Part 184: NGAE: ~/cyan/betray/green/ally sigma\$ sigma.exe

999 OST: [Trepidation]



Listen in: [English/Japanese]




I guess the countdown has started.


So...what are we going to do?
Without a way to enter the passwords, we're screwed.


...
...




I'll look around here, you go check somewhere else.


Okay.


If we get to T minus 5 minutes, then we'll meet back in the floor B warehouse. Got it?


...
...



I wasn't sure what to say.
If we hadn't found it by then...
Was there really any point in meeting up again?






Don't worry. We'll figure it out, I promise.
You know what they say: Swimsuits never quit.


What? No! That's not...that's not a thing!
And it doesn't make any sense!
Besides, why the hell are you cracking jokes right now?


I'm just, um, trying to show you that life's still worth living.
After all, if you quit now, there goes any possibility of you ever seeing me in a swimsuit.


_{Oh. I see...
(Well, I admit I am a bit curious...)}




Now get moving! We don't have time to stand around!


...
...
Fine.
Be careful, all right?



I checked the time on my bracelet as I headed out of the crew quarters and into the hallway.
It wasn't good news.





I need to hurry.



I broke into a run.



Before long I found myself in front of the infirmary.
All too often what you're looking for is right in front of you.
We'd spent a lot of time in the infirmary, so it seemed kind of fitting somehow that it might have been there all along.
Or maybe Dio had dropped it there recently. There was no way to know.
And in any event, I had to start looking somewhere.

[Music fades out]



VLR OST: [Consternation]




You're still here?

Listen in: [English/Japanese]


Yes...
The others are taking the people who are asleep to the white doors.
I chose to stay here.


I thought you might come back...


Why?




I thought you might want to use it.
Isn't that why you're here?


Wh-What?
I mean, yeah, I want to know what's going on with me.
It's driving me nuts. Hell, I feel sick!
But this isn't the time for that!
Being a robot isn't going to mean a lot of if I die anyway!




Why did you come here then?


Isn't that obvious?!
I'm trying to find that input thing so we can turn off the bombs!


Really...?


Yes! Why would I lie?!


...
...


...
...


I see.
I seem to have made a mistake.
I knew you couldn't use the ADAM without me...
So I stayed behind because I thought I might be able to help.


I guess I shouldn't have done that.
I'm sorry... Goodbye.



She turned and headed toward the exit.




Wait...



I couldn't just let her leave like that.
I sighed.




Not more than 5 minutes or so.


Are you sure? Only 5 minutes?


Yes.


...
...


...
...


Okay. Let's do it.
Analyze my body...

[Music fades out





I lay down on the table.
Luna picked up the ADAM's scanner and began to run it across me, slowly and methodically.
...
...
In a few minutes she was finished.




You can get up now.



I sat up and hopped off the table.
The screen was already starting to show my results.


So, uh, what does it say...?



My eyes were glued to her face, looking for any sign of what the answer might be.
She studied the readout for several long seconds before replying.





The game actually loops a heartbeat sound for a few seconds here.




You're human.



I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

My relief didn't last long.




But...your body isn't...entirely human.


...What?


You're part machine.

999 OST: [Chill and Rigor]


Wait, what are you saying?


Look, here...




They're made out of a titanium alloy.
On top of that skeleton is Artificial Biological Tissue. It's also called "ABT."


Your arms are...cybernetic.


What? What does that mean?


Cybernetic? It means a mechanical system that interfaces with a biological one.
You see all these...root-like things around the titanium bones?
Those are artificial nerves.
They're probably connected to your own nerves, which is how you can move your arms.
I imagine they allow you to feel things through your arms too.




I think replacing my arms with robot ones is something I'd remember!
And I know they weren't always like this! When I was a kid, I broke my arm and they took an X-ray of it.
The doctor told me I had really thick bones, and that I must have done something pretty insane to break them!
When the hell did this happen?!
Why did somebody replace my arms!?




Wait...
Okay, let's say you're right, and my arms are cybernetic.
Wouldn't that mean I don't have to worry about the bracelet going off?



No... Unfortunately you probably do still have to worry about that.


Why?




...Which means that anything injected into them is spread to the rest of your body.


How do you know that?!


I just...do.


That's not an answer!


Yes, you're right...




There are some things you just can't explain...


What?


Don't you know how that feels?
How did you know about the garden?
How did you know that Dio planted the bombs?


Uh... That's...um...


...
...


...
...



[Music fades out]


I wish we could talk some more, but our time is up.


Time...?



I pressed the buttons on my bracelet and felt my stomach drop.





VLR OST: [Desperation]


We've only got a minute left...?
...
...




There's one last thing...
I was given very specific instructions.



I shuddered.
Not because I was scared of what was about to happen...
Because I was scared of Luna.
She was calm, unnaturally so, like a machine with a human face.
We were about to die...
How could she be so calm?!




This is very important. You must be sure to remember it.



Remember...?
I was about to die. How was I supposed to remember anything?




"Should you encounter a two-headed lion devouring the sun, remember:"




"With this key, the first gate shall be open to you."
There you go.


...
...




I'll be waiting...I'll be waiting...


...What?



Before she could answer—



The world exploded into noise and light, and I disappeared along with it.
When I came to, I was floating in a field of nothingness.



This ending turned into less of a scene and more of a goddamn



...



Okay, so, anyway.



Six endings now. But somewhat more remarkably...



Given how deep we are in the game, and remembering that we literally only had one option before the last AB Game, this particular ending has created a rather alarming amount of choice for us.

First and most obviously, we've found another AB game we might consider going back and doing over if you think things went a little too well (everyone blowing up notwithstanding) then. Second, we have uncovered a multitude of passwords, having now both of the two-headed-lion keys and all of the bomb passwords. On top of all that, we've learned that Sigma has robot arms, and although they can still apparently feel pain and receive poison, that knowledge has to be useful somehow, right?

So with all that in mind, what we're going to do is go back to cyan/betray/green/betray and pointlessly betray Clover right now, just to get that out of the way. However, there's no reason not to throw open the voting now for what to do after that.