Part 58: Chapel

[Music: Eternitybox]



Where are the others? Are they elsewhere?

Of course, there was no reason Snake would have known anything about where anyone else would be.

Junpei and Seven looked at one another. There was a great deal he needed to know, but...





They feared that if Snake knew, he might well go insane.

They'd decided as much by a look the moment Snake had climbed out of the coffin.



Junpei put the question to Snake.

His answer was less than illuminating.



A nice and subtle touch is in how Snake's appearance has changed since we last saw him. The amazing robe is obvious, but you can notice other stuff that's changed too. Like how his hair's messier now; it's a bit more apparent in other stuff but can be noticed here as well.

I apologize, but I have no idea what you're saying.

It seemed as though Snake was, perhaps, not being entirely honest, but that knowledge did Junpei and Seven little good.

No matter how many times they asked, he insisted that he knew nothing.

It was becoming clear that Snake wouldn't give in, and every second they spent asking him was a second wasted.

Their time limit was fast approaching.

Snake's release from the coffin had changed nothing--they still needed to follow Ace as quickly as possible.

However...

[Music: Silence]

They stood in silence, the overpowering atmosphere of the chapel almost stifling...

Junpei, Seven, and Snake simply stood, at a loss for what they should do next.

What do we do now?



The 3 of us can't make a digital root of (9).
Yeah... We'd just get (5).
We're stuck here, then.
Oh... Hey, I just remembered something.

Seven began patting his pockets, as if he were checking to see if any of them held anything.

What...?
What is it...?



What did you find?
This.

He'd finally found the pocket he wanted, and his hand dove into it.

Seven pulled out something round, and metal--

[Music: Digital Root]



A bracelet.

There was no mistaking the number glowing at them from the face like a cartoon eye.

(0)...



What the hell...? Are you saying that Seven has the number (0) bracelet?
Y-Yeah...
Where did you get that?

Snake's question was innocent enough, but... If he learned the truth... If he'd been able to see, he would have noticed Seven look away.



She did?
Yeah...
How did she come by it?
Well, she found it, see...



She asked me to hold onto it 'cause it was too big and bulky for her to be luggin' around.

It was a lie, and Junpei knew it.



Didn't want to disturb the crime scene, you know? Basic stuff. ...Well, I did borrow one thing.

...



Wha... What?!

7 + 2 + (0) = 9

C'mon man, I'm just kidding.
...



Snake, gimme a hand, all right?

Without waiting for a response, he started walking toward the door.

Junpei and Snake followed him, quietly.

Before long, they found themselves in front of the larger of the 2 doors.

Seven and Snake put their palms on the RED.



Once they'd done that, Seven put the number (0) bracelet on the scanner panel as well.



7 + 2 + (0) = 9

Now they just needed to pull the lever and the door would open--

























Umm... Well, the 3rd asterisk lit up, so... It must've registered the (0) bracelet.



...Huh?
...What?



That is what I'm saying.
...
...
Why don't we try a few different combinations? Perhaps we can determine what number that bracelet actually contains.

Junpei nodded.

They decided to use the following combination...



Not many possible permutations here. We've already seen Snake/Seven/Bracelet and we know that doesn't work. Conveniently, that just leaves the three that include Junpei in the first place. I suppose trying all four bracelets is a good place to start.



Snake + Junpei + Seven = 2 + 5 + 7 = 14 → 1 + 4 = 5

If that combination worked, then the mysterious bracelet's number was (4).

However...





Junpei continued...

Well, hrm. In that case, we might as well be systematic about it...



Snake + Junpei = 2 + 5 = 7

If that combination worked, then the mysterious bracelet's number was (2).

However...





Junpei continued...

This leaves just one possible combination. If this one doesn't work, we're gonna drown right here and there's nothing we can do about it.

...Odds are: we boned.



Junpei + Seven = 5 + 7 = 12 → 1 + 2 = 3

If that combination worked, then the mysterious bracelet's number was (6).

They scanned in their bracelets...



It opened...



The door slid closed.

Junpei's forehead furrowed as he thought.

That meant the number for the mysterious bracelet was (6)...



[Music: Silence]

[Sound Bite: The Ship]

Suddenly, from somewhere far beneath them, they heard the creak and groan of tearing metal.

With it, came the sound of water pouring into parts of the ship that had, until recently, been dry.

Aw man, that's not good... I guess our time's just about up, huh?



But... Snake, are you sure?
Yeah... You know that only Junpei and I can go through this way...



My last resort, but if now is not the time for last resorts, then when?
Last...
...Resort?

...
...





If you thought there was no tension to these things before, this just looks silly now doesn't it?

...
...

[Music: Foreboding]



They were headed for the stern of the ship, and had no time for distractions.

As they ran, Seven spoke.

Gotta admit, you really surprised me there, kid. I couldn't figure out how the hell you were gonna get outta that one. How come you didn't do that right off the bat?
As I told you, it was a last resort. Had I used it at the beginning of the game, I would have come under a great deal of suspicion.



Once they'd convinced themselves of that, I wasn't optimistic about my chances of making it out of here alive, let alone unscathed. I felt it best to play my cards close to the chest, as it were. That way, if I were in a situation where there was nothing else I could do... I'd have a little...trick up my sleeve.





Of course, that would have been practically impossible, so...

How had he done it?



...It's fake. It's not a real arm.



They kept running for a while longer, and eventually came upon a set of stairs leading downward on the right side of the hallway.

They stopped, and peered down the staircase.

As far as they could tell, it went all the way to the bottom deck. There didn't seem to be any flooding.

They nodded quickly to one another, and jogged down the stairs.

It took only a few minutes to make their way to the bottom deck.

There was a single hallway in front of them, at the end of which was a single door.

Junpei threw it open.



Inside was a massive iron gate.

A plate was affixed to the top of it.



It read "INCINERATOR".

Incinerator?
Oh my... That doesn't sound very pleasant.



Y-Yeah... Right over here...
How did you know that?
Well, I'd be happy to regale you with the



...
...
Ugh...

Junpei grumbled, gave Snake a dirty look, and jogged over to the lever.



Got it!

He pulled the lever down.



With the rumble of an ancient motor, the door opened.

There was no need to hold back, and no time to hesitate.

They pushed their way inside.

[Music: Silence]

Standing in front of them were Ace and Lotus.



It was still pressed hard against Lotus's temple. A small dark bruise had begun to form near the tip.

Even from several yards away, Junpei could see that Lotus was shaking.

She was terrified.

But perhaps more interesting was what Junpei saw behind them...