Part 59: Exchap 1

We're going to be doing something a little bit different today. By getting chapter 1's true ending, we unlocked Exchap 1. The extra chapters are short side stories that are mostly unimportant, but they do provide some back story or extra details on events that happen off screen.

(Pretend that Exchap 2 is also greyed out, because we don't actually have it yet. You get it for clearing chapter 3)

Music: Terror



And I can't help but wonder, why did this happen to us? I was just playing around with some drama club friends and some high school kids after class...when suddenly, everything went white, and we found ourselves trapped in here! And by we, I mean me, my friend Chihaya Yamase from homeroom, and an old friend from another class, Nari Amatoya, whom I've known practically forever.

Those two were the only ones in the room with me when I came to. I'm not sure what happened to the others. A rep from another class, Hikari Kirigami, and two high-schoolers named Naruse and Kazane were with us before, but nowhere to be found now. So Chihaya, Nari and I have been wandering these halls aimlessly for quite some time in search of them.



During her flight, it seems she dropped the pouch she always carries with her...and I've agreed to go in and find it in her place.

Music: None



Controlling Nana, we head deeper into the restroom.



We head a bit deeper.



There's a pink, plastic pouch on the ground. Pick it up?

Yes
No

Sound Effect: Item





With our task complete, we head for the exit.



When we approach the door, a spirit exits the leftmost stall.



Of course, we investigate.



Eeek! ...Oh, it's you. Don't scare me like that!
Sorry. You've just been in here for a while, so I was getting a little worried. Is everything all right?
Y-Yeah, everything's fine. Thanks, though.
Great. I'll stay with Chihaya, then, and you finish what you're doing. But please, if you can, hurry it up.

Nari leaves, and we talk to the spirit.



Nana takes a step closer.



I've been getting rather uppity with the living for always shamelessly opening the door with reckless abandon, as your comrade did a moment ago. See, I'm quite easily frightened, as it happens. The only place where I feel truly safe and at home is in this restroom stall.
(It's strange... I can't explain why...but I don't find this person scary at all...even though he's clearly a ghost...)



At last, Heavenly Host's greatest mystery has been solved.

The toilet ghost doesn't have anything else to say, so we head out of the restroom at last. If we chose to look in the stall, we would have upset him and he wouldn't come out, then the chapter would end after the next scene.



Chihaya! I found it! Here...

Handed over [Chihaya's Pouch].

Yay! Thank you!



Nari...
*sniffle* *sniffle* I... I'm...
Don't cry, Chihaya. There's nothing scary in there. In face, quite the opposite. There IS actually a ghost...but he's friendly, and he even talked to me!
You serious? Isn't that, like, dangerous?!
No, it's totally fine! He seemed like a really nice person. I don't suppose...you'd want to meet him yourselves, would you?
Whaa...?!
I think... I would. After all, we've been here for several house now, and there hasn't been anyone else to talk to this whole time.



The three girls head back into the boy's restroom to meet the toilet ghost.

Video: Toilet Ghost



...
If I may, I have a favor to ask of you three. Some rogue fiend has absconded with my prized gentleman's set. By which I mean, my hat and my glasses. If you should happen upon them in your wanderings, would you be so kind as to return them to me?

Sure thing!
Uh...no?

So your possessions have been stolen, then? That's terrible...
Wait here. We'll find them.
You are too kind...



Having accepted the quest, the three girls exit the restroom.

Music: Extra 1



Right-o!
This is so ridiculous...



Video: Toilet Ghost ends here.

I'm gonna have to agree with Nari. This is pretty ridiculous.



We check the girls' room first.



"Try the stall to the right."






Take them.
Back away slowly.

Sound Effect: Item



I think... It would be really hard to look good in these.

We take the ridiculous glasses back to the spirit.



*disgusted sigh*

The spirit stuck out his lower lip and shook his head quite fervently.

Seems he doesn't much care for them.
Guess they're not his after all. Unsurprisingly.



Guess his glasses aren't up here. We head to the second floor to continue our search.



As we approach the stairs, a red spirit appears.





I don't trust those filthy red spirits, so we head downstairs anyway.



There's another spirit at the base of the stairs.

The guy to the west is a liar. You mustn't believe a word he says.

We head west.



Oh man, is this gonna be one of those puzzles where you have to figure out which person in a group of liars is telling the truth?



And you should also return to the third floor right away, without exploring anywhere else beforehand.

Oh, I guess who's lying and who isn't doesn't matter, because they just made it really obvious what to do.



We continue exploring by heading to the first floor. The lab and infirmary are both locked.



Yes
No

Sound Effect: Item



And with the glasses in hand, we return to the restroom.

If we attempt to continue downwards to the first floor, an invisible barrier pushes us back.

Music: None



You have my eternal gratitude. I have always felt that these glasses existed in this world solely to be worn by me. Oh, how I missed them...
They look really good on you. I guess all that's left now is to find your hat, right?
You are too kind...

Music: Extra 1



Having progressed to the second portion of the quest, we leave the restroom once again.



Suddenly, a ton of spirits appear! All of them are moving around at random, save one.



These guys are really bad liars.





If you pick the wrong spirit, you're flung against the wall and take 8 HP of damage.



Letting your HP drop to 0 just gets you a generic game over. The extra chapters have no wrong endings.



This time we talk to the spirit who started in the bottom right: the ghost of Gollum.

The spirit is holding a get marked "Infirmary." Yank it away from him?

Yes
No

Sound Effect: Item



Upon obtaining the key, Gollum disappears. The other spirits continue to wander around, but they'll only attack if you try to talk to them, so they're not a problem.



We use our key to unlock the infirmary and explore inside.

Music: None

Background Sound: Wind



There's a felt hat on the ground that seems to radiate an air of luxury and refinement. Take it?

Yes
No

Sound Effect: Item



Our business in the infirmary is complete, so we head out.

But Chihaya stops along the way.



I'm tired...
I hate this. *sob* *sob* I want to go home...
Chihaya... It's okay, we'll get out of here, I know we will!
How can you even say that? What possible reason could you have for believing...that we'll ever be able to leave this place?
Chihaya...
Are you saying I can hold you responsible...if we never get home again?



I've had about all I can take of your whining! We're not in the safety of our own familiar little world anymore. People aren't going to bend over backwards to spare your feelings here! We're fighting for survival! It's every girl for herself! So don't think for a minute that we're going to stop and console you every time you have a damsel in distress moment, just because we're your friends!
Waaaaaaaaaaaahhh!! Eyaaaaaaaaaaaahh!!
Go ahead and cry! See if I care!
Nari, that was totally uncalled for. Not everybody's as strong-willed as you, you know.



...

We automatically return to the restroom.

Video: A True Gentleman
This video covers the remainder of the update.

Background Sound: None



I'm so glad we were able to find it. It seems like it means a lot to you, and it just feels really good to help someone in need. Doesn't it?
...
Yeah!
You are truly benevolent souls. My eternal gratitude is yours. You possess such clear eyes and pure hearts... If I still lived, I would use the rest of my days to offer you protection and guidance. I shan't lose these items again. And I should hope that you not lose the generosity you've shown...for this place can quickly and easily crush the spirit. In times like this, especially, it is important that you not succumb to despair, nor forsake your true nature. Rather, you should scoff in despair's rotund face, and embrace who you are...love yourself!
But now, I must bid adieu, for my home is calling to me. I pray that you three, as well, will find your way back to your own homes in due time.





The spirit returns to his stall.



From there, we began wandering the darkened halls of the abandoned school building once again. Naruse... Kazane... Hikari... Our missing friends. We called their names over and over again as we walked. But our voices just seemed to be absorbed by the darkness in front of our faces, where they melted away into nothingness. We knew that eventually, those voices would give out altogether, and our bodies would cease to function. It was only a matter of time.

But despite that inevitability, we decided then and there that we would keep on walking, for as long as it took. We couldn't give up. We had to continue struggling against our fate, calling out into the darkness with whatever voices we had left...