Part 179: NGAE: ~/cyan/betray/green sigma\$ cd _

VLR OST: [Eeriness]




Although I guess that doesn't really matter... Dio already opened one earlier.


Then only you and I remain.


Right.


Okay! Let's go!





Two more AB Gates slid open.

We all shared one last look at each other before ducking into our respective rooms.







999 OST: [Riddle and Puzzle]

Listen in: [English/Japanese]




No question.
If Clover isn't voting, then she's defaulting to "ally."
Betraying someone who isn't even playing hardly seems fair.


Of course, I think so too. I'm just glad to hear you say it.



Luna's face broke into a warm, happy smile.
Not to be sappy, but it was like a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day.
I grinned back at her before I knew what I was doing.
For a minute, the Nonary Game didn't seem so scary.
Then she spoke.

[Music fades out]






Huh...?


There's something...white on it...


There's what...?

999 OST: [Chill and Rigor]




Wh-What...? What the hell is this?



For the first time since I'd found Alice in the crew quarters, I looked down at my hand.
Across the palm was some sort of strange white liquid.
For a moment I thought I'd somehow touched some white paint or something similar...
But the truth was far stranger.

The liquid was coming from my hand.
It was coming from the cut I'd given myself when I grabbed the scalpel away from Alice.
But...why?
Where was the blood?
...
...
I felt a very odd sort of fear begin to wrap its hand around my throat.
Quickly I held my palm against my chest.
I shouldn't have let Luna see that.
...
...




Yeah, it's nothing.
I went to the pantry while I was looking for Alice.
There was some milk, and I spilled it...



It sounded even stupider as I said it.




Really...?


...Yeah.


But—


Just shut up! It's fine, all right?! I'm fine! Leave me alone!



I regretted the words the moment they were out of my mouth, but something was wrong—very wrong—and my head was spinning.




Sigma...


...
...
Oh man... I'm so sorry...
I just... It's...
Just don't worry about it, okay?


...
...


Thirty seconds remain until polling closes.



There was no time left. I had to vote.
I turned and faced the machine.



I took a few deep breaths, but the chaos in my mind refused to calm itself.



(Calm down... Just calm down...)
(You need to think about the AB Game right now.)
(Just...forget about your hand.)



Who was I kidding? There was no way I could forget about something like that.




Ten seconds remain until Ambidex Game polling closes.
Nine...Eight...Seven...
Six...Five...Four...
Three...Two...One...



Okay... let's just hold this revelation at arm's length, cut away to the matter at hand, and try to make the wh- the right choice...