The Let's Play Archive

Zero Time Dilemma

by DKII

Part 9: Suspicion (2 of 2)

Part 9: Suspicion (2 of 2)

Edit: A present for the later readers - here's a full video of this whole update, since it's awesome.

Music: Consternation 2nd Mix



The screen is shaking, and there's a high-pitched scream.

Noooo!





No shit. Do you know how hard it was for me to shut up the other thirteen times this was blatantly hinted at?



A chainsaw, and a firefighter's axe.





Now seems like a good time for the lady computer to chime in. The camera has been shaking since the puzzle room ended, by the way. Trying to mirror the rattled psyche of the characters.



So long, D-Team.



Wait a minute - those weren't mannequin parts at all, were they?



I need an icon for computer lady if she's going to keep babbling like this.





I know JUMP is for Junpei based on his nickname from Akane being "Jumpy" in 999. RED is probably Diana for her hair/outfit. Don't remember if BLUE is Sigma and MILK is Phi or the other way around.

Edit: The thread pointed out that MILK is KLIM backwards, which is Sigma's last name. BLUE and RED are for Diana and Phi for some reason - the order of the X-Passes matches the order of the team's names on the Status screen, which I'll show later.



What, you didn't think we were getting out of this game clean, did you? Given that all of D-Team is gone, I'm guessing we're in the timeline where they got executed?



Who would do such a thing...?



This room is locked. So, the one who killed Junpei is...

One of these two? Not sure that holds up when they woke up here from an anasthetic - anything could have happened in between.









Now would be a good time to remember that violence warning I put in about five updates ago.







A crashing sound, and the screen shakes violently. Poor Akane.



Just kidding, he's breaking down the door.







Several more swings, but he's not making much progress.



Carlos is distracted by the sound of an engine starting up....



Oh boy, here we go!





The screens shakes again as we hear the chainsaw rip into something.



It's just the door again. Guess you all picked this fragment for nothing.



Wood chips flying everywhere.



Guess that's Junpei's blood? Still more chainsaw noises in the background here.



Hope we don't need that door later.



Fade to black. But we're not done yet.

Music: CQD: BAD END

Pay no attention to that track title, I'm sure we're fine.



Akane is sobbing.



At least Gab is here to offer some comfort. Wait, why is Gab here? How is Gab here?



Junpei...

The "scoreboard" in the Lounge lists those killed in the game.

That reminds me, let's check out the status screen now that we have a casualty update.



Each character gets a strange little doll icon here. And they turn dark when that character is confirmed to be dead.



I just don't know anymore...

Dammit...



All I wanted was to get that five hundred thousand dollars...



That's all I wanted! And now...



Flashback time! Seems like a good time to learn more about Carlos, right?

Reverie Syndrome?

[Unknown Male Doctor:] Ah, for example... Hmm... Say there's a PC with basic, low-end components. If we played a number of videos all at once on it, what would happen?

The processing speed slows down, of course...

[Unknown Male Doctor:] It's not much better than if the computer had froze. What's happening with your younger sister is similar.

So you're saying this isn't carbon monoxide poisoning but...

[Unknown Male Doctor:] Right. With Maria, her brain and nervous system seem to be perfectly fine. We couldn't figure out the cause until now.



And they have...

[Unknown Male Doctor:] Reverie Syndrome. A variety of moments flicker in and out of the mind, as if one was constantly dreaming. That's why it's called the daydream, or reverie, syndrome. There have been no complete recoveries as of yet. However, it seems with the newest medical technology, a few cases have been successful at relieving the symptoms.

Then please, you must do the same for her--!

[Unknown Male Doctor:] Does little Maria...have insurance? You...do understand what's required for treatment, yes?

Well, that's why Carlos needs the money. If we combine that information with what Akane said about Reverie Syndrome a few updates ago, it seems like the looming global crisis (six billion dead from a virus, perhaps) is pre-emptively triggering people to enter "crisis mode", access the morphogenetic field, and just get stuck there, overloaded with images.





Akane is no longer sobbing, but not looking up, either.





That's why you killed Junpei, isn't it?

Wh-What did you say...?



Oh here we go. For real this time. Watch out for those crazy eyes!



And that's why you...





Did you forget that you and I are the only ones in this ward?



So it's obvious the killer is...

The chainsaw starts up again.



It had to have been you, Carlos!

Swing and a miss. Get the hell out of there, Carlos!

Music: Trepidation 2nd Mix



Well that couch has seen better days.



Oh man, telling a woman to "calm down" is dangerous when she's not holding a chainsaw.



I..am calm...

Despite the sub-title, picture that line more screamed.



But I--







You say that, but maybe you're the one who really did it!

What did you say?!

Akane is about one aneurysm away from transforming into her boss fight form.



And now you're going totally nuts with that chainsaw!



No matter what, even if the world went topsy turvy this very second, I'd--!







I just want to say, Akane's voice-acting in this scene is terrific the whole way through. The animations have been the best in the game, too. It's clear these scenes got the most work. If I can arrange it I'll try and get a video of it.









It's the final showdown!



Aaannndd she ran away.







It's just like any other code three.

Not sure what a code three is in Carlos's world. Do they have a code for crazy lady with a chainsaw? Seems like it'd be further down the list than number three, though.

Edit: The thread educated me. Code three means "responding with lights and sirens". Basically, an emergency.



Flashback to Zero talking about the bracelets.





Subtitles in italics indicate internal thoughts. So the lip animation is correctly not there this time!



That's four hours of time not accounted for. What was I doing during that time...?









The screen goes black, and the camera switches to a dark filter to show us what's happening.

Music: CQD Ward BGM 2



No, Akane had run off toward Control.





And she's coming for me...

The chainsaw sound returns, as the camera pans across most of the Lounge.



Quiet footsteps are heard....



The heartbeat sound returns here. Decision time?



What the hell should I do...?

Music: Dcom (The Beginning)







So what I need to do is to remove that person.

The chainsaw sound is in the background this whole time.





There's no way it could be me!





Uh-oh, we're out of time, Carlos.





Heartbeat time for real.



Music: Moral Dilemma (Annihilation 3rd Mix)



Oh, text entry. That doesn't work well with a poll. Let's see....



Let's get some nonsense guesses out of the way.



Oh.

Here some other invalid entries, to satisfy your curiosity:


Only two answers move us forward. Who killed Junpei?




Extras:

There's one new file, all text:

'Reverie Syndrome' posted:

Also known as the Daydream Syndrome. The brain cannot handle the amount of information entering the brain and, in effect, shuts down. The cause of this syndrom is currently unknown.