Part 54: The Final Battle

_{content warning: animal injury, uh, really gross hygiene stuff}

[BGM: No Escape from Here]


Maybe you should've been a little more prepared for the serial killer you literally issued a 'come at me bro' message to, Jimmy. Either way, hey, it's Spottie! Been ages since we saw him. And now we know how he got into the bathroom when Chang tried to escape with the stolen paperwork, too! Another connection made between our disparate cast. Either way, our goals here are obvious- keep Jimmy from, uh, dying (again), but also find a way for Spottie to get free from the toilet (so that he isn't there when Chang tries to escape later).



There aren't any other Bad endings for Spottie, but there are for Jimmy, so let's get those taken care of. (Regallion's guess results in this ending.)

[BGM: Cat and Mouse]


Eh?
Eh eh?
Have I become too old to stand still now?
Somebody help me! Meow, meow!

I was scared shitless in the toilet when a human finally opened the lid.

“What the hell... why is there a damn cat here?”
He grabbed me by the back of my neck, with a disgusted look on his face.
He threw me out of the window that I had come in from.

I thought I would land on some grass.
What I didn't expect was that a gigantic human-made metal machine had been parked outside the window.
One of my front paws hit the machine so hard that it almost got broken!

Damn it! If I were younger, I would have easily scored a perfect landing.
I massaged my paw and was getting ready to leave. That was when I saw Blackie, whom I hadn't seen for a long time.



He seemed to have “matured” a lot, and wasn't as intimidating as I once remembered.
He said he no longer cared about whether humans preferred dogs or cats.
Survival was all that mattered to him.

He also told me that his old turf, the pipe in the empty lot, had been taken over by a stinky cat named Gigi.
Gigi was a glutton. He would always make the other cats bring him food. They were not even allowed into the lot unless they brought him some tribute.
Now the lot always smelled like dead rats.
Because of this, the humans living nearby had called people from a “Homeless Animal Shelter”, and they had taken away many homeless cats.

“You should be care-”

Before he could finish his sentence, Blackie was trapped inside a net.



I saw two humans in uniforms holding a bag and trap net. One was fat, and the other was very thin.
They were standing only a meter away from me.
I had to temporarily forget about the pain in my paw and climbed up a nearby tree as fast as I catly could.
I then jumped onto the edge of a roof. Fortunately, I was able to get away.

Farewell, Blackie.



[BGM: No Escape from Here]


I had no other choice but to follow my original plan.

I pulled out half of the dirty clothes and tossed them aside, then I climbed into the basket and closed the lid.
I tried to observe what was going on through the holes in the wicker basket.

The bathroom door was pushed open. A slim but menacing figure walked in.
I held my breath, and my knife and pepper spray tight in my hands.

May the goddess bless me... May the goddess bless me... May the goddess bless me... May the goddess bless me... May the goddess bless me... May the goddess bless me... May the goddess bless me... May the goddess bless me... May the goddess bless me...



Pi slowly crouched down.
He stared at the holes in the basket.
His expression went from suspicious to certain.

”Long time no see.”

The goddess had forsaken me once again!
Why?
Why?!

I stood up from the basket screaming and stabbed at him with the knife in my hand.

Pi casually blocked the knife with the pizza box.
There wasn't pizza inside the box, but something metal.
He had been well prepared all along.

He raised a can of God knows what in his other hand and sprayed it all over my face.

How could this have happened?
I had planned so carefully, waited for so long, yet I still ended up like this.
Was it my fate to die at his hands?



There's one more Bad ending for Jimmy.



[BGM: Cat and Mouse]


I was drinking when I heard a loud engine booming outside the window.
It was the kind of sound that could only be produced by one of those human-made machines.
Even the window of the bathroom began shaking because of the noise. After a few seconds, the open window pane was shaken shut!

Oh no!

And the door of the room was closed too. There was no one inside.
I knocked on the door, hoping to hear something from the other side of the door. But it seemed that there was no one left, either.

Have the humans all gone home after work?
Do I have to wait here until morning?
No, no, no, meow!



[BGM: No Escape from Here]


Something incredible and weird had happened!

In a panic, I put one foot into the toilet, but it somehow sucked my entire body inside!
A huge noise immediately followed and I could see nothing but darkness.
From a scientific point of view this was absolutely ridiculous and impossible.
Yet there was no other “reasonable” explanation ------

My body had just shrunk!



To keep myself from sliding down further I jumped upwards as hard as I could.
My head bumped into something, but surprisingly it didn't stop me.

I landed next to the toilet, smelling like crap.
Fortunately, my body had changed back to normal.
But, unfortunately, Pi was standing right in front of me.

He didn't show any signs of surprise, and just immediately sprayed a can of God knows what all over my face.



Now I know what you're thinking. “What the actual fuck happened here?” And you're right! But you have to consider that this isn't the first time we have literally broken reality for the purposes of a letter- in fact, it's explained back in Update 22:


Therefore us making Jimmy shrink when he jumps into a toilet is perfectly plausible. We just haven't had anything supernatural happen on a scale where the characters actively witness it happening yet. In any case, let's get to the next outcomes, now that we know what's actually on the table as far as helping Jimmy escape is concerned.





Something incredible and weird had happened!

In a panic, I put one foot into the toilet, but it somehow sucked my entire body inside!
A huge noise immediately followed and I could see nothing but darkness.
From a scientific point of view this was absolutely ridiculous and impossible.
Yet there was no other “reasonable” explanation ------

My body had just shrunk!

My back was against the cool, slippery arch-shaped ceramic wall.
It was also sticking to the wall because of some smelly and muddy stuff.



Before my brain could get a chance to process all of this, I was suddenly blinded by a sudden burst of light.
The sight I had just seen had me gasping in shock.

”Ewww... this is disgusting...”

A low and muffled voice came from above.
I saw a pale face with blue eyes appear in an oval shaped gap.

Fortunately for me, Pi didn't see me.
Unfortunately, though, he was reaching for the button on the water tank.

Wait wait wait wait... No!

A huge booming sound came from somewhere above me. Several torrential streams burst out from the toilet rim.
It was a futile struggle in the roaring whirlpool; I was finally swallowed by the tsunami in the toilet...



Clean your damn toilet, Jimmy, gross. Let's get to the A endings.



[BGM: Cat and Mouse]


I wasn't sure if it was me getting older, or that I had become easily scared.
I was so startled that I leapt into the air when I heard someone come in.
Apparently the person, who was on his phone when he came in, was also so startled by me that he dropped his phone.

“What the hell... why is there a damn cat in here?”
He picked up his phone and grabbed me by the back of my neck.
He threw me out of the window that I had come in from.

I thought I would land on some grass.
What I didn't expect was that a gigantic human-made metal machine had been parked outside the window.
One of my front paws hit the machine so hard that it almost got broken!

Damn it! If I were younger, I would have easily scored a perfect landing easily.
I massaged my paw and was getting ready to leave. That was when I saw Blackie, whom I hadn't seen for a long time.



He seemed to have “matured” a lot, and wasn't as intimidating as I once remembered.
He said he no longer cared about whether humans preferred dogs or cats.
Survival was all that mattered to him.

He also told me that his old turf, the pipe in the empty lot, had been taken over by a stinky cat named Gigi.
Gigi was a glutton. He would always make the other cats bring him food. They were not even allowed into the lot unless they brought him some tribute.
Now the lot always smelled like dead rats.
Because of this, the humans living nearby had called people from a “Homeless Animal Shelter”, and they had taken away many homeless cats.

“You should be care-”

Before he could finish his sentence, Blackie was trapped inside a net.

I saw two humans in uniforms holding a bag and trap net. One was fat, and the other was very thin.
They were standing only a meter away from me.
I had to temporarily forget about the pain in my paw and climbed up a nearby tree as fast as I catly could.
I then jumped onto the edge of a roof. Fortunately, I was able to get away.

Farewell, Blackie.



[BGM: No Escape from Here]


Something incredible and weird had happened!

In a panic, I put one foot into the toilet, but it somehow sucked my entire body inside!
A huge noise immediately followed and I could see nothing but darkness.
From a scientific point of view this was absolutely ridiculous and impossible.
Yet there was no other “reasonable” explanation ------

My body had just shrunk!

My back was against the cool, slippery arch-shaped ceramic wall.
It was also sticking to the wall because of some smelly and muddy stuff.

Before my brain could get a chance to process all of this, I was slipping down faster and faster.
And then, “Splash”!



I felt as if I had just fallen from the sky into an ocean.
My mouth and nose were submerged in a foul smelling liquid in an instant.

It didn't matter too much where I was at this point.
Because I couldn't swim!

How could this have happened?
I had planned so carefully, waited for so long, and yet I still ended up like this.
Was it my fate to die at his hands?



Jimmy you are an adult you have no excuse to not clean your fucking bathroom for fuck's sake



This is another one where the S solution is simply to swap sides. We need the toilet piece on Jimmy's side so he can make his escape and so Spottie doesn't get trapped in there (both leaving him free to act but also ensuring he's out of the way for Chang). We also want the jumping piece on Jimmy's side so he doesn't fall into the toilet water and drown, and so Spottie doesn't alert anyone by getting startled. Lastly, we want the door opening on Spottie's side so he doesn't get trapped in the bathroom, and so Pi doesn't interfere with Jimmy too early...

[BGM: What You Saying]


A man pushed open the door and walked in while on his phone.
He saw me standing on the toilet, did a double take and walked into the next stall.

He was still on his phone while doing his business.
“...keep a close eye on it for the next couple of days. If... call me immediately...”

I was about to drink some more, when I heard a loud engine booming outside the window.
It was the kind of sound that could only be produced by one of those human-made machines.
Even the window of the bathroom began shaking because of the noise. After a few seconds, the open window pane was shaken shut!

Oh no!



But I was a lucky Spottie.
The man had just finished his business. He was walking out, still holding the phone.
I shrewdly followed him and left the bathroom.



[BGM: Escape]


Something incredible and weird had happened!

In a panic, I put one foot into the toilet, but it somehow sucked my entire body inside!
A huge noise immediately followed and I could see nothing but darkness.
From a scientific point of view this was absolutely ridiculous and impossible.
Yet there was no other “reasonable” explanation ------

My body had just shrunk!



To keep myself from sliding down further I jumped upwards as hard as I could.
My head bumped into something, but surprisingly it didn't stop me.
I landed next to the toilet. Aside from smelling a little, my body seemed to have changed back to normal!

After a brief period of shock, I realized that this must have been a blessing from the Goddess of Fortune!
She had given me a place to hide!

Pi had entered the apartment.
I didn't have much time for anything else. I quickly grabbed a rope I had lying around, and “stepped into the toilet” one more time, turning into a Lilliputian.



I hid in the toilet, and I saw Pi walk into the bathroom.
He looked like a giant to me.
I could see every fiber on his Pizza Hat uniform, every blonde hair on his arm, and every long eyelash around his eyes.

Pi looked around. He even checked the laundry basket.
My heart skipped a few beats. Thank God I wasn't hiding in there.

Finally, he grabbed the shower curtain with his hand, but he didn't immediately pull it open.
It couldn't be... Did he see through my set up?
However, the goddess awarded me another blessing.

Pi sneezed.
Yes, he just sneezed!
He involuntarily pulled open the shower curtain, and unveiled the trap that I had set up.



A huge amount of liquid suddenly ejected from the wall.
Pi was pushed back by the power of the eruption, and then he slipped and fell to the ground. He covered his face with his hands and started screaming in pain.

It was not just regular pepper spray.
It was my personal invention, filling a fire extinguisher with jalapeno water and pepper spray, and I had named it the-----
Super Awesome Anti-Pi Spray Machine!

Both the power and the stimulation were absolutely top-notch.



I jumped back out of the toilet. My body returned to normal once again.

Then I picked up the lid of the water tank,
and smashed it onto his head as hard as I could.

What a small world.
The officers who came to my apartment were the same ones who had been suspicious of me.

The one who had wanted to investigate me even gave me a meaningful look before they left.
Of course, they didn't say anything else except to politely thank me for my assistance.

And I, of course, politely gave him the finger.



After I sent the police away, the next day the news of Pi being captured was everywhere.
They even published Pi's family background and history, although no one would know if they were true or not.
Whatever the case, I couldn't care any less.

Upon my firm insistence the police agreed to not reveal the truth of how Pi had been captured.
I did not want to be in the paper once again.

The world was full of surprises, but life still went on.

I did a thorough cleaning of my apartment.
I even cleaned the dust that had been piling up in my computer case for years.
Looking at my nice and sparkling clean room, I felt like my mood was finally brightening up too.



I stayed inside for a few more days.
Then I went and visited my parents.
I also visited lots of places around Hong Kong.

Everywhere I went, I would go and check the bathroom there.
I would try to jump in the toilet, and then jump back out again.
Of course, I only chose the ones that looked clean. (￣.￣)+



Despite still not knowing how it happened that day, I had indeed gained a special power.
Furthermore, I had a new hypothesis too------

What if a toilet was not connected to the sewer...
What if, at the bottom of the toilet, there was simply another opening...
Would I be able to stay shrunk... and still move around?

Ever since I had this thought, I began to often get too excited to fall asleep at night.
I would lie on the bed, stare at my collection of Marvel comic books on the shelf, and start fantasizing.

Now that I had this superpower, I had special responsibilities as well, right?



Well, we did it gang. We accidentally gave Jimmy actual superpowers. ...after a fashion. And we also made sure Spottie is already gone from the bathroom by the time Chang gets in there! Now we can go back and get Chang's proper S ending!

…

[BGM: Lost Memories]






NEW MESSAGE: Concrete Death



…

[BGM: Pensive Moments]




[BGM: Evolving Mood]


There was a stack of files in the safe. I quickly flipped through them. They were exactly what I had been looking for.
Before I could find out where the Lieutenant was being held, I heard somebody walking in my direction.
I quietly closed the safe, hid the files under my jacket, and snuck into the bathroom.

In the men's bathroom there was a stall that had a window to the outside.
It wasn't too big, but it was enough for an adult like me to climb out.
And the back door of the station was not far away from the outside of the window.

So I left the station without being seen by anyone, just like that.



According to the files, Lieutenant Kang was being held in Detention Center No. 6.
It was one of the special facilities that were used specifically to hold suspects of special interest.

I hid the files in the tall grass, not too close to the detention center.
Then I walked up to the entrance empty handed. I showed the guard my ID and told him that I'd like to see Lieutenant Kang.

“Kang Baek-Ya?” The guard checked the record book in his hand.
“No visitation is allowed for this person.”

“Check again. I'm a police officer.”
I waved my ID again to prove my identity.

“It doesn't matter. You need special permission to visit him.”
He shook his head and closed the book.

I didn't leave immediately as I tried to think of another way to get in.
My forehead started to sweat under the guard's suspicious stare.



“You wanted to see Kang Baek-Ya? ...What's your name?”

A guard over two meters tall was standing behind me; I hadn't even noticed him there.
He had startled me when he suddenly spoke.
I showed him my police ID.
It had my name and my unit on it.

The tall guard gave me back my ID and nodded at the guard.
He then said, “Follow me.”



As soon as I saw Lieutenant Kang sit down on the other side of the glass, I immediately picked up the phone on the wall.
I had to take this chance to ask him to tell me everything.
Lieutenant Kang held the phone up to his mouth and mumbled something quietly.
I could understand that he might be feeling low, but this was not the time.
I came here to help him, but I couldn't hear him at all.

“What was that, Lieutenant? I can't hear you!”

Lieutenant Kang leaned forward and got closer to the glass.
Despite knowing that his voice could only come through the phone, I couldn't help but lean forward, too.

And then he spoke.
“I...”



I was so shocked that I sprung back into my seat and I almost dropped the phone in my hand.
I didn't realize that the man sitting right in front of me was Officer Ji-Yeon.



…

[BGM: Lost Memories]






NEW MESSAGE: Lead: Blue Lady



***

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