speaking. An...AI? A simple onr or a complex one? Angela isn't sure. She takes in a breath, "Hold on, there is no... 'mother' there. Or pancakes. That cannot be ''their'' world." Did it ever exist? Was it just in their head. "...Did we fail?" She asks softly. "...It says we saved the world but that wasn't the goal. And it doesn't seem to be present. And Niko doesn't seem to be home either." She frowns. "...And if THIS isn't the critical moment, what would be?!" She pounds her fist on the desk in frustration, leaving a heavy dent inside of it. Angela frowns upon seeing it and then exhales. "Pardon me. I am... concerned. It doesn't seem like they can hear us either." She is at a loss at this point. "...What do we do, Petra?" She asks quietly. "Complain to Balan?"
Petra Soroka	"They're just... gone? But I wanted to say goodbye..."     Petra's heart instantly breaks upon seeing Niko alone in the empty void. She clenches her fist and glares at the screen, shoulders shaking.     "What the *fuck*?! Why isn't Niko fucking *home*? The fucking *lightbulb* didn't even get put in yet. No way. Absolutely not. This isn't how it's going to work."     Echoing Hibiki's sentiments nearly exactly, but with anger instead of confusion: Petra doesn't give the computer the benefit of the doubt for even a second before blaming it for something going wrong. Petra bypasses trying to send messages to Niko, or shouting at the screen like it'll listen; the apathetic machine of systemic violence only understands one language and that's violence in return.     "I'm hitting join. Angela, I'm leaving you here in case this works, so you can get Doctor Eggman to help if I need it." Petra shrugs off the Eggpack, carefully leaving her on top of one of the nearby playground platforms in Petra's Stage area, then unclips Pence from her belt to smash the keys in sequence faster than she could jump between them.     When that doesn't work, Petra finally, actually, turns to Ishirou. "Hey. Try doing your shit now. You've got permission. Be careful."
Aidan Proudpick	Aidan brings up his hand to place it over Ru Li's. Hurt is written across his face. But he's made that bed. He grasps, knowing he has nothing of the same strength. "My life is my responsibility. You don't get to say you have to be my savior." Deep breath. A breathing exercise. "I've been here since this started," he says, unable to help but being somewhat biting. But he reins it in again. "Let GO of my clothes. There's a set of green words. There's a voice. The voice doesn't want Niko to get hurt. The text wants to save the world. I THINK the voice controls the squares," Aidan squirms a little in the grasp, able to pull his legs off the ground. "The squares are bad things that can kill you. I don't know what's going on. But if we are stuck in here, nothing's working, and the voice isn't here to talk to Niko. That's... Something is WRONG, Ru Li. I think if I can talk to the voice, maybe I can get some answers."
Ishirou	Ishirou looks to Petra when she permits for him to hack the giant computer.  He takes in a breath, nodding to her with all seriousness, because even he sees the danger in such actions with a machine that has his allies, a civilization, and Niko (not necessarily important in that order!) Closing his eyes he raises his hands and attempts to remotely hack into the world machine, letting his mind try to connect and try to make a connection to Niko's monitor, trying to reach back out to them and stop them from going into the bed.   Failing that, he's looking for information, for pathways to do what he wants, any clues he can make to make the machine work the way he wants it... trying to be as gentle as possible and not push the machine beyond its limits.
Arcadia	Arcadia hovers back from the computer, not wanting to inadventantly be in Ishirou's way. "Best to let the one who knows computers handle this." She might be reassuring herself. Or suggesting it to Sarra and the others still present. Maybe even a bit both. "Something is very off-put about all this. Like an ominous presence does not wish for us to proceed."
Aidan Proudpick	NOW Aidan is starting to panick in Ru Li's grasp.
Ru Li Cheng	Ru Li has not let go. "You putting yourself in unnecessary risk means more to keep track of. I am not declaring myself your savior - I am saying that now I must account for you if things go wrong. If people are in danger because of your presence. If..."      Finally, he releases Aidan and exhales, a little cloud of silver steam. "No. It does not matter now. It is not important. We will have words about this later."      Aidan explains the situation. "Why do you think you talking to the voice will get answers?" Ru Li asks finally, "Have you spoken to it before? Do you have a means to communicate? It seems more likely that those on the other side can speak to it easier than we can."      He looks at Futaba, actually turning his face to look at hers instead of just observing her. "You are the expert ninja. What would you do in a situation like this, if it was a trap?"
Kale Hearthward	> HELLO NIKO. WE ARE ALRIGHT. WE CAN HEAR YOU. IF YOU WISH TO SAY GOODBYE, WE WILL HEAR YOU. "Niko, we're still here, we haven't left yet!" "Niko! Niko! Oi! GREETINGS, NIKO. ARE YOU WELL? The heartfelt messages go unheard. > "What about smashing into that tower or lighthouse or whatever it is everyone's talking about? Or climbing it? I could help with that." "The terminal isn't taking commands, so we can't go in," says Kale, after watching Petra's attempt elicit no results. > "Why isn't /Niko/ home yet...?" > "Hold on, there is no... 'mother' there. Or pancakes. That cannot be ''their'' world." "Yeah... Wasn't there... fields of wheat, a schoolhouse, two moms, pancakes with a secret ingredient... all that stuff that he talked about?" says Kale. "I'm not seeing any of that." "... And I was kind of hoping to learn what the secret ingredient was," adds Kale, with the tone of someone who knows this is a horribly off topic and irrelevant thought, but can't help himself from voicing it anyway. > Niko needs help. Niko needs help! This isn't right! Please, I don't want to use my breath weapon in here if I don't have to! Just as before, responses to that message bounce back with an 'address not found' error. +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +                          I can hear you just fine.                           + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ "Huh? Hear who?" Niko can apparently see the message popups on their screen as well. "Nevermind Niko. Here, have some books. As many as you want." A pile of books pop into existence next to the bed. "Oh... uh okay." Niko goes to check them out. +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +      I can hear you just fine, and I don't have anything to say to you.      + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +Niko is safe in here. You've helped them get to a safe spot. You've done a good+ +           job. Everyone is proud of you. But you can go home now.            + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ And then Ishirou starts his hacking. +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +              There's nothing more you can do - what. Stop that.              + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ + Do you think you can do that to me. Do you think I don't have comprehension  + +              beyond your comprehension. Do you think I don't...              + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Kale Hearthward	... Huh? Was the computer saying something just then? Nobody can seem to remember. Best to not worry about it. +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +                     ... know more than you. So stop it.                      + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ And yet - Ishirou's pushing through. He can get Niko's monitor to light up and make noise. Doing anything else will take a little more time, but he can start figuring out where on the code to push and pull. "Huh?" Niko looks up from their book at the noise and light. "That's nothing. Ignore it."
Aidan Proudpick	Aidan topples to the floor, boneless. He is choking on his breath. He was so strong. He was going to do. He was going to smile and be the brave person he used to be. He was going to just trust everyone. Be open, be honest. Fight. Focus on the people in front of you. Prove yourself. A sob chokes out, Aidan bracing himself over the floor by his hands. "When something is wrong... you try and take every step. You try..." Aidan's voice cracks. "You try to do everything." He tries to muster up the bravado again. Wrap himself in it. The smile. Instead, he just lets out another ugly choking sob as Petra grinds her boot in. Tears start pouring down from his face onto the floor. "If this going go badly and I didn't expend every single ounce of my energy doing everything I can think of." Aidan picks his body up the floor, staggering up to his feet. Ru Li puts a jab in against him on the radio. It's a blow at a critical moment. Aidan slumps himself up against a wall, sliding down to his butt. Once Petra makes her threaten known, and her intention to murder someone, Aidan puts his head in his hands and simply begins to quietly sob.
Arcadia	Curiousity eventually gets the better of her and Arcadia hovers closer enough. A little to the side so she's not rudely watching over Ishirou's shoulder. She still doesn't understand what he is doing as far as computers go, but he's making progress. Which means she can at least read the monitor text for herself. "So something IS trying to keep us out... From helping Niko. Trying to make us and them think the quest is over." "But what? And why?" Arcadia rubs her chin with a hand as she thinks. Thinks about some of the past events. There wasn't often something seemed to directly oppose them. But there was that escape from the labyrinth.... "Do you think this is connected to that glitching?" she eventually asks. It make sense in her head, if that was some kind of force trying to corrupt the world, it would be trying to stop them from helping Niko save it.
Futaba Nuki	"Aidan. Settle down. Bro, you can't even read, and you want us to trust your gut over what we can read?" Futaba asks with an obvious incredulous tone in her voice, groaning lightly as she rubs her forehead. "The square things being bad was pretty obvious the last time we went through that forest, too, but that's..." She sighs, then nods in agreement with Ru Li. "Yeah. We gotta focus on this here, yeah. And if we can communicate with the voice... That's what we'll need." She mumrurs, turning around once Ru Li addresses her about similar situations. "If I was a mastermind tryin' to get interlopers out of my hair with a room like this? Hire actors. Someone Niko's size, all those kids, maybe the Prophetbot to add in some details to really make it feel real enough to trust." She answers without realizing immediately she's thought about the wrong question, then snaps her fingers once she does. "Oh! Aah... Look for openings. Something I can slip through, although..." She pauses, looking over both Ru Li and Aidan. "Don't suppose either of you could shrink down or turn into water, couldja? We..." She lets out a quiet noise, then sighs. "Might have to just break out, if it comes to it. But before that, I'll do some snooping." Before she begins said snooping, though, Futaba sees more text appearing on the screen, and she looks over at Ru Li and Aidan. She actually looks mildly worried at that, then gestures at both of them and then the monitor. "Yeah? Who's everyone? Where's everyone?" She asks, deliberately speaking loudly like she's trying to signal.. Something? Someone? They can see her mouthing the word 'distraction', and then she abruptly melts into a puddle of  water. A watery hand comes out of it briefly to give Ru Li and Aidan a thumbs up, perhaps indicating that she's alright and not spontaneously dead, then sarts spreading along the floor of the room to see if she can find... Anything, really. Something that they might have missed seeing on the floor, perhaps gaps that she can slide through to find out if the room is truly closed off aside from the door, or even... Where's that computer plugged into?
Petra Soroka	+Niko is safe in here. You've helped them get to a safe spot. You've done a good job.+     "Fucking kill yourself, stupid fucking machine. That isn't her home. She told us about it. We're getting Niko home, and we're saying goodbye. You're not the fucking decision maker here, you're a fucking tool."     Ishirou's efforts being successful improves Petra's opinion of him by noticeable tiers with every complaint the computer makes. She was already primed to respect him somewhat more for managing to dress himself (he'd set a *low* bar), but this is actual, tangible help. Petra hurriedly puts the Eggpack on, so Angela isn't left out, while Ishirou works his way through the systems.     "First things first. Tell Niko we're not gone. We're coming to help her, and she's not alone. Flash the thing first to get her attention."
Angela	Angela isn't sure this is the sort of scenario where weapons will help (except, perhaps, for ensuring nobody does anything stupid). But ensuring people don't do anything stupid, while an important task, is something you really only have to do once. Angela cups her chin thoughtfully (in the lab. The hands on the pack mimic the gesture as Angela considers this situation. This doesn't look like a situation that ends with pancakes. "...You can ehar us, can you? ... You are the world machine itself, aren't you?" Angela posits. "Ishirou is a capable hacker but he does fumble situations a lot when under pressure so if you care about Niko, you will explain yourself." Angela says quietly. "What are your plans for Niko? Why aren't you returning them home? What has happened here? We want what is best for Niko, so there is no reason to obscure elements of what is going on from us unless you think that will cause distress to Niko or if there is some element that would change our mind about your methods here." She takes a breath. "...But leaving Niko in a dark place like this is not right for them."
Ru Li Cheng	Find a way out.      Ru Li smiles as Futaba melts. Aidan collapses in the corner, and so Ru Li puts his hands against the keyboard and begins typing rapidly. It's nonsense - gibberish words, just distraction, just *annoyance*. In part it's to get the attention of the Voice so it's paying attention to anything other than Futaba's actions or Ishirou's, and in part, it's to get Niko's attention. If he can get their attention, they might come investigate the screen, and the words, and clear up another line of communication.      "We will return you to your home," Ru Li says quietly, then, to the voice, says, "I will not permit you to lock Niko into a small box to be cared for and-"      -and pampered, and given everything he wants, so he never has to go outside or do anything but what he's supposed to do, the paperwork, the-      He stops typing. Ru Li sits up.      "Why do you want to keep Niko safe?"
Ishirou	"I have access to the terminal, I think you can communicate to them through the terminal now!  I am going to keep pushing and restore functions to us!"  True to his word, he's working on that, once he can confirm that people can speak to Niko through typing on the terminal, he attempts to keep going, but Ru Li and Futaba have a plan. While Futaba sets up, he pings the computer again so that it makes a noise for Niko, and types 'We're still here Niko.' on the monitor.  Once He gets a signal from Futaba, he'll attempt to use her new form to hack in from inside the computer to try and improve his ability to hack. Inside, he attempts to gain access to the simulation, attempting to find out where the Lightbulb is, and where Niko is compared to where the others are.  If he can, he'll attempt to reunite them, but if he needs more time he's more than willing to put the time in.
Futaba Nuki	<J-IC-Scene> Ru Li Cheng says, "Enough. Mr. Ishirou, can you do something to enable this terminal here? Perhaps with Futaba and her shapechanging ability we can set up some sort of link or relay?" <J-IC-Scene> Futaba Nuki says, "Oh! Yeah, I could turn into a...  Hmm. Yeah, I could figure it out, I bet. I got a real good look at that printer last time!" <J-IC-Scene> Ishirou says, "I think you monitor will work now, if we can communicate from ours.  Try typing something." <J-IC-Scene> Ru Li Cheng says, "That is not quite what I meant. I meant...well, I do not know enough about computers to say, but is there not a, a very basic sort of spell of command that all computers recognize when you print it to their screen? 'HELLOWORLD'? Could we not utilize Futaba as a printer to print that command from your side to ours, somehow?" <J-IC-Scene> Ru Li Cheng says, "And in doing so could we not perhaps reestablish some level of control?" <J-IC-Scene> Ishirou says, "I don't understand what you are wanting to do..?" <J-IC-Scene> Ishirou says, "Oh!  Okay I think I get what you're asking now... Futaba, if you're ready let me know and I'll attempt to bypass this!" <J-IC-Scene> Futaba Nuki says, "Oh! Hell yeah. Just gimme a sec and I'll get into position." Beat. "Printer?" <J-IC-Scene> Ru Li Cheng says, "Yes." With the plan coming together, Futaba waits until Ru Li starts mashing buttons. It almost feels wrong to use this kind of deception to find a way out, but she trusts his and Ishirou's intellet far more than she'd trust her own. Thus... Futaba becomes a printer, modeled directly after the one she had seen that last time they had all been in that strange world needing a light bulb replacement. She's got her own power source (herself), and she's messed with her own phone plenty of times out of morbid curiosity, but will she be enough to act as a relay for Ishirou's instructions? She'll find out soon.
Hibiki Tachibana	Hibiki and Petra are of one mind... consistently? Even now? Niko's power to unite really is unrivaled. That comes second to their shared problem though, with supercedes almost everything else in Hibiki's mind. This... isn't fair. They went through this whole trip with Niko, went through all this trouble to save the world and get them home...     ...hear them talk about their Mom and their Mama, their pancakes at home...     ...just to get met with this.     "Aidan. Get it together. You remember what we're here for, right? Use that." The irony of Hibiki telling someone else to calm down and pull it in is palpable, but she has a better chance of getting him to refocus than she has of getting everyone else to lay off of him, regardless of how deserved it is. She finds that she's holding onto the plush that Sarracenia handed to her a little too tightly herself.     Better stop that. She might damage it. After a shuddering breath herself - and with the knowledge that this voice can hear them, and Ishirou is getting throughs - Hibiki grimaces and stands up a little bit straighter.     Ru Li brings up that they don't know /why/ this thing is doing this. He's right about that, too. Keep Niko safe, huh? Does that mean... she recalls the message they got, when firt entering.     "...Did you mess up your 'one shot' before now? Is that what this is about? Or is it something else?"
Kale Hearthward	Futaba can find a network input. If she wants to turn herself into a printer and boost Ishirou's hacking by breaking through the game/os layer to the bios layer, she can. > You are the world machine itself, aren't you. +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +                                   ... Yes.                                   + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ >What are your plans for Niko? +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +I want to protect them. No - I have to protect them. My wants are immaterial. + +            A machine may not harm a living person. That is a law.            + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ > Why aren't you returning them home? +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +                                 I... cannot.                                 + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ > What has happened here? +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +                                     I...                                     + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Ishirou gets more access. The commands start unlocking. The glowing door that's the exit to the room the trio are in provides an exploit - he can stabilize its other end here. A glowing door coalesces next to the big computer - and everyone can see each other through it now, and pass freely in and out. +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +              Wait. Wait, wait. There's things you should know.               + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +                        Things that Niko shouldn't...                         + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ The World Machine resists Ishirou in one specific area - giving up ground everywhere else to concentrate its defenses on Niko's room, and Niko's monitor. It's a losing fight for it, even so, but it holds out just a little longer. Enough to display several more messages that the group sees, but Niko doesn't. +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +      Sending Niko home, and saving the world... are mutually exclusive.      + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +                 I cannot do both. You, also, cannot do both.                 + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Kale Hearthward	+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +I have engineered one workaround. To the best of my remaining ability. If Niko+ +  ascends to the top of the tower, and shatters the sun, a path for them to   + + leave and go home will appear, at the cost of this dead world being erased.  + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ + But if they place the lightbulb in the plinth at the top of the tower... the + +                    world will be saved, but Niko will...                     + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ ... +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +  I beg of you. Let Niko remain here. They will be happy. They will be safe.  + +                      They won't have to make a choice.                       + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ No more messages arrive. The terminal fully unlocks. Ishirou can get full access, and instead of merely just enabling the commands, can make a door leading from the outside right into Niko's room now (and presumably does so).
Aidan Proudpick	Hibiki speaks down to Aidan. He has his head hung, tail flat on the floor. He nods slowly, putting his shield down as a brace. Why was this so much easier for everyone else. Why did Petra just get to say these things. Aidan chokes again as he gets his breathing under control. Focus on Niko. Focus. "Who are you?" Aidan chokes out. "Are you the Author? Are you the voice that texted us?" There are words on the screen. Aidan leans against the wall again. Every single time he's opened his mouth today, he's failed. His mouth becomes dry again, trying to work his saliva around. The manilla envelope on the table becomes clear in his mind once more. "Can any of us do it for Niko? Take the fall?"
Arcadia	After reading all that Arcadia groans loudly, and waves her hands at the world computer in exasperation. "Why could it not of just told us all this before instead of trying to mislead us away?! I'm a sphinx and even I think that kind of misdirection is going a bit too far." Pause. "Though now we understand why it wishes not for Niko to know. To see the kind of decision that must be made." Her tail flicks, and she folds her arms with another groan. "Also I dislike that it just assumes because it could not find a way, we would fail as well. We are not it, it is not us. There is no confirmation failure is the only outcome possible when the variables are different."
Ishirou	'They won't have to make a choice.' "But they won't get to go home, nor will this world be saved. It's not fair to either of them, Niko should get to choose, whichever one they want to choose. It'd be one thing if they asked us to make the choice, or asked you... but they did not. This right here is neither sending her home nor saving the world, it'll hurt her the longer she's unable to go home." Angela asks him to see if there is something to be done. So he does what he's asked. He looks into the machine, looking through the code, looking through what he can to see if there is a second option. Someway that there might be more than a single shot. Some way that they could spare Niko the choice to make. He takes a breath, working as hard as he can to find some answer... any answer. Can the world be saved, and Niko sent home? What prevents Niko from going home? What causes the world to be saved..? Is it just the act of putting the lightbulb in that saves one and dooms the other..?
Ru Li Cheng	Ru Li's fingers flex. Erasing a dead world. Lives, held in hand. An impossible choice.      Paperwork, spreading out on the desk. Names, numbers. Ration counts in lean times. Money. Relief funds for disasters. Where the Empire can spend, where the Empire cannot afford. Names on rolls of poetry and numbers. Where the most good can be done with the least suffering.      His eyes sink shut.      There, a bit of food that can be spared. There, a bit of money. In the end, distantly, though, that's why he was kept in the box, wasn't it? So he didn't have to make those decisions based on personally knowing those people. So that he didn't shoulder their suffering.      Ru Li's fingers tap on the table in perfect, metronomic rhythm. Had he made a promise? Had he made a statement? Had he promised to save the world?      No. No, he hadn't. He hadn't made that promise. He hadn't made a statement.      So he asks. <J-IC-Scene> Ru Li Cheng, very slowly, says, "Did you promise to save the world?" <J-IC-Scene> Ru Li Cheng says, "Or did you promise to get Niko home?" <J-IC-Scene> Ru Li Cheng says, "Do not say 'both.' What was the first thing you promised?" <J-IC-Scene> Ru Li Cheng says, "A hero keeps their word, no matter the consequences."      He cannot make this choice for them. The answer is too obvious to him, and too cold, and too cruel, and too painful. He has made this choice countless times before. So it is fortunate that he has promised nothing.      It means he can be clarity, and not guidance.      And it means he does not have to fight them.
Petra Soroka	Save Niko or save the world.     Petra's made her opinion on the topic repeatedly clear, throughout this entire saga. From the moment she stepped into the world, she was willing to let it crumble away for Niko's sake, and that's not... completely different, now. But it's a little different.     Petra says over her shoulder to Angela, voice low. "I'm willing to do it. You already know what I'd choose. But you got attached to George, right?"     Much more than George, Calamus and Alula are on Petra's mind. Sacrificing a world, and sacrificing the adults in it, is possible for Petra to accept, but it's harder to justify sacrificing children for a child. She still... can, if she grits her teeth about it. Niko is the person she decided to protect, and that comes at whatever cost she needs it to. "Can any of us do it for Niko? Take the fall?"     Aidan dying to spare the world would be the best thing he could possibly do, in Petra's eyes. She has so little complaint with it that she doesn't even speak up in support, since her input would only make him stupider. Out loud, to everyone, Petra says, "I'm choosing Niko over the world. And I'm not letting anyone choose the opposite. So if anyone wants to save the world, come up with a way to do both, or I'm stopping you myself."     "But first... I do want to get in there and talk to Niko. Not about the choice. Just... before making any kind of choice, they need company."     When Ishirou finally forces his way past the last of the WorldMachine's defenses to open the doorway into Niko's room, Petra hurries in to give them a hug.
Futaba Nuki	Being a printer feels odd. Being a relay in a printer feels even odder. Futaba's transformed herself into machines before, but never anything quite as complex as this. She's never had to do such complex computer stuff, even with someone doing the brunt of it all, and she's certainly never had to feel the sensation of hearing and seeing things in such a shape while also making sure not to move, lest she accidentally throw something out of place without realizing it. More answers come forth, and Futaba's personal feelings towards the World Machine... They don't so much flip as they improve somewhat, largely out of sympathy, if not necessarily agreeing with the logic behind what's been said. It does make her feel just bad enough that she can't stay angry at the World Machine, though, and she instead focuses on the two choices presented. Three, if not choosing anything counts. It doesn't, of course, but it's still there, practically taunting her all the while. "Leaving Niko here's out of the question. The kid needs to go home, but destroying this world for it..." Futaba digs her (regular) hands into the top of her (printer) head as she tries to wrangle a solution out, but all she manages to do is frustrate herself into shouting angrily before settling back down. "Tch... Dammit. This sucks. There's gotta be..." She lets out another irritated groan as her desire for a (better) third answer goes to war with knowing that there might not actually be more than those existing answers. "If what they're saying is true, then... One kid. More kids. A whole world. But one's..." Another angry shout, and then Futaba groans wearily. "At least we're not on a time limit for making this choice, huh?" "Can any of us do it for Niko? Take the fall?" "And will you truly take the place of Niko if that is possible?" Futaba looks from Ru Li, then to Aidan, then to the World Machine. "You heard 'em. Is that something he can do?"
Sarracenia	'I was quite clear I was being ''not'' murdery about it.'      Sarracenia hmphs at that. "I think that's a technicality and that trapping and torturing someone forever should still count as being murdery." she says, arms still crossed. "My life would be over in all but the literal sense."      Sarracenia continues to watch, and idly pulls out a grapefruit soda to sip on since she can't do anything to help right now. She isn't really invested here, so she doesn't feel all the tension everyone else does. She'll probably get yelled at about that at some point.      Aidan collapsing and sobbing makes her frown lightly. Partially because she's been there. Feeling useless and just trying to do -something- to help. She turns her eyes toward Ishirou, one of the times she was trying to help and...well actually she blames him for what happened, not herself.      As she listens to the others, Sarra idly muses, "It does kind of seem like a parent now that you mention it. An overprotective, keep them locked in their room parent. My parents tried that on me." Beat. "...it didn't work."      The messages start flooding in thanks to Ishirou and Futaba and Ru Li, and...then they find out that Niko might have to decide to end a world or save themselves? Sarra blinks a few times, then throws that soda at the ground.      "That...that's just dumb! There has to be a way to do both, right?"      There is radio discussion, which is the most helpful Sarra has been so far. Which still doesn't seem helpful, but at least Ishirou said he would try. Sarra can't bring herself to thank him. Not yet at least. maybe if he does find a way. And now she actually is feeling anxious. She can't help and there's a world and a child at risk. And all she's actually good at is breaking things and spending money. "Is there -anything- we can do out here to help?" She isn't going in since...well Niko has never met her. And also Petra is in there.
Angela	Angela is quiet for a long moment after reading the World Machine's responses. Her mind is working but it really does seem like a Catch 22. She doesn't know what to say to solve the problem. She has to put her faith in Ishirou, which is troubling to her, not because of anything particularly wrong with Ishirou--Angela just doesn't like having to put faith in people. If she is going to believe in someone she'd rather it be because of her choice rather than because she simply has no option but to. "...If the Eggpack could move on its own, that would be a viable 'sacrifice'." If only because Eggman could make another one. And while Angela is loathe to give up the Eggpack for personal attachment reasons she's not going to murder a child or a world over it. Petra says she got attached to George. "...Yes. And I do not know George as well as I'd like, but I think she'd choose Niko too if she had to." Why does she think that? She has no real reason for it. It just feels right. Maybe really the world itself could never tell Niko what to choose because who could tell a child to sacrifice themselves for them. But they are outside of that world. They can make whatever stupid choices they want. Petra says she's going to go in there herself and talk to Niko and Angela nods her agreement on the screen. "Yes. If you need to leave the Eggpack behind to save both, or even just Niko. That is acceptable to me." She is pulled in with Petra and she doesn't hug Niko, since she can't. "Niko. ...My apologies that we vanished so quickly. ... Thank you for being brave so far. ... Braver than I meant when I asked you to be, if I am being honest." She manages a weak smile at that.
Hibiki Tachibana	I cannot do both. You, also, cannot do both.     Hibiki is patently not smart enough to address puzzles, especially ones as complex as the mysterious case of two Nikos. Trying to figure out a solution that way simply isn't something she can do. What she /can/, at least, is understand that the WorldMachine has a genuine desire to protect Niko, albeit in this screwed-up way.     But it all either comes with no choice at all, or an impossible choice.     All of the options suck. It might be a dying world, but it's still a world with people in it. But Niko...     I beg of you. Let Niko remain here. They will be happy. They will be safe.     "...Will they? Niko'll be safe... but happy? They spent this whole trip, all this way here... missing their parents, wanting more than anything to go back home, wondering why it had to be them that had to go through all of this. Saving the world was going to happen because they were already here, because it was thrust on them-- ...and because at the end of all of it, they hoped they'd be able to go back home."     Hibiki's hands grip at the fringes of her jacket, as Petra goes in. Hibiki doesn't follow, only because she thinks Petra (and Angela) having the moment to themselves will be for the better right this second. And because she still has things to say to the WorldMachine.     "...Keeping Niko here like this isn't giving them what they want. Even if you want to protect them more than anything - we do too - ...it's just putting your own selfishness onto them."     "That workaround you mentioned is 'to the best of your ability'. If none of us can do both, is it really not possible to do something about this together? And if it's not..."     "...Can you really take the ability to choose away from Niko? Even if it stops them from having what they really, really want?"
Kale Hearthward	Petra runs in to give Niko a hug. "Oh! I- thought you went home?" Niko is not complaining about hugs, though, and returns it. > "Niko. ...My apologies that we vanished so quickly. ... Thank you for being brave so far. ... Braver than I meant when I asked you to be, if I am being honest." "Oh... I mean... thank you. I'm trying. Outside, Kale gives Aidan a look. "Maybe we'll *try* it with you, then. If you're so eager to volunteer. Or... not?" "Don't say things you don't mean." The WorldMachine doesn't respond to further inquiries. Ishirou can find that there is *not* another Niko somewhere. But Niko did sign the scroll twice? The historical data seems to be one big mess, and a large chunk of it is entirely inaccessible no matter how hard Ishirou hacks it.
Kale Hearthward	Are there workarounds? Third options? Something undiscovered or unconsidered? Something waiting in the wings for a last second save? Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe, even if you're holding out hope, it's time to think hard about the situation, just in case.             It is looking like you may need to make a decision.               Two decisions, actually. First one, and then the other.           You will not be told the second decision until everyone has answered the first.         You may vote 'abstain' on the first decision but you will then automatically also abstain for the second decision, no matter your reason for it.         You will not be told the second decision until you answer the first.                             The first decision:                             Assuming no third options, alternate sacrifices, ways to get both, or other workarounds...                    Save Niko - Save the World - Abstain?                     You have one week to give your answer to the first decision.
Ishirou	Ishirou pauses.  There is no other Niko, but the historical data is a huge mess.  Ishirou can't push it, no matter how hard he attempts to hack it.  He stops, because pushing the system any more than this might be dangerous for it, Niko, and everyone else inside.  He takes a breath, lowering his hands and wondering if there was anything he could do.   He lowers his head because right now there doesn't seem to be any other work around.  The only thing he can think of is his choice in all of this, what he'd try to convince Niko of.   Are his ideas able to withstand the reality of dooming a child..?
Sarracenia	Sarracenia's heart sinks as Ishirou says there is nothing they can do computer-wise. "We...actually have to...?" she says quietly. She might be hot-headed and a little crazy sometimes, but even she doesn't want to ask a child to make such a choice.      One thing does have her wondering, though. "...what did it mean it's -remaining- ability...?" she says aloud, but not to anyone in particular. She looks to Ishirou, forgetting for the moment that they hate each other. "...does that mean it's broken? Can we fix it?"
Futaba Nuki	Doom a child, save a world. Save a child, doom a world. Do nothing, doom both. Futaba's heart continues to fight with her mind, and it shows on her face even in printer form. As a ruler, she'd have to choose the world. As a ninja, she'd have to choose the child. As a person... She still has no idea what to do there. The only thing she knows she can't do, however, is nothing. She can't not make a choice, and she can't leave Niko here. All that means, though, is eliminating the two easiest choices, leaving her with the two hardest ones to continue wrestling with. Futaba turns to stare at the monitor, considers asking one more thing, then grimaces and turns to Ru Li and Aidan (mostly Ru Li). She opens her mouth, closes it, then sighs and forces herself to just start talking. "Alright.. Alright. Guys? I think we should..."