Part 70: Eights High

Well. Horse's route down. And what a route, huh? I don't remember where exactly they said it, but Themis has said they feel like Horse's route is one of the weakest in the game, since Horse is either dead or in the background a lot of the time on the other routes- something he shares with Sheep, who he woke up with. Believe it or not, the original draft of this route leaned even harder into the weird action vibes and the fights were even more ridiculous, but apparently the beta readers said that it took them out of it enough that Themis decided to tone it down somewhat. Whether that was the right call or not, I can't say, as I never read the original draft, but there you go. Apparently there was also an early version of this route that involved a lot more secrecy about Horse and why he's so tightlipped about everything- Themis mentions there was even a plot thread about a falsified note from the Jade Emperor and everything, though doesn't give specifics. Ultimately, though, his primary motivation has always been to get out alive for his daughter's sake, which is why he usually ends up not going along with the group early in most of the routes- he thinks it's just likely to get himself killed in the process. (And, well. He's kinda right, considering his survival track record thus far )

Themis also said they hoped it came across very clear that Horse is NOT split personality in any regard. His whole deal is a person who wants to do evil or give into violent tendencies internalizing the concept of “another” person that he can push all the culpability onto, and using the physical object as a crutch. It's meant to be more of a dissection of the idea of a person who was raised so strictly that they literally had to dissociate to justify doing something wrong, and how that kind of dichotomy would spiral out of control the longer it went unchecked. He's not meant to be viewed as some kind of statement on how aneurotypicals are inherently evil or whatever, it's just a coping mechanism he developed as a teenager that's gone too far.

Anyway, we missed the other endings for this route, so let's get to it! The first is obvious- going for the gun instead of getting the hell out of there when Horse kills Dog...

[Go for the gun.]

[BGM: Constriction]


I rushed forwards as quickly as I could, determined to reach the gun before Horse could. As soon as he realized what I was doing, he launched forwards towards the pistol. Luckily, I must've caught him off guard, because his reaction was delayed. Perhaps he didn't think I'd actually try and go for it. Whatever the case, my lead was enough for me to get my hands on the pistol well before he could get it.

I picked it up and immediately aimed it at him. I wasn't all too sure how to use it, but I wasn't going to let him know that.

Freeze!

I shouted this with as much intimidating force as I could possibly muster. If I wasn't able to intimidate him, I would have to risk pulling the trigger and hoping that the gun would actually fire. I didn't know how, but my words seemed to stop him. He came to a halt and put his hands in the air.

Drop the knife! Now!

[BGM: Eyes of the Dragon]


I wasn't going to make the same mistakes Dog did. I kept the gun aimed at his chest, not his head, and I kept a fair distance between the two of us. Most importantly, I readied myself to take the shot if need be. Horse, however, complied. The knife fell peacefully to the floor.

Good. Now, kick it over to me.

Sure thing.

Once again, Horse complied, using his foot to slide the knife across the floor. I reached out with my foot and pushed it even further down the hallway. So long as he didn't have the weapon he needed to kill people with, Horse was at a significant disadvantage. Far from powerless, but still.

So. Give me one reason why I shouldn't end your life right now.

That'd be difficult.

I imagine. You killed Dog.

That I did.

Why?



I'll have to kill all of you eventually.

You... You looked like you were enjoying it!

I wasn't enjoying it.

Could've fooled me.

I can tell.

Tch. So you've got nothing to say for yourself?

All I can say is this:



I didn't do this for sadistic reasons, nor personal reasons. I didn't make a poor decision. Even if you can't understand it from your position, even if it's impossible for me to...

Well, no. I shouldn't say that. Just trust that I have a greater good in mind.

The greater good? How on earth can you get the 'greater good' if you're bent on killing everyone here? That sounds like a 'greater good' to you?

…

And what the hell does that creepy laughter of yours have to do with a 'greater good'?

…

Fine, then. I see how it's going to be. You're lucky I'm not brutal enough to just shoot you to death here and now. Come on, I'm going to bring you to everyone. They'll decide how we deal with you.



You're so weak willed you lack the conviction to finish things with your own hands, to make your own decision?

…

Fine then. How will we move?

Walk a fair distance ahead of me, but not too far. Keep your hands up at all times. I will have this gun trained at you at all times. If you even look like you're going to make a suspicious move, I won't hesitate to open fire.

Now go, head on over to the cafeteria.

The two of us made a slow, awkward march down the hallways towards the cafeteria we started in. Every once in a while Horse looked back at me, but it didn't appear as though he was trying to make a move. Soon enough, in a hallway filled with windows showing the outside of the school, we ran into Dragon and Tiger.



Dragon was holding some sort of automatic rifle, while Tiger was just wielding a sledgehammer.

Dragon! Tiger!

Mouse, there you are! We were just coming in to look for you, act as a search party if you will.

But it seems you brought the party to us, huh? Gotta say, I'm pretty damn impressed. Didn't think you'd be able to pull one over on this mammoth.

You knew it was Horse?

Bunny saw Horse with the knife.

Guess his skills have degraded.

I just got lucky. That's all.



Man, but that's kind of lame. It looks like this game's gonna be over before I even got a chance to fight.

Looks like it. In fact, Mouse, why haven't you shot him already? He was trying to kill us all, right?

That's...

I wouldn't advise that if I were you.

Oh yeah? How come?

I might be useful.

What possible use could someone like you have?

For one, I could probably tell you who those men outside are.

Men outside...?

Horse started to look to the left, out the windows. Men outside? I thought this whole thing was set up by Brian? That was the thought that crossed my mind as I carelessly turned my head to look out the window. ...As I carelessly took my eyes off Horse.

[BGM: Metal Horse]


In an instant, his right arm lunged out, grabbing the hand I held the gun with and wrestling the weapon from me. This all happened while the two of us spun around, Horse moving in a circle to quickly put myself between him and Dragon, who was just now realizing what was happening. In the blink of an eye, Horse had one arm around my neck and the other holding a pistol aimed at Dragon and Tiger. Dragon, in retaliation, had her gun aimed squarely at Horse.



I was something of a shield, but Horse was such a massive target that I was insufficient cover.

Before this turns into a mutual slaughterhouse, I propose a quick ceasefire. It would be preferable for either only myself or only you three to die, no?

As it stands, it's likely all four of us will perish.

With that proposal delivered tersely and quickly, Horse lowered his gun's aim to the floor. Dragon hesitated, unsure, but after she locked eyes with me she slowly mirrored Horse's motions.

Tch. You bastard. What are you thinking?

Instead of answering, Horse spun the pistol he was carrying around on one finger, and from that lowered position, he still managed to get a clean shot off in Dragon's stomach before she even knew what was happening. Seeing this, Tiger rushed Horse, but he raised the gun once more and shot clean between Tiger's eyes.

Wh-

Before I could even voice my dismay, my terror, or my frustration, the air in my lungs suddenly retreated as Horse's vice grip around my throat tightened. This wasn't restraint anymore, this was murder. Why he didn't just shoot me, I didn't know.



That was a close one. I'll commend you, Mouse. Things were looking dicey for a while. But you really should've acted a bit tougher at the start. That, or risked shooting me.

Because it was very clear very early on that you didn't know what you were doing. I could've escaped sooner, but there was the whole matter of the weapons stockpile.

Killing you here and approaching the group with no leverage would've been riskier. I gambled that an opportunity might present itself if I went along with you for long enough, and that gamble paid off.

Of course, it was necessary to make sure Dragon lowered her gun before killing her. A girl with her vengeful nature and killer's instinct? In her dying moments, she likely would've squeezed that trigger tightly and let bullets shower both of us.

This way is better.

Grgh-

He kept on talking. However, whatever he said I couldn't make out. That was the point my consciousness stopped listening and just fought to stay alive. Not that fighting did any good. I'm not sure when I slipped into death. But when I did, I felt nothing.



[Ending – 8 of Clubs]

Assuming that Mouse is present in the hallway when Dog confronts Horse, she'll likely be faced with the option of intervening.

However, Horse is a truly monstrous fighter. It's easy, but fatal, to underestimate his immense power. Unless Mouse immediately flees from that situation, Horse will kill her.

The next ending is if you put the grenade trap in the wrong place.

[Set up the ambush in the cafeteria wrong.]

[BGM: Final Squeal]


Now, we can't place that in the upper left entrance, as it's far too wide. With that in mind, where do you think we should put the grenade?

The right doors.

Hm. It'll be a little trickier to wire it up there, what with the double doors.



Still, I think it should be possible, theoretically speaking.

Great. So then what do we do with the other doors?

With what we have left, I think we can cover the other entrances by placing a pair of scouts right here.

Pair of scouts?

We have a sniper rifle, and you brought back a pistol, right? We should keep the dual pistols with someone safe as a backup plan, so those are the weapons we'll use.

One member of the pair will keep an eye on the upper-right entrance with the sniper, waiting to make the shot if Horse enters through there. The other scout, the one with the pistol, can watch the first scout's back in case Horse enters through the open-air commons.

Admittedly, if he does approach from that position, there is a slight risk, but even still, if the scout with the pistol is at the ready, they should have a significant advantage. Plus, there's only a one in four chance he starts by coming through there.

The conversation plays out the same from here in regards to who the scouts actually should be, and when Mouse accepts Snake's request to join him as the second scout, their conversation plays out like before, too, even though they're standing in a different location.

[BGM: Fire Breath]


It was right as I asked that that it happened. The demon fell from above. Above! How stupid were we! We didn't even think about the fact that there was a walkway on the second floor that looked down on the commons! But I certainly didn't expect Horse to just jump that! Instantly, he snatched the sniper rifle out of Snake's hand and picked him up by the throat.

An obvious oversight. How sad.

Those were his last words before Horse stabbed him in the gut with the dagger. Snake! No, I can't freak out. This time, I wasn't backing down. I tried to fire my pistol at him, but before I could even aim at him he snatched my arm and picked me up by it.

Hee hee. I almost fell for it. ALMOST. But when I came down the right hallway, I saw that the other doors were blocked off by vending machines.

The moment I saw that, I thought to myself, 'Why aren't they protecting these doors?' Then, I realized they probably were. Sorry, but you didn't think this out well enough.

As my body dropped to the floor, all that went through my mind was 'Really? Like this?' Perhaps not my most meaningful last thought. But perhaps this wasn't my most meaningful death.



[Ending – 8 of Diamonds]

After the first few deaths, setting up an ambush will be the inevitable next step. However, if the positioning isn't properly thought out, Horse will easily get past the traps and massacre the group.

But Mouse is smarter than this, right?

If you have Mouse refuse to be the second scout, Horse kills Snake and Bunny in much the same way while Mouse mills around with the others, and they're all gunned down by the assault rifle without any real care. Whoops!

The final ending is, obviously, to make a mistake when locked in the room with Horse at the end of the route. There are two different mistakes you can make- either saying the wrong thing at the start or grabbing the wrong chemical (one that doesn't react with vinegar). I think this might actually be the only ending I don't show in this LP purely because there is nothing to show- if you say the wrong thing, he just goes 'no' and crushes Mouse's windpipe immediately, game over. If you grab the wrong chemical, he puts the mask on and then stabs Mouse and she dies immediately, also game over. Therefore, I'll just skip straight to the ending card...



[Ending – 8 of Hearts]

When Mouse is facing down Horse alone, she'll be at a massive disadvantage. She'll need to catch him off guard by confronting him with the truth.

Even then, if she doesn't learn- or remember- some special trick that would catch even Horse off guard, Horse will end up killing her.

Next update, we start on a different path towards a different route!